[Closed - new thread started] Will Hawaii Open by [OCTOBER???] [Please use this thread for all Hawaii Coronavirus discussions]

[Luanne]

Even if you get your answer now, what are the requirements going to be when you actually start your trip? We have a trip with just 1 night stop in SF, I am thinking it might be safer to change the flights so we can get to Hawaii in the same day.

I have no idea. As I said I was just musing. You know, it might affect someone now.

 

[amy241]

I have another question. I'm just musing, and I might be able to look it up, but hear me out.

On our annual trips to Maui we stop in San Francisco for two nights coming and going. Would this mean I would have to get the test in San Francisco to be within the 72 hours? I would think so. And does the 72 hours count back from the time of take off of your flight? I've read several of the articles and don't remember this level of detail, but I could have easily missed it.

I would think it would be measured from the time you were actually administered the test.

 

[amy241]

We're more concerned about the risk of a (very long) flight. I'm still waiting to see to what extent air travel is/is not a risk. So far, it does not seem like a major means of transmission, but that could be because almost no one has been flying for three months.

I am not sure I would agree that it is not a major means of transmission given all the airline employees that have been testing positive since this started. One example is Delta:

500 Delta Airline Staff Test Positive for Coronavirus, 10 Dead

The airline is looking to have all 90,000 of its employees to be tested.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Luanne]

I would think it would be measured from the time you were actually administered the test.

I understand that. What I meant was, if your flight is at 9 a.m., do you count back 72 from that to determine the time frame in which is must be taken? Or is it the date you get the results? Too many questions for me at this point.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I have another question. I'm just musing, and I might be able to look it up, but hear me out.

On our annual trips to Maui we stop in San Francisco for two nights coming and going. Would this mean I would have to get the test in San Francisco to be within the 72 hours? I would think so. And does the 72 hours count back from the time of take off of your flight? I've read several of the articles and don't remember this level of detail, but I could have easily missed it.

That sounds right to me, but assume they publish more details over the next month. I think they just wanted to get announcement out with a definitive date for reopening.

Thankfully we live in the bay area, its always a direct flight for us, that eliminates some of the uncertainty...

 

[Luanne]

That sounds right to me, but assume they publish more details over the next month. I think they just wanted to get announcement out with a definitive date for reopening.

Thankfully we live in the bay area, its always a direct flight for us, that eliminates some of the uncertainty...

Ahhh, the days when we could just fly direct. We lived in the Bay Area for years. After we moved we tried a couple of times to fly from Albuquerque to Maui. We got so screwed up on flights home twice that dh suggested we fly to the Bay Area, stay for a couple of nights, then fly to Maui. This has worked out so well. We get to spend some time in San Francisco, which we love, and we get to spend some time with our dd who lives in Sunnyvale. It's a win win.

 

[csodjd]

I am not sure I would agree that it is not a major means of transmission given all the airline employees that have been testing positive since this started. One example is Delta:

500 Delta Airline Staff Test Positive for Coronavirus, 10 Dead

The airline is looking to have all 90,000 of its employees to be tested.

www.newsweek.com

An airplane has several qualities consistent with being a good source for transmission. In particular, extended period of time in a moderately contained and relatively small area, in relatively close contact with stationary people. However, mandatory wearing of masks should help considerably.

 

[controller1]

I am not sure I would agree that it is not a major means of transmission given all the airline employees that have been testing positive since this started. One example is Delta:

500 Delta Airline Staff Test Positive for Coronavirus, 10 Dead

The airline is looking to have all 90,000 of its employees to be tested.

www.newsweek.com

An airplane has several qualities consistent with being a good source for transmission. In particular, extended period of time in a moderately contained and relatively small area, in relatively close contact with stationary people. However, mandatory wearing of masks should help considerably.

This would be important to know. From the article: It is unknown whether the infected staff members are cabin crew or ground-level workers . . .

 

[Carlsbadguy]

I had a test that was supposed to take 2 days to come back but took 4 days to get the results. If you don't do the test where the lab is the test usually does not go out till the next day, so you lose a day. I realized after the fact and could have signed up on the labs website, for me it was Quest, and gotten the results about 12 hours earlier before my doctor called me.

 

[csodjd]

I had a test that was supposed to take 2 days to come back but took 4 days to get the results. If you don't do the test where the lab is the test usually does not go out till the next day, so you lose a day. I realized after the fact and could have signed up on the labs website, for me it was Quest, and gotten the results about 12 hours earlier before my doctor called me.

Quest says on their website that the "Test results are typically available within 3 days, but turnaround time can vary due to high demand. Typically, the quickest way to get your test results is having them sent to you automatically through your secure MyQuest online portal."

I believe/hope that by Aug 1 there will be a means of ensuring a 2-day turnaround or it's going to be pretty testy trying to head off to Hawaii. However, there is a (slightly costly) approach that would make it less risky. You go in about 5 days ahead for a test, and go back 3 days ahead of departure. And you totally quarantine between those two tests. Assuming the first test is negative, the odds are very high so too will be the second, so there is a very low risk that, if you don't have your results yet, you'll land in Hawaii and learn you tested positive and have to quarantine.

