Airfares, ouch!

[Denise L]

I was just checking airfare to Maui over Easter Week, April 11-18, 2009.

$2295 per person on UA .

Do people actually pay these prices? It is crazy. I was looking at Christmas 2008 and it was about $1100 per person. Seems reasonable in comparison, but I will still need to find a part-time job to pay for airfare. Even if we go during a non-holiday time, it is still $1100 per person, for say, April 3-10, 2009 .

 

[sdtugger]

Your question is key. Do people really pay these fares? Since the April shutdown of Aloha and ATA, fares have skyrocketed and stayed high. You see a little better pricing at airports with a little competition like LAX. But, apparently, demand is greater than supply right now. Will enough people pay $1100 per person to support the number of seats being flown? I watch the fares closely and haven't seen any softening since April.

But, hope springs eternal. Maybe when the prime summer season is over we may see some softening. However, the real key here is competition and right now there aren't too many airlines healthy enough to mount any sort of competition. Still, I have to believe that $1100+ fares has to knock out a huge chunk of the market. Even with dramatically lower supply, I'm still surprised to see demand sustain those fares, particularly when there are alternative fares to places like the carribean and Mexico that are much, much lower.

 

[myip]

It costs me $788 from SFO to Orlando no stop for 04/11/08 - 04/18/08.. We may not go to Orlando for Easter. The airline tickets are so expensive. For the same trip this year, it costs me $500 (nonstop). We may just drive down to Disneyland.

 

[MaryH]

Denise L,

Do you have Alaska airlines at an airport near you, you might want to check out their flights since they now have SEA-OGG as of July 17. If you get their CC, you can get a companion ticket for something like $50..

 

[Denise L]

Denise L,

Do you have Alaska airlines at an airport near you, you might want to check out their flights since they now have SEA-OGG as of July 17. If you get their CC, you can get a companion ticket for something like $50..

Alaska flies out of SJC, so we'd have to fly to SEA first and then onward. I think that was pretty expensive the last time I checked.

I'll check out Hawaiian Airlines and maybe move some AMEX points around or something, or just wait.

I just can't believe anyone could afford $2295 per person over Easter..if we could afford almost $10,000 for airfare, well, we'd probably be able to afford our own jet , ha ha.

 

[cvmar]

We paid $769 out of Seattle on Hawaiian, however we are returning home on Good Friday so we won't be there over Easter. We went to HNL in January of this year and paid $406 also on Hawaiian (purchased in 07). I think it will be San Diego for us in 2010.

 

[PigsDad]

Oil has gone from $35/barrel to $145/barrel (over 4X!) in the last few years. Given that jet fuel is the airlines' major operating costs, does this surprise anyone here? I don't remember being able to get Hawaii tickets for much less than $500 several years ago. $2K today for that same ticket does not seem out of the question given the oil cost multiplier.

I was talking w/ a neighbor of mine who is a United pilot, and even at the much higher fares we are seeing, no airline (with possibly the exception of Southwest who has long-term oil contracts) is making a profit on their flights. If oils stays at this level, fares still have to increase. If not, we will see even more airlines closing up shop.

It's a whole new world out there, folks.

Kurt

 

[Mimi]

We usually go to Vegas at Eastertime. Airfares have doubled from the mid $300's to well over $600 from the East Coast. We had planned to bring our son and his family, but not at these prices! :annoyed:

 

[Denise L]

Well, I agree that the prices will just keep going up and up. So I am actually getting used to the idea of paying $1000 to go to Maui, but I see prices at $1200 now and continuing to climb. Now to find the money....

Still shocking though. My first trip to Maui in 1986, I think I paid $150 to fly RT. I paid $178 in 1989. Ah, the good ol' days.

 

[DeniseM]

Hi Denise - I feel your pain. I'm getting ready to book our tickets with FF miles for next summer and the trip that cost 60K miles this summer will be 100K miles next summer! I know I'm fortunate to have the FF miles to use, but I don't think we can generate 100K ff miles every year.

 

[Fletcher921]

It sound like we lucked out booking our May 09 trip to Maui on Hawaiian for 37,500 miles RT. I booked the day they released the seats after marking my calendar.

 

[Cathyb]

Babs: Do you fly out of San Diego? Is Hawaiian a partner of American? As soon as my DH loads the Whaler pictures into the computer I will send you the shots he took of the beginning of the renovation.

 

[lprstn]

I know how you feel. We are going to Kona this Aug (paid $649 a ticket), but making it in 2010 will be a challenge. I am thinking about 2010 and believe that Hawaii, Aruba, and Mexico will not be on my travel list. Heck, I may even have to let some of my booked weeks for Cancun, Acapulco go as I don't think I can afford the airfare...ugh...

