# Help Needed From Experienced Travelers



## gnipgnop (Oct 12, 2010)

We are 11 people trying to get from Pittsburgh to Kauai, HI in June .  Any suggestions on best airline to use (cost wise)??  Also, does Hawaiian Air fly out of Pittsburgh?  We have some FF miles (aBount 56,000) but not nearly enough to cover this trip.  Any suggestions?  We're trying to get our family there with us to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks


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## MichaelColey (Oct 12, 2010)

Even if you had enough FF miles, it wouldn't help.  Airlines never release that many award tickets (especially at the lowest redemption level) on a single flight.

Right now, the cheapest flights I see PIT-LIH in June 2011 for a 7 night stay is $909 (6/1 - 6/8) or $955 - $1102 for a Fri/Sat/Sun - Fri/Sat/Sun flight (more likely to work with a timeshare stay).  They'll probably go down between now and then, but I wouldn't expect it to drop below about $600 or so.

Set up an alert on FareCompare and watch for fares to drop down to an acceptable price.


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## DeniseM (Oct 12, 2010)

The furthest East that Hawaiian flies is Las Vegas.

Are you in charge of reserving all 11 tickets?  Not fun!


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## LLW (Oct 12, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> Are you in charge of reserving all 11 tickets?  Not fun!




I agree. For so many tickets, I would call for professional help. Travel agents know a lot more about the ins and outs of timing of cheap tickets, and what you save by using them might more than compensate for any extra cost you would pay them. Besides, a travel agent friend once told me they don't make commissions on airtickets any more. Supposedly, they make money on other travel-related items.


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## John Cummings (Oct 12, 2010)

I would use Cheap Tickets to see what you can find.

http://www.cheaptickets.com/

I found them very good for multi-city flights which may be what is best for you. I used them in April for a multi-city flight to Hawaii.


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## Cathyb (Oct 12, 2010)

*Another possibility*



gnipgnop said:


> We are 11 people trying to get from Pittsburgh to Kauai, HI in June .  Any suggestions on best airline to use (cost wise)??  Also, does Hawaiian Air fly out of Pittsburgh?  We have some FF miles (aBount 56,000) but not nearly enough to cover this trip.  Any suggestions?  We're trying to get our family there with us to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks



Does JetBlue or Soutwest fly to Los Angeles from your area?  You could take a 'cheap' airline to LA then catch Hawaiian Air, American or United.


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## DeniseM (Oct 12, 2010)

I agree - For 11 tickets I'd use a travel agent.


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## Talent312 (Oct 12, 2010)

If you are going to try to arrange this by yourself, I have one question:
Are you nuts? This is like herding cats.

My advice: Find the best deal and pass it on, but ask each family to
make their own reservations, and say you hope to see them there.


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## isisdave (Oct 13, 2010)

Be SURE to collect money up front.  In a group of eleven, someone will be likely to fail to pay you, and leave you holding the bag otherwise.  And someone else will want to cancel between now and then and want his money back.


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## gnipgnop (Oct 13, 2010)

Lots of good suggestions, thanks.  I must be "nuts", but I'm happy.  :whoopie:

Here is what I was thinking of doing:
1.  Getting 11 tickets (now these tickets are for my family) from PIT to LAS. and I would pay for them.  Southwest is the only airline that I could find that had a non-stop  flight to the West coast and Vegas was the only location they show.  We will stay in Vegas overnight and fly out next morning.

2.   Hawaiian Air to Kauai seems to be our best bet.  (Each family will pay for their own tickets on this leg of the trip.)

But, my God the fare is so expensive that I'm worried that they will have a difficult time paying for the plane tickets to Kauai from Vegas.  There are 5 in one family and 4 in the other.

Hawaiian Air seems to be the best bet.  However any other suggestions would be welcome.


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## gnipgnop (Oct 13, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> The furthest East that Hawaiian flies is Las Vegas.
> 
> Are you in charge of reserving all 11 tickets?  Not fun!



I want to pay for the first leg of the trip which would be on SouthWest Air from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas, that would be all 11 tickets.  The rest of the trip will be their responsibility, however I am trying to find the most reasonable flight to get there for their (and our) sake.


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## gnipgnop (Oct 13, 2010)

Lots of good suggestions, thanks.  I must be "nuts", but I'm happy.  :whoopie:

Here is what I was thinking of doing:
1.  Getting 11 tickets (now these tickets are for my family) from PIT to LAS. and I would pay for them.  Southwest is the only airline that I could find that had a non-stop  flight to the West coast and Vegas was the only location they show.  We will stay in Vegas overnight and fly out next morning.

2.   Hawaiian Air to Kauai seems to be our best bet.  (Each family will pay for their own tickets on this leg of the trip.)

But, my God the fare is so expensive that I'm worried that they will have a difficult time paying for the plane tickets to Kauai from Vegas.  There are 5 in one family and 4 in the other.

