# Aaargh! For The First Time In Years I Can't Find A Decent Fare To Hawaii!



## Hoc (Jun 16, 2009)

I have family in Hawaii, and normally I go 2-3 times a year.  I can usually find a fare around $280, all in, on AA (where I always get upgraded to First Class) if I am patient and willing to wait awhile.

But this year, with airfares to most places dropping like a rock, and with Hawaii suffering from lack of tourism, I can't find a single fare at or near my dates (leave around 7/21, return around 8/4) under $485 (to HNL, or $515 to KOA), all in.  I can't believe that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay this outrageous rate if I want to use my Bay Club Waikoloa exchange!!

Grrr!!!


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## UWSurfer (Jun 16, 2009)

I'm doing a three hop in February/March..LAX --> OGG --> LIH --> SFO/LAX.

Originally it was ns to LA back from LIH, but United changed their sched and routed me through SFO coming back on similar time frame.

I paid $603 for this a month or so back, rates dropped by $100  for about three days and then went back to this rate and continued to increase.  Flights are now in the $660 - $725 range for this route at that time of year and change frequently.


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## Timeshare Von (Jun 16, 2009)

When I started looking for KOA for April2010, they were running $850-ish. They have been $950 to $1,100 over the past couple of weeks 

I sure hope they drop before I have to bite the bullet too!


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## ricoba (Jun 16, 2009)

Hoc,

I know you have always been successful at getting good rates to HI, but are you saying you previously got to HI for $280 for a mid summer rate?

We are going in two weeks to Honolulu and the best we could get was $335, the lowest I saw was $325, but I missed that.  Now, I don't get to HI more than once a year, but I don't ever remember getting under $300.


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## DeniseM (Jun 16, 2009)

Did you check Alaskan Air?  They are having a fare sale.


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## Hoc (Jun 16, 2009)

ricoba said:


> Hoc,
> 
> I know you have always been successful at getting good rates to HI, but are you saying you previously got to HI for $280 for a mid summer rate?



Yeah, pretty consistently around $280 or so for the summer or over Christmas, a bit lower at other times.  A lot of airlines are having sales at about $214, $240 all in for August through December, but nothing for July.


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## Hoc (Jun 16, 2009)

DeniseM said:


> Did you check Alaskan Air?  They are having a fare sale.



Yes.  They are $662.


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## KauaiMark (Jun 16, 2009)

*Same here...*



Hoc said:


> I have family in Hawaii, and normally I go 2-3 times a year.  I can usually find a fare around $280, all in, on AA (where I always get upgraded to First Class) if I am patient and willing to wait awhile.
> Grrr!!!



I still have a little time yet as we're looking for late Sept to Kauai. Right now the fares are at the $500/RT level from the SF Bay Area. I was hoping for sub-$400 but not seeing it as yet.


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## ricoba (Jun 16, 2009)

Hoc said:


> Yeah, pretty consistently around $280 or so for the summer or over Christmas, a bit lower at other times.  A lot of airlines are having sales at about $214, $240 all in for August through December, but nothing for July.



Wow!  :whoopie: 

Good thing I don't find these fares, I might by forced to go to Hawaii more often!


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## Patri (Jun 16, 2009)

Can't really feel sympathy for you. We on the east coast pay at least twice what you do and have such long flights. Makes stepping off the plane so much more of a pleasure.


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## Hoc (Jun 16, 2009)

Patri said:


> We on the east coast pay at least twice what you do and have such long flights.



Yeah, but you guys get to Europe much cheaper.


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## Luanne (Jun 16, 2009)

Hoc said:


> Yeah, but you guys get to Europe much cheaper.



Cheaper, and faster.


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## Hoc (Jun 16, 2009)

Luanne said:


> Cheaper, and faster.



The "faster" part doesn't bug me anymore.  In fact, I tend to look for longer flights now that they have flat beds in Business class.  Anything less than an 11-hour flight, and I don't get a decent sleep (about 3 hours to eat dinner, watch a movie, and settle in for the night).  When the seats merely reclined a bit, I didn't sleep much, and I looked for a flight with a stopover so that I could stretch my legs and walk a bit.  Now, I sleep through the flight and wake up in Europe.  But it still costs around $500 for that from here.


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## Hoc (Jun 16, 2009)

OK, so this sucks, but about the best I'm going to do is $479 for the round trip to HNL (with an upgrade), plus 45,000 miles for a companion coach seat (yeah, I'll ride in coach and let her take the First Class seat, even though she's much smaller than me).  Then another $176 for the two of us round trip from HNL to KOA via Mokulele Air.  Found a deal on the car rental at $200 a week for each island.  So, total cost of air and car will be $1,055 plus 45,000 miles, with lodging covered.  That plus meals, which shouldn't be too much more than it costs for us here, and then the dogs' lodging for about $560.

