I flew on Hawaiian Airlines for the first time from NYC to Honolulu. The seat was nothing special, but the food was easily better than any other US airline.

I flew on Hawaiian for my honeymoon trip to Oahu and the food made the experience better than competitors.

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• I flew on Hawaiian Airlines for the first time, trekking 10 hours between New York and Honolulu.
• The flight was extremely long, but the comfortable seats and tasty food made it bearable.
• My one complaint is the lack of adjustability for the seatback screen.

During my eight years of working in the airline industry, I have managed to fly on every US carrier except one: Hawaiian Airlines.

So, for my honeymoon trip to Oahu in November, I ignored my loyalty to Delta Air Lines and booked Hawaii's namesake carrier. The Hawaiian reservation for two people in economy cost us about $1,800 roundtrip, which was cheaper than Delta's fare.

My husband being an airline pilot himself meant he was just as excited as me to experience Hawaiian. And, considering the carrier is consistently praised for its comfort and reliability, we had high hopes going in.

While the seats themselves were nothing special and had one slight annoyance, I found the 10-hour journeys between New York-JFK and Honolulu were easy thanks to Hawaiian's good food and relaxed atmosphere.

My husband and I arrived at New York-JFK's Terminal 4 at 8:00 a.m. for our 10:00 a.m. scheduled departure.

Our boarding passes.

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I normally wouldn't show up to the airport so early for a domestic flight, but I wanted extra time to check our luggage and grab breakfast from one of the airport lounges.

With several bags in tow, we headed to Hawaiian's check-in counter and were happy to be one of the few people in line.

The Hawaiian check in counter at JFK's Terminal 4.

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We checked two bags, both of which were well below the 50-pound limit at about 30 pounds each. This gave us plenty of wiggle room to bring back souvenirs.

Granted, we had to wait 30 minutes in Honolulu and an hour in New York on the return leg to collect our bags, so be sure to budget that time.

We breezed through security thanks to TSA PreCheck and spent about an hour at the Virgin Atlantic lounge.

The lounge had plenty of seating with free food and drinks.

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Access to the lounge came with our Priority Pass membership, and it's the best one available in Terminal 4, in my opinion.

We boarded the aircraft about 45 minutes before departure and made our way to a pair of seats in the back of the plane.

Our seats onboard Hawaiian's Airbus A330.

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Hawaiian uses the widebody Airbus A330 on its long-haul routes between Honolulu and the East Coast, and it features dual seats on each side — perfect for couples.

Walking through the cabin, I appreciated the light blue color scheme and the fun flight attendant uniforms.

A flight attendant onboard Hawaiian during the return flight.

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Hawaiian is a leisure-focused carrier, and I liked its laid-back ambiance. The landmarks and culture of Hawaii even inspired the inflight safety video.

Though, the plane did lack WiFi.

We soon made it to seats 42J and 42H. I chose this particular section because of the bigger aisle in the back of the plane.

View of the cabin from row 47 once the lights were down after the meal service.

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Even though it would mean deplaning last, I wanted to sit in the back where I knew there would be more space and privacy.

Rather than the 2×4×2 configuration installed throughout most of the economy cabin, rows 43-47 are in a 2×3×2 layout.

One of the rows with three seats in the aft middle section.

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This type of configuration is common on other airline A330s as well.

Avoiding the rows closest to the galley and lavatory, I wanted rows 43 or 44. But neither had both seats open when I was booking the flight, so I settled for row 42.

With one seat gone, the wider aisle made the aft cabin feel more open — as much as it can anyway on a flying metal tube.

The grey curtain to the left blocks off the row of seats reserved for crew rest.

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While we were one row ahead of the wider aisle in row 42, we still had easy access to a space to stretch our legs and walk around.

Other than the change in layout, there was nothing particularly outstanding about the seats.

Flying on Hawaiian Airlines.

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The seats came with adjustable headrests, a seatback pocket, and an inflight entertainment system with a USB port.

There wasn't an under-seat power outlet in regular economy.

As expected, the seatback pocket was just one pouch, and there were no special amenities. Still, the seats were perfectly comfortable.

The space between the cushions and the seatback.

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I wish the seat incorporated a cupholder like on Singapore Airlines or a footrest as featured on All Nippon Airways.

But Hawaiian's product was easily comparable to non-five-star Asian carriers, including Delta, American Airlines, and United Airlines.

I was particularly happy with the padding and the legroom, the latter being pretty industry-standard.

The seats in row 38 on the return journey to New York. The red-eye included a blanket.

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According to Hawaiian, its A330s offers 31 inches of pitch, which is similar to other airlines like Delta and KLM.

Delta, which is the only direct competitor on the route between New York-JFK and Honolulu, offers 31-32 inches of pitch in economy on its widebody planes, per SeatGuru.

