Hawaiian Airlines is starting daily direct flights to New York next June, providing another one-stop option to NYC, via Honolulu, for Australians.

That's good news for business travellers who dislike Los Angeles' LAX airport -- and especially its treatment of non-US passport holders.

Hawaiian's flights start on 4 June 2012, using new Airbus A330-200 planes that have 18 first class seats (like Australian domestic business class) up front.

There's an upgrade to entertainment too on the long flight, with new on-demand video and USB ports for all, plus larger screens and iPod integration in first class at the pointy end.

The USB ports have been placed in a sensible spot in the centre armrest to charge your phone or other electronic device while still using it. Good choice.

But with older recliner-style seats and non-optimised connections, Australian business travellers would need to be either seriously thrifty or angling for a work-funded stopover in Hawai'i to go for them.

Hawaiian's business class seats are only a slight step up from international Premium Economy on Qantas or Virgin Australia, with 42 inches of seat pitch on Hawaiian's 767s and 45-46 inches on the airline's A330s, rather than 38 on the two Australian airlines.

(Pitch is the space between your seatback and the one in front -- the space that you get to call yours during the flight. For more on what it means, check out our guide to seat pitch and legroom.)

Hawaiian flight 50 (Hawaii Five-O, get it?) will leave Honolulu daily at 1505, arriving at New York's JFK at 0655 the next morning.

From Australia to New York, there's a five-hour connection -- Hawaiian flight 452 leaves Sydney at 2120 and arrives in Honolulu at 1010 the next morning.

Return flight HA51 will leave JFK at 1000, arriving in Hawaii at 1500.

It doesn't connect same-day towards Australia: connecting Sydney flight HA451 leaves at 1150, arriving in Sydney at 1920. So you'd have to overnight in Honolulu on the way back.