Hawaiian Air seems to be the best bet.  However any other suggestions would be welcome.


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## JudyS (Oct 13, 2010)

If you fly Southwest, I think you can get a group rate or a free ticket or something if you book a group of 10 or more.  They have a page for group travel info on their website.

I second the suggestion to make sure everyone pays you upfront. I've had problems with family thinking I was a hotel who could take cancellations at the last minute!


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## Jimster (Oct 14, 2010)

*ta*

You are kidding yourself if you think you can do as good a job as a travel agent-a good one.  I travel internationally all the time and know the system but to do this is ridiculous.   Also you will have at least one family member who will not pay, one who will criticize the times, one who will find a lower fare and ask you way you screwed him and 10 more who will go crazy if there is a flight disruption.  I also don't think H AIr is the cheapest choice.  I suspect you will get a good deal in SFO or LAX.  It is also possible that you might luck out with a deal from IAD.  I flew UA last year from IAD and the fare was under $300 round trip.


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## John Cummings (Oct 14, 2010)

Alaska Airlines has pretty cheap fares from the San Francisco Bay area to Hawaii. Southwest flies from Pittsburg to all 3 SF Bay area airports.


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## sjuhawk_jd (Oct 14, 2010)

I have heard on these boards that Alaska Airlines has a credit card (issued by one the major banks) that offers 2 for 1 deal on airfare (one offer each year), Hawaii being the best value. Ask each family to sign up for one of these cards and atleast each family "might" get 1 ticket for free!


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## LisaRex (Oct 14, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> The furthest East that Hawaiian flies is Las Vegas.



HA used to fly out of Cleveland....

If you're looking to do it as cheaply as possible, use your FF miles to get to one of the West Coast cities, such as SFO, SEA, LAS, or SAN.  You should be able to get 1, possibly 2, with 56k miles.  Then book RT to Hawaii from there. However, this won't help your family members very much. 

Personally, I find the flight that is most convenient (1 stop MAX with an early afternoon arrival time) and go with it.  It's a long enough day to get to Hawaii from the Midwest without having multiple connections.  

FYI, this past summer the coach fare to Hawaii in June never fell much below $1100, which is what I paid.  Luckily, I had enough miles to get three of us there on award tickets. However, we couldn't find another family who could afford to accompany us, even with free lodging.  $4k is a lot of money just to get there.  

If you're really worried about your family not being able to afford it, I'd suggest coming up with a Plan B.  I just priced airfare to Paradise Island in the Bahamas and it's $350 pp.  If you can absorb the cost of lodging, that would be very helpful.  Plus you're talking 5-7 hours commute time vs. 12+, which is a killer flight especially with young kids.  And there's plenty for them to do at Paradise Island, with water parks galore, etc.


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## gnipgnop (Oct 14, 2010)

LisaRex said:


> HA used to fly out of Cleveland....
> 
> If you're looking to do it as cheaply as possible, use your FF miles to get to one of the West Coast cities, such as SFO, SEA, LAS, or SAN.  You should be able to get 1, possibly 2, with 56k miles.  Then book RT to Hawaii from there. However, this won't help your family members very much.
> 
> ...



LisaRex:  I really appreciate your advice but I already have 3 units reserved in Kauai, which is enough for all of us.  So the accomodations are no problem.  Also, I have the Capital One CC which will allow me to purchase tickets using their card and they will reimburse me in dollars according to how many miles I have accumulated (this will help with a portion of the price).  So I want to pay cash for the 11 tickets to the West Coast on Southwest.  We want to stay one night somewhere in CA or LAS depending where we fly into and I was hoping to use my FF miles which now I have 57000 (or $570.00) toward the tickets from West coast to Kauai.  

To be perfectly honest with you I was more focused on getting 3 units at one place for the same week that I never considered the cost of plane tickets to Hawaii.  We do not have small children in our group.  Youngest will be 15 and the oldest is 19.  I think we will all be able to handle the flight best if we do it in two legs.  One to West Coast......stay overnight.......next day to Kauai.


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## elaine (Oct 14, 2010)

*think out of the box*

I do not agree on the travel agent.  I have always done my own tickets--even 11 persons to HAwaii.  I do not think that a travel agent will check 100 differrent ways to get to Hawaii on a bunch of different flights.  
With that said, I would spend a few hours researching your best option, then go to a travel agent and see if they can find a better way (direct, less stops, etc.), or a cheaper way. With 11 tickets, they might be able to get some type of group pricing.
From Pitt to Kaui, you need to try to get to the West Coast---LA is most likely the cheapest.  Then, price to Kauai, but also to Honolulu. Usually HNL is cheaper.  Then price inter-island HNL-Kauai.  Spend a few hours doing various plans, and see what $ you are getting.
Also, consider airports within a few hours drive of Pitt. You can get a hotel and park your car for free with a park and fly deal and for 11 tickets, a couple hundred dollars and a 3 hour drive might be worth it if you save $300 per ticket.  We live near DC, and have flown out of Norfolk (4 hour drive and overnight hotel) b/c the price for a family of 5 was much lower.
After you have the various option, go to a travel agent and see their best price from Pitt-HNL and Pitt-Kauai.
I agree with PP---you  MUST get payment up front--even from family. You are talking about thousands of dollars and people get funny about committing to a trip when they actually have to pay hard cash.