I guess that's not too bad for a 2-week vacation in Hawaii, but it's more than I'm used to paying, and in this economy, where I'm watching every cent spent, it hurts to pay more than usual for a trip.


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## ronandjoan (Jun 16, 2009)

what are the dates you are going?

I think we have to wait until 331 days out to book still?  We are looking for summer 2010.


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## DonM (Jun 16, 2009)

Hoc said:


> I have family in Hawaii, and normally I go 2-3 times a year.  I can usually find a fare around $280, all in, on AA (where I always get upgraded to First Class) if I am patient and willing to wait awhile.
> 
> But this year, with airfares to most places dropping like a rock, and with Hawaii suffering from lack of tourism, I can't find a single fare at or near my dates (leave around 7/21, return around 8/4) under $485 (to HNL, or $515 to KOA), all in.  I can't believe that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay this outrageous rate if I want to use my Bay Club Waikoloa exchange!!
> 
> Grrr!!!




Isn't this late to look for a bargain? I booked my flight to HNL from Newark in April and got great prices- under $500 which I don't think I ever got before.


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## BocaBum99 (Jun 17, 2009)

Hoc said:


> Yeah, pretty consistently around $280 or so for the summer or over Christmas, a bit lower at other times.  A lot of airlines are having sales at about $214, $240 all in for August through December, but nothing for July.



So Hoc, please explain something to me.  Today, you posted the above which states that you are pretty consistently able to get airfare to Hawaii over Christmas for around $280 or so.....

But, on January 7, 2008, you started a thread entitled:  "Do you love the New RCI Points Enhancements" where you said:



			
				 Hoc said:
			
		

> I just got an email from RCI points that they have "enhanced" their points partners program, so that RCI points are now worth roughly half what they were before.
> 
> They have changed it so that, instead of being able to redeem your points directly for points partners, you now get only a fixed discount against the price of the points partners items.
> 
> ...



If you typically pay around $280 for airfare during peak season (summer and Christmas are peak season to Hawaii), then wouldn't the RCI changes they made back in January 2008 actually work in your favor if you applied the discount to an airfare of $280?  Shouldn't you have praised the changes rather than pan them?

Based on your post of today, it seems that your example was an extreme outlier to your very own travel habits.  So, on balance, the RCI Points changes at that time actually worked to your advantage.  Yet, you positioned it as something that "irritated" you.  Why did you do that?  Was it simply to make RCI look bad even though the full context proves that you could have actually benefited greatly from it?


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## Hoc (Jun 17, 2009)

BocaBum99 said:


> So Hoc, please explain something to me.  Today, you posted the above which states that you are pretty consistently able to get airfare to Hawaii over Christmas for around $280 or so.....



RCI Points is one of the ways that I used to be able to get airfare over Christmas for $280 or so.  I normally paid around $360 for enough points for about one and a half round trips to Hawaii in peak season, thus costing me an average of roughly $280 per trip.  In fact, had RCI points still had the old structure, I would have used them for this ticket.  I normally use every weapon in my arsenal to get a good deal on airfare.

Edit: In fact, in the past, I've used Priceline, Hotwire, free companion tickets, miles/points, coupons, advance purchase deals, fare mistakes, package purchases, "dump the dump" strategies, the Pleasant Holidays Airpass, consolidator tickets, and just jumping on a great fare when I see it.  But none of those are working this time.


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## Hoc (Jun 17, 2009)

DonM said:


> Isn't this late to look for a bargain? I booked my flight to HNL from Newark in April and got great prices- under $500 which I don't think I ever got before.



I've been following prices since about last month, when I got my exchange.  I haven't had trouble in the past finding some way to get a good price, but I never really time when I start my search.


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## Icarus (Jun 17, 2009)

Hoc said:


> Yeah, pretty consistently around $280 or so for the summer or over Christmas, a bit lower at other times.  A lot of airlines are having sales at about $214, $240 all in for August through December, but nothing for July.



hahaha, you have been extremely lucky if that's r/t fare. I haven't seen a $280 r/t fare to the outer islands since the 90s.

Tourism isn't exactly all that slow here now. At least it doesn't appear to be as bad as it was 4 - 6 months ago. What's still slow, I think, are the conventioneers.

I read on FT that united had some e-fares listed this week to Hawaii, and they were $700. Ridiculous for an e-fare. (sale fare for this or next week, highly restricted).