Of course, for a family of 4 that's going to be a bit of a hassle and possibly fairly costly.

 

[BigDawgTUG]

If so then why do you believe the wording on the website was changed?

Also, Hawaii indicates it wants to court visitors from Japan and Australia. Those flights are longer and it will be even more difficult to have results of a test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in Hawaii.

See https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/news/alerts/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/

STATEWIDE ORDER BY GOVERNOR DAVID IGE: YOU MUST SELF-QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS IF YOU ARRIVED IN HAWAII AFTER MARCH 26, 2020
Beginning August 1, Individuals Required To Get Valid COVID-19 Test Within 72 Hours Prior To Trip, and Show Proof of Negative Result, To Avoid 14-Day Quarantine

See also: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/...ng-plan-travelers-part-effort-reopen-tourism/

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Starting Aug. 1, travelers who test negative for coronavirus no more than 72 hours before arriving in Hawaii will be able to avoid the state’s mandatory quarantine.

See also: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/hawaii-coronavirus-test-traveler-quarantine

A rep for Lige’s office confirmed to Travel + Leisure that specifics as to how long visitors have to take a COVID-19 test before departure, as well as other logistics, are still being worked out and will be announced as Aug. 1 approaches.

So, at this time, everyone seems to have a different understanding, but hopefully clarity will be coming soon.

 

[CO skier]

A rep for Lige’s office confirmed to Travel + Leisure that specifics as to how long visitors have to take a COVID-19 test before departure, as well as other logistics, are still being worked out and will be announced as Aug. 1 approaches.

So, at this time, everyone seems to have a different understanding, but hopefully clarity will be coming soon.

This clearly shows the policy is an ill-thought-out, knee-jerk reaction in response to getting spanked by the DOJ for the illegal quarantine. The Hawaii governor wants to continue the isolation policy as much as possible by creating hurdles, while pretending to be "open" .

 

[lynne]

This clearly shows the policy is an ill-thought-out, knee-jerk reaction in response to getting spanked by the DOJ for the illegal quarantine. The Hawaii governor wants to continue the isolation policy as much as possible by creating hurdles, while pretending to be "open" .

https://www.civilbeat.org/beat/judge-feds-cant-intervene-in-quarantine-challenge/

 

[Tamaradarann]

This clearly shows the policy is an ill-thought-out, knee-jerk reaction in response to getting spanked by the DOJ for the illegal quarantine. The Hawaii governor wants to continue the isolation policy as much as possible by creating hurdles, while pretending to be "open" .

Everyone has been waiting and waiting for an annoucement for when tourists can come to Hawaii WITHOUT a 14 day quarantine so that a NORMAL vacation can be enjoyed. This is it.

It is a very reasonable hurdle after they tighten up the testing and result procedure with the pharmacies, which I believe they will, so that after a test 3 days before a flight gets you the results before the flight. That should mitigate the hurdle while protecting people on the plane and in Hawaii. Negative Test, NO Quarantine.

However, if in fact you test Positive for the virus not only should you be quarantined, YOU SHOULDN'T BE GOING AT ALL!! So that if you get a postive test result you are sick and shouldn't be going so the system would be working to perfection and you won't spread the virus.

If you don't want to get the test you have 2 choices. A 14 day quarantine or DON'T GO.

 

[bnoble]

This clearly shows the policy is an ill-thought-out, knee-jerk reaction in response to getting spanked by the DOJ for the illegal quarantine.

Except that we’ve been hearing that pre-arrival testing was being worked on for weeks now. Oh and a letter of interest supporting a third party suit is hardly “getting spanked.”

 

[csodjd]

I hope the airlines “play along” and have good policies in the event you do test positive and you had a “non-refundable” ticket. For instance, if they say you must use the ticket within one-year from when you PURCHASED it, as opposed to the scheduled flight, you could be basically screwed if you were irresponsible and planned ahead!

 

[luv_maui]

We're more concerned about the risk of a (very long) flight. I'm still waiting to see to what extent air travel is/is not a risk. So far, it does not seem like a major means of transmission, but that could be because almost no one has been flying for three months.

I just saw on the news that American & United will now not block middle seats since their cleaning and air filters. I do like that delta is continuing to limit seats sold thru currently 9/30/20 and southwest also limiting seats sold. Currently during this quarantine American & Delta both had direct flights into Maui from LAX, and I’m glad I took delta. There was maybe 10-12 in coach out of maybe 200 seat. We paid for comfort plus and guessing no one else did since closest one to us was maybe 10 rows behind us.