 

[Denise L]

Hi Denise - I feel your pain. I'm getting ready to book our tickets with FF miles for next summer and the trip that cost 60K miles this summer will be 100K miles next summer! I know I'm fortunate to have the FF miles to use, but I don't think we can generate 100K ff miles every year.

Did I miss the news that airlines will be requiring more miles for the Mainland-Hawaii flights?! I'm afraid of the answer .

 

[MON2REY]

A couple weeks ago we booked our '09 flights on United from Monterey to Honolulu and then OGG to Monterey using FF miles. 35,000 per person.

 

[charford]

Both Alaska and American are showing nonstop fares LAX-OGG of $819 including taxes for April 10-17. For April 11-19, the fares are a little higher at $899.

 

[sdtugger]

Both Alaska and American are showing nonstop fares LAX-OGG of $819 including taxes for April 10-17. For April 11-19, the fares are a little higher at $899.

That is still double+ the airfare we've paid for the last few years. I'm still waiting for the existing reservations to work their way through the system. As many on this thread have indicated, there has to be a large part of the customer base that will make alternative arrangements when their airfare goes from $400 to $800-2,000. For example, we've been heading to HI twice/year and will probably cut back to once/year (although, I'll confess that I'm working on plans for 2 visits in 2009--just can't give it up yet). Even with the oil increases, the fares to HI are not competitive with other similar options. Eventually, HI will lose market share to Mexico and the Carribbean, if not other locations. In other words, if there isn't direct competition to HI, indirect competition should kick in at some point.

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

We have one week on Maui in June, 09 and hope to use Shell Explorer for a sequential week at Paniolo Greens so we will hopefully, use our AMEX points to fly Hawaiian for the whole trip. Otherwise, I don't think we could do it. We did just get Hawaiian cards and they offer a companion flight at 50%, not as good as Alaska's $50 companion flight.
Liz

 

[Luanne]

I'm just waiting to be able to book 4 flights from SFO to KOA using United ff miles for summer 2009. I'm hoping to find them at 35,000 each, but will use the 60,000 if necessary. Two years ago I got two seats at 35,000 each and two at 60,000.

 

[BevL]

Both Alaska and American are showing nonstop fares LAX-OGG of $819 including taxes for April 10-17. For April 11-19, the fares are a little higher at $899.

We've just switched our travel plans from Florida to Hawaii for next spring and yeah, at $850 for airfare, it's a hit. We have a $50 Alaska companion certificate, so that makes it a lot better.

Anyone care to speculate whether fares might come down a bit? I'm waffling between just biting the bullet and booking now versus waiting a few months to see. So far the flights we want, March 1st over and March 15th back, are not showing that full.

Bev

 

[tombo]

Did I miss the news that airlines will be requiring more miles for the Mainland-Hawaii flights?! I'm afraid of the answer .

I only have delta FF miles to use as a reference, so I can't speak for all airlines. I flew Atlanta to Honolulu for 75,000 miles per ticket in first class in Feb 2008. The same flights for the same week in 2009 are currently listed at 150,000 miles per ticket for first class. I don't know if all flights to all locations doubled the FF miles required, but I know for sure that Delta from Atlanta to Honolulu has doubled since I booked my flights in October 2007.

I also know that the cash price for coach from Atlanta to Aruba spring 2009 has almost doubled from the price I checked in February of this year. I kept waiting until the 330 day mark to book and the fares were higher each and every week when I checked. Right or wrong, I think they will keep going up , so I purchased what might be my last overseas trip for a long time. The good news for everyone else is that since I booked my non-refundable 2009 flights, the prices should be dropping drastically soon.

 

[BevL]

... The good news for everyone else is that since I booked my non-refundable 2009 flights, the prices should be dropping drastically soon.

Well, from me, in advance, thanks - LOL!!

 

[Fletcher921]

Denise, we do fly out of SAN on Hawaiian - they have great nonstop service now. The flights we booked for May 08 require a connection in HNL. I was just gratefull for the seats! We collect Hawaiian miles. We got a Hawaiian Visa through B of A and because of that card we can pool our family's miles together for tickets.

I can't wait to see whatever photo's you took. I REALLY miss the Whaler already...

 

[Quimby4]

We try to make it to Hawaii annually but have put all future plans on hold because of the airfare$$. We usually fly for less than $400 each LAX to OGG. Until prices start to decrease consistently we will be traveling the west coast mainland....I will miss my Hawaii snorkeling !!