Looking at flying to Honolulu , but have a dilemma with the airport lounges in Honolulu for return flight.

Looking at flying to Honolulu , but have a dilemma with the airport lounges in Honolulu for return flight. Either fly to Sydney (from Brisbane) and grab a Qantas flight (Gold Member) or fly Hawaiian Airlines from Brisbane and pay to access their lounges... Thoughts/comments appreciated :)

Are you in Economy or Business?

If lounges are your concern then QF wins,but not by much.The QF lounge is very small and comes with limited food selections.Do not expect antthing like BNE international lounge.The Hawaian lounge in Honolulu is about as bad a US airline lounges get.NO real food just packaged cheese and crackers,lead coffee,and no ALC beverages.If you fly Hawaian first you will get access,if economy a small fee.Flying thru SYD is crazy,given all the unnecessary flying.Runningrugby hope this helps and enjoy your trip. 

There is also the JAL lounge if travelling on QF (i.e. OneWorld). It is larger than the QF lounge and situated overlooking the central garden. Still nothing to rave about.

If I were you I certainly wouldn't go round adjusting travel plans for the sake of hanging out in a US-based lounge. An extra couple of hours on a plane just for the sake of sitting in one of Honolulu's selection of crummy lounges? Forget about it.

Go buy a cofffee and some spam-based sushi and sit in one of the airport's sunken gardens soaking up the sunshine surrounded by hibiscuses, you'll get a better experience than the airport lounge.

I would not recommend going through Sydney. Did this earlier this year & it adds a lot of travel time and hassle. You have to collect your bags in Sydney & take them to the International as JQ are a "destination airline".

I agree with the comments on the QF lounge in Honolulu. It is a long way from any shops & not worth the walk and adventure to find it. Very small and limited selections.

I wonder what our Hawaiian travel perspective would have been like if Hawaii remained a British colony...

Thanks everyone for your comments, much appreciated.

Safe travels all.