 

[luv_maui]

I hope the airlines “play along” and have good policies in the event you do test positive and you had a “non-refundable” ticket. For instance, if they say you must use the ticket within one-year from when you PURCHASED it, as opposed to the scheduled flight, you could be basically screwed if you were irresponsible and planned ahead!

agreed! Considering most flights (except southwest) allow bookings about 11 months in advance. But unless flying during Holidays or high peak season, I’d think one could wait to book, unless using frequent flyer miles. I personally think demand for air travel will continue to be weak for the near future and prices airfare won’t be too high although the extra cleaning procedures and lower occupancy will put pressure to raise prices, just like taxes will have to go up with our deficit.

 

[csodjd]

agreed! Considering most flights (except southwest) allow bookings about 11 months in advance. But unless flying during Holidays or high peak season, I’d think one could wait to book, unless using frequent flyer miles. I personally think demand for air travel will continue to be weak for the near future and prices airfare won’t be too high although the extra cleaning procedures and lower occupancy will put pressure to raise prices, just like taxes will have to go up with our deficit.

Demand will surely be low, but the number of flights will also be low. They don't want to fly empty planes. I did just book a couple of flights to Maui Nov 1 and planes were/are pretty empty.

 

[luv_maui]

Demand will surely be low, but the number of flights will also be low. They don't want to fly empty planes. I did just book a couple of flights to Maui Nov 1 and planes were/are pretty empty.

We have Return flights booked for each of the next 4 weeks. return flights have been cancelled and time changed at least 3-4 times.

 

[JIMinNC]

Demand will surely be low, but the number of flights will also be low. They don't want to fly empty planes. I did just book a couple of flights to Maui Nov 1 and planes were/are pretty empty.

We just booked CLT-Lihue/Kona-CLT using AAdvantage miles for Jan/Feb 2021. Got them for 40,000 miles each, 80K total, and good flights/times - not the typical horrible routings you have to be willing to accept for the lower "priced" award miles flights. The flights were almost empty as of now. It's anyone's guess what schedules to Hawaii will actually look like then, or what the public health situation will be, but the low mileage requirement was just too attractive to pass on. I've never seen it that cheap. We'll see what happens.

 

[csodjd]

We just booked CLT-Lihue/Kona-CLT using AAdvantage miles for Jan/Feb 2021. Got them for 40,000 miles each, 80K total, and good flights/times - not the typical horrible routings you have to be willing to accept for the lower "priced" award miles flights. The flights were almost empty as of now. It's anyone's guess what schedules to Hawaii will actually look like then, or what the public health situation will be, but the low mileage requirement was just too attractive to pass on. I've never seen it that cheap. We'll see what happens.

I just booked LAX-OGG for my kids on Hawaiian, 17,500 miles one way each, and return on AA for 20,000, Nov 1 and Nov. 9.

 

[TXTortoise]

Just walking through the testing timeline For a San Antonio Maui trip, and realized how tight the window is. Can’t imagine being on the east coast or doing an overnight in California. Almost better to fly to CA and do test there over two days.

Sat Arrive Maui 2PM; 7PM San Antonio (+5 hrs)
Fri 7PM SAT -24 hrs
Thu 7PM SAT -48 hrs
Wed 7PM SAT -72 hrs

This suggests you’d most likely get tested Thu morning and need your results by Friday, or risk arriving Saturday, not knowing your results until you land, at best.

A 72 duration calculator across time zones is going to be real useful.

 

[csodjd]

Just walking through the testing timeline For a San Antonio Maui trip, and realized how tight the window is. Can’t imagine being on the east coast or doing an overnight in California. Almost better to fly to CA and do test there over two days.

Sat Arrive Maui 2PM; 7PM San Antonio (+5 hrs)
Fri 7PM SAT -24 hrs
Thu 7PM SAT -48 hrs
Wed 7PM SAT -72 hrs

This suggests you’d most likely get tested Thu morning and need your results by Friday, or risk arriving Saturday, not knowing your results until you land, at best.

A 72 duration calculator across time zones is going to be real useful.

It's probably premature to guess at how this will really work. And 72 hours before what? Checking in for your flight? Departing? Landing? Assuming it is checking in, if you have a flight leaving LAX at 8:00am on Friday, assuming checking in at 6:00am, 72 hours back would be 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. So you get tested first thing Tuesday morning and hope you have your results by Thursday evening.

So you'd want to get tested in this example in San Antonio on Tuesday morning, and plan/hope to fly to LA on Thursday evening, then to Hawaii on Friday morning.

 

[Luanne]

It's probably premature to guess at how this will really work. And 72 hours before what? Checking in for your flight? Departing? Landing? Assuming it is checking in, if you have a flight leaving LAX at 8:00am on Friday, assuming checking in at 6:00am, 72 hours back would be 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. So you get tested first thing Tuesday morning and hope you have your results by Thursday evening.

So you'd want to get tested in this example in San Antonio on Tuesday morning, and plan/hope to fly to LA on Thursday evening, then to Hawaii on Friday morning.

The whole thing just sounds too risky, for me, at this point. Of course for us it's a moot point since we aren't planning on doing any travel this year. But we're taking a "wait and see" attitude about trying to plan a trip to Maui for March 2021.