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Guides
Hawaiian Airlines baggage fees and how to avoid paying them
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Quick summary
Hawaiian Airlines offers a generous baggage policy, especially for flights within Hawaii and on international routes.
All passengers are allowed one personal item and one carry-on bag, even with the most restrictive fares, with clear size and weight limits.
Checked bag fees vary by route, elite status and fare class, with free checked bags for first class and certain loyalty program members.
Sporting equipment is accommodated with customer-friendly rules, though some items may incur additional fees.
What to consider
Elite status and select cardholders receive free checked bags, but benefits apply only to the member or primary cardholder, not to companions on the same reservation.
Overweight, oversize and excess baggage fees can add up quickly, especially on North American and international routes.
Some travel rewards cards offer statement credits that can offset baggage fees if used strategically.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of Hawaiian Airlines' baggage fees by route, status and fare, plus tips for maximizing free baggage allowances.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
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Hawaiian Airlines has a fairly unique market, which leads to a unique policy regarding checked baggage fees and carry-on guidelines. The Hawaiian Airlines baggage policy also provides a variety of ways to avoid paying fees to bring luggage.
Your ability to avoid those fees depends on many factors, including where you’re flying and whether you have elite status or carry the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard. This guide will cover all the information you need to know about the Hawaiian Airlines baggage policy.
The information for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Hawaiian Airlines carry-on guidelines
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
The Hawaiian Airlines carry-on guidelines are simple to understand and customer-friendly.
Everyone is entitled to bring one personal item and one carry-on bag onto every flight, even customers who purchase Hawaiian’s version of basic economy, Main Cabin Basic. According to Hawaiian, a personal item should fit underneath the seat in front of a passenger. Examples of personal items are backpacks, purses, briefcases and laptop bags.
The Hawaiian carry-on size restrictions require that your carry-on bag be no larger than 22 by 14 by 9 inches. Your bag should also be no heavier than 25 pounds.
The Hawaiian Airlines checked bag policy is among the most generous in the industry and also represents the unique destinations the airline serves.
Hawaiian Airlines’ checked bag fees vary based not only on your destination but also on your point of origin. You can avoid these fees in several ways, including holding the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard or having status with Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines baggage fees within North America
Unlike United Airlines and Spirit Airlines, you don’t need a fancy calculator to determine how much your checked bags will cost. You’ll also find relatively low baggage fees:
First bag
Second bag
Neighbor island flights (within Hawaii)
$25.
$35.
Neighbor island flights (HawaiianMiles members)
$15.
$20.
Flights to or from elsewhere in North America
$30.
$40.
Flights to or from outside North America
Free.
Free.
Pualani Gold members
Free.
Free.
Pualani Platinum members
Free.
Free (and third bag free).
Active-duty U.S. military members and dependents
Free.
Free (up to the fifth bag free when traveling on military orders).
Customers traveling in first class
Free.
Free.
The Hawaiian Airlines baggage weight limit before incurring fees is 50 pounds per bag, except for active U.S. military members and their dependents on official travel, in which case the weight limit increases to 70 pounds per bag.
Unique destination rules
There’s a unique wrinkle to the Hawaiian baggage policy for international travel. While the first two checked bags are free on all international flights, how much you pay for a third checked bag varies. You can find the full list of foreign airports and baggage fees on the Hawaiian website.
Overweight and oversize baggage fees
Hawaiian Airlines charges both an overweight and an oversized fee, so these fees can add up quickly. The Hawaiian overweight and oversize baggage fees are as follows:
Overweight fee: Starting at $35 per bag weighing between 51 and 70 pounds and $70 per bag weighing between 71 and 100 pounds.
Oversize fee: Starting at $35 per bag between 62 and 80 linear inches, including wheels and handles.
Interestingly, there isn't an overweight fee for bags up to 70 pounds if you fly to or from Australia or New Zealand.
Excess baggage fees
The Hawaiian baggage policy states that all excess bags will cost:
Neighbor island flights: $50 per bag.
Other North American flights: $100 per bag.
International flights: $150 per bag.
Sporting equipment
Surf’s up in Hawaii, and Hawaiian Airlines has customer-friendly rules if you want to bring your surfboard, paddleboard, wakeboard or kiteboard.
The Hawaiian baggage policy will allow you to take sporting items as checked baggage, but additional fees will sometimes apply. In other cases, such as fishing poles, Hawaiian will waive oversize fees within a certain size range. Unlike many other airlines with an extra surcharge for scuba tanks, Hawaiian will accept those as checked baggage without an additional fee.
Pualani Gold members receive a free first and second checked bag on all flights for themselves only.
Pualani Platinum members can check up to three bags for free on all flights for themselves only.
Unlike many other airlines, elite members cannot extend the checked bag benefit to others traveling on their reservation.
Credit card
Customers who hold the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard as a primary cardmember get a checked baggage allowance on select flights when using their card to purchase tickets directly from Hawaiian Airlines. Specifically, members can bring two checked bags of standard size and weight on flights between North America and Hawaii (and between "Neighbor Islands") for no extra charge.
This benefit is slightly different for Pualani Platinum, Pualani Gold and Premier Club members, though. Specifically, these Hawaiian loyalists who are also primary cardmembers of the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard can bring one extra checked bag free of charge on top of what their status would typically provide when flying between North America and Hawaii (and between Neighbor Islands).
On the other hand, some American Express cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, offer annual credits for incidental airline fees. So long as you enroll in this benefit and select Hawaiian as your airline of choice, your baggage fees could be eligible for reimbursement through this credit.
The Hawaiian Airlines baggage policy has more customer-friendly pricing than many other airlines, especially for flights between neighboring islands.
However, the Hawaiian Airlines baggage policy is much more restrictive for elite members and credit cardholders.
Only the elite member and primary cardholder receive free baggage — the benefit doesn’t extend to other travelers on the same reservation. That’s a stark contrast to most other airlines that extend this benefit to up to eight people traveling with an elite member.
However, Hawaiian’s carry-on policy of allowing a full-size carry-on bag and a personal item on all tickets, including Main Cabin Basic, sets it a notch above most other airlines.
Additional reporting by Katie Genter.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
