I know that that international airport construction was making REALLY big changes around that time, especially in overall design, especially Honolulu. It was the first international airport in the U.S. to be designed from the ground up to handle jet aircraft. I’d find it exceedingly strange that they would redesign the interior of the terminal of the new airport to look just like the terminal of the old airport. I’ll find out from my uncle who went there frequently on business throughout the 60s.
Please do.
The mechanics of sorting passengers and luggage didn’t change much between 1961 and 1971. The designers may have decided that if it wasn’t broke, don’t fix it, just freshen it up a little.
It would be nice to have some confirmation, though...