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## MichaelColey (Oct 14, 2010)

FWIW, the cheapest flights from the west coast (or at least all of the airports within 300 miles of Las Vegas) to Kauai for next June currently range from $600 to $900 depending on the dates.  If you watch the fares, I wouldn't be surprised if you can find something cheaper between now and then.  When you do, you'll need to have everyone jump on it immediately.  Cheap fares don't usually last long.


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## gnipgnop (Oct 16, 2010)

Thanks everyone:  I have lost sleep trying to make this as uncomplicated as possible so your advice is most welcome.  Thank you for all the good ideas.  

As far as family members paying up front.........well, maybe I wasn't clear on my post.  I had enough timeshare weeks available to get the units I needed for everyone and the dates I wanted.  We, dad and me, are paying for the first leg of the trip (Pgh. to West Coast)  We will also take care of the one overnight stay BUT the kids are paying for their own families from West Coast to Kauai.  That is why I'm so anxious to find better air fare rates.  It will be quite costly for them to pay for themselves. One family of five and one family of four.  They are agreeing to do this not only because they want to see Hawaii but because we asked them to join us for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  I never realized how expensive travel was to Hawaii.  I should of checked on that before I made the suggestion.  I feel kind of bad now!  I only wish we could afford to pay for it all but that would be impossible.  We just don't have that kind of money.


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## dmharris (Oct 16, 2010)

Hi gnipgnop,

I live in Butler and fly out of Pittsburgh a lot for business and leisure.  We have used the Akron/Canton airport at times because it is so much cheaper.  So try looking at flights from there to LAX or other southern california or even San Francisco airports.  Akron airport is only 30 minutes farther drive for me but considerable savings.


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## falmouth3 (Oct 16, 2010)

Someone else mentioned a group rate.  I also think that might be an option for you.  You might call a few airlines that fly to Hawaii and see what kind of a deal you might be able to get as a group.  Then have each family pay up before you get the tickets.


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## MichaelColey (Oct 16, 2010)

It's still early to plan this, IMHO.  There are NO cheap flights to Kauai for next June from anywhere right now.  Monitor and wait.  But be ready to jump on them when/if the prices drop and be ready to be flexible.  If a $300 fare sale opens up from somewhere on the west coast to Hawaii, book it and then you just have to worry about getting to that city (which you should be able to find for under $200 if you're patient).


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## DeniseM (Oct 16, 2010)

A gentle suggestion:  I think you should assume that not everyone will be able to go.  Have a back up plan, so that you don't lose any money.

I still think a travel agent is the way to go, and they are used to organizing groups and that will take the pressure off from you.


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## LLW (Oct 17, 2010)

gnipgnop said:


> Thanks everyone:  I have lost sleep trying to make this as uncomplicated as possible so your advice is most welcome.  Thank you for all the good ideas.
> 
> As far as family members paying up front.........well, maybe I wasn't clear on my post.  I had enough timeshare weeks available to get the units I needed for everyone and the dates I wanted.  We, dad and me, are paying for the first leg of the trip (Pgh. to West Coast)  We will also take care of the one overnight stay BUT the kids are paying for their own families from West Coast to Kauai.  That is why I'm so anxious to find better air fare rates.  It will be quite costly for them to pay for themselves. One family of five and one family of four.  They are agreeing to do this not only because they want to see Hawaii but because we asked them to join us for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  I never realized how expensive travel was to Hawaii.  I should of checked on that before I made the suggestion.  I feel kind of bad now!  I only wish we could afford to pay for it all but that would be impossible.  We just don't have that kind of money.




Some other items that will need to be researched on in the planning stage: meals out, tours and activities. If most of the people have not been to Hawaii, the tours and activities are not going to be cheap. That's one other reason why it is better for the research (or at least part of it) on the airtickets to be turned over to travel agents, while you do the research on tours and activities yourself (or have the travel agent does part of that also).


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## LisaRex (Oct 19, 2010)

Go to FareCompare.com and sign up for Travel Alerts.  If you see a cheap airfare pop up, do not delay.  However, many of these cheap fights have a limit, so you may not be able to get all 11 of you at that price. 

The cheapest city to Hawaii is oftentimes Seattle.  I'd definitely keep an eye on flights to Seattle. 

Good luck to you!


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## John Cummings (Oct 19, 2010)

LisaRex said:


> The cheapest city to Hawaii is oftentimes Seattle.  I'd definitely keep an eye on flights to Seattle.
> 
> Good luck to you!



That is because of Alaska Airlines. Alaska also flies directly to Hawaii from the San Francisco Bay area.


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