My husband and I are only 5'3" and 5'7", respectively, so we felt we both had enough legroom.

The legroom onboard.

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Considering the flight is so long, taller passengers may consider an upgrade to "extra comfort" seats with 36 inches of pitch.

There were also plenty of movie titles to choose from to pass the time.

The inflight entertainment system had movies, music, games, and a flight map.

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I particularly enjoyed the murder mystery film See How They Run while my husband watched titles like Asteroid City.

However, I had one major quip with the seatback screen — it didn't flip up.

We watched movies to pass the time.

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This was my only big complaint of the experience.

This meant the angle of the TV was awkward when the person in front was fully reclined.

The difference in position of the seatback when the person in front is reclined.

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Basically, I wasn't able to see my screen straight on during half of the flight. And the reclined seat infringed on my space if I didn't recline as well.

It was an annoyance, but honestly, the deep recline helped me sleep and ended up being a fine trade-off.

I lost a lot of space if the person in front reclined, so everyone had to recline to make it work.

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I also noticed the recline made some of my tray table space essentially unusable. Fortunately, the flight attendants asked passengers to set their seats upright during the meal service.

Shortly after settling into our seats, we pushed back from the gate and took off about 20 minutes later.

A view of NYC after takeoff.

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I was happy Hawaiian followed through on its reputation for good on-time performance.

The flight attendant soon came by with a cart full of things like headphones, drinks, and snacks for purchase.

The snack box.

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There was a price listed for the earbuds, but the flight attendants handed them out for free.

Unsure how big the complimentary meals would be, I decided to buy a snack box.

The Maui Onion macadamia nuts were delicious.

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I ordered an assorted box for $12 with themed snacks, like Maui Onion macadamia nuts and Hawaiian-style caramel corn.

I loved everything included, and it helped keep my hunger at bay.

We also enjoyed a few local Maui beers.

The Bikini Blonde lager from Maui Brewing Company was served onboard.

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It was our honeymoon, after all.

About two hours into the flight, we were served our first of two meals — and this is where Hawaiian shined over its US competitors.

The first of two meals served on Hawaiian.

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I loved the food on Hawaiian, easily beating out Delta and United.

The first offering was a pasta dish, and despite looking a little dry, it was surprisingly tasty.

The meal came with wine.

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The meal came with melon and a cookie, as well as a complimentary cup of wine. I'm not a huge wine drinker, but my husband enjoyed it.

The second meal, consisting of an egg sandwich, juice, and trail mix, was served about 90 minutes before landing.

You can see the difference in useable tray table space when the seat in front is not reclined.

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I loved the little bag it was served in, which was quite on-brand with the Hawaiian-inspired leisure theme.

I thought Hawaiian's egg salad was particularly excellent.

The combination of egg and cucumber was perfect.

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I typically don't have the appetite for a second airline meal after traveling for hours on end. My stomach is just weird.

But I loved the egg sandwich because it was simple and filling enough for an afternoon arrival in to Honolulu.

On the ride back to New York two weeks later, we were met with the same standard economy seats and more good food.

The view from the plane after takeoff from Honolulu with Diamond Head in the background.

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The return flight was another 10 hours nonstop. But this time, it was a red-eye, and Hawaiian provided a blanket.

For my seats, the aft pairs were taken, so we sat further up in row 38.

The first meal was meatballs, rice, and veggies. Similar to the outbound meal, it was served with fruit and a pastry.

I loved the fresh fruit.

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Once again, the meal looked questionable but was surprisingly flavorful and filling.

As this was a red-eye flight, the second meal contained mostly breakfast food, including a muffin, orange, cheese, and crackers.

The second meal served with orange juice.

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This was probably the least impressive meal of the bunch, but the orange and muffin were both fresh.

And, I again like the little bag it was served in.

Overall, I think Hawaiian provided a great start to my honeymoon, and I'd easily book the airline again in the future.

Our aviation-crazed selves beelined to Pearl Harbor's aviation museum after arriving in Hawaii.

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While the TV screens' lack of adjustability was annoying, the seats onboard Hawaiian were comfortable, and the recline provided a good position for sleeping.

And the food was excellent. I'd easily choose Hawaiian on future long-haul trips to Honolulu over competitors like Delta and United simply for its better meals, as the seats and entertainment are comparable otherwise.

But, remember that even though this is a domestic flight, it's longer than flying to Europe from New York — so board prepared.

The Hawaiian A330-200 at the gate in New York.

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It's weird to think a domestic flight in the US is longer than some routes to Europe, but that's true of Hawaiian's New York to Honolulu nonstop. Its flight to and from Boston is actually even longer.

Nevertheless, that means travelers should prepare to sit for 10 hours, including bringing snacks in case airline food isn't your taste, drinking plenty of water before and during the flight, and carrying sleep aids like melatonin and an eye mask.

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