-David


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## Hoc (Jun 17, 2009)

Icarus said:


> hahaha, you have been extremely lucky if that's r/t fare. I haven't seen a $280 r/t fare to the outer islands since the 90s.



It's a lot more expensive coming *from* Hawaii.  My brother can't find a fare under $700 from HNL to LAX.

BTW, I usually get my fares to HNL, and then plan on taking a local airline to the outer islands, since I usually can do it for under $100 r/t, or else use miles.


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## sailingman22 (Jun 17, 2009)

I believe that waiting until the last minute to book an airfare usually costs more money and sleepless nignts than planning months ahead. There are excellent airfare deals to Honolulu from LAX even today depending on the dates chosen. www.travelocity.com

Continental Airlines starts at $214.00 & taxes
Northwest Airlines starts at $234.00 & taxes

I was able to find a fare for August 17th - August 31st for Total USD $246.70 on NWA. A flight on July 23rd - August 19 for Total USD $246.70 was available then was sold out after checking back 30 minutes later. More expensive fares are still available but still cheaper than the $500.00 - $600.00 range. Good luck.


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## thheath (Jun 17, 2009)

Hoc said:


> I have family in Hawaii, and normally I go 2-3 times a year.  I can usually find a fare around $280, all in, on AA (where I always get upgraded to First Class) if I am patient and willing to wait awhile.
> 
> But this year, with airfares to most places dropping like a rock, and with Hawaii suffering from lack of tourism, I can't find a single fare at or near my dates (leave around 7/21, return around 8/4) under $485 (to HNL, or $515 to KOA), all in.  I can't believe that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay this outrageous rate if I want to use my Bay Club Waikoloa exchange!!
> 
> Grrr!!!



$485 and $515 R/T is still not a bad price, especially if you can fly your prefered airlines and get upgraded.


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## thheath (Jun 17, 2009)

UWSurfer said:


> I'm doing a three hop in February/March..LAX --> OGG --> LIH --> SFO/LAX.
> 
> Originally it was ns to LA back from LIH, but United changed their sched and routed me through SFO coming back on similar time frame.
> 
> I paid $603 for this a month or so back, rates dropped by $100  for about three days and then went back to this rate and continued to increase.  Flights are now in the $660 - $725 range for this route at that time of year and change frequently.



US Air, Alaska and Delta now fly direct from the mainland to Lihue on Kauai, you might check them out too.


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## sailingman22 (Jun 17, 2009)

This was just received as an email update from Alaska Air.

"Escape to Hawaii!
From only $169+ one-way
Picture yourself on a tropical beach in sunny Hawaii. Getting there is easy with nonstop flights from major U.S. cities to Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island on Alaska Airlines. Fly for as low as $169+ one-way when you book on Expedia. Don't miss out—sale ends soon! Terms and conditions 

Book by June 17; travel July 3–October 31, 2009."

Check fares through Expedia. Also read the Terms and Conditions for blackout dates.


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## Hoc (Jun 17, 2009)

sailingman22 said:


> Check fares through Expedia. Also read the Terms and Conditions for blackout dates.



The cheapest on Expedia via Alaska Air around my dates (third week of July through first week of August) is $642.  The cheapest overall is now $486.


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## sailingman22 (Jun 18, 2009)

I believe that you have painted yourself into a corner by waiting this long to book your flight however Alaska Air has a fare including taxes for $446 including taxes for July 21 - Aug 4th. I would opt to pay $14.00 more for a direct flight. Other dates may be cheaper so you need to determine what works for you.

Anyone looking for a good fare to Hawaii in the future should check out www.airfarewatchdog.com and enter your departure city. Click on the the destination city. I used LAX and Continental advertises fares on Continental staring at $235. RT. A link below this info states " If you prefer, or your dates are not flexable,please try." This will open up a window for the Lowest Economy/Coach Fares published for travel through October 2009.

I use this tool for on going searches for future travel and watch when airfares drop after purchasing a ticket.


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## Hoc (Jun 19, 2009)

sailingman22 said:


> I believe that you have painted yourself into a corner by waiting this long to book your flight . . . .



I didn't wait at all.  The minute I found out when I would be there, I started looking for airfare.  Unfortunately, you have to go with the dates you're given for the exchange, and you don't know what dates those are until you get the exchange.

I looked at the Alaska fare for those dates, and it's $576.80 with taxes.  I bought an American Air fare for $479 instead, since at least that way, I'll fly first class.  Had to book 7/20 through 8/4.


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## ownsmany (Jun 19, 2009)

I got extremely lucky this year and got 4 frequent flyer tickets to Maui in July.  Took months of looking but lucked out.  Save over $4000 in air from Phila.  Now I'm out of miles completely.


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