Favorite Airline from SFO/SJC to Maui

[Jax44]

We live on the Central Coast of California ( Carmel). This is a difficult area to fly out of, with a select few destinations (La, Phoenix).
We love Hawaii and have flown from:

Monterey, early flight, connection at SFO.
SFO, direct to OGG, spending the night before at a stay and park.
We Usually fly United, but am interested to hear from all the pros here on airline preference and airport preference.

 

[Luanne]

The last few years we have flown Alaska Airlines to Maui from Oakland. Oakland is pretty easy to get in and out of. I got an Alaska Airli e credit card so I earn miles, plus I get one companion pass each year which lowers our cost. I do understand from those who have been flying Alaska longer than we have that some of the perks have lessened, and more changes are coming.

We come from New Mexico which means flying out to Albuquerque. We used to fly United, but after having two disasterous return trips we decided to break our trips up with a couple of nights in San Francisco both coming and going.

 

[LisaH]

We usualy fly United. SFO has direct UA flights to all major HI Islands. Since I have lifetime status, each of us can have two checked bags.

 

[Jax44]

We just got back from WKORV on May 14. Flew from Monterey to SFO to OGG.
We are kind of screwed either way. We either have to pay to:
1. Fly from Monterey.
2. Fight traffic to San Jose or SFO.
3. Spend the night in San Jose or near SFO.

Probably the same for everyone.
We are United MileagePlus and pay with our American Express platinum for 5x points.
We get two checked bags.

 

[DavidnRobin]

We live on the Central Coast of California ( Carmel). This is a difficult area to fly out of, with a select few destinations (La, Phoenix).
We love Hawaii and have flown from:

Monterey, early flight, connection at SFO.
SFO, direct to OGG, spending the night before at a stay and park.
We Usually fly United, but am interested to hear from all the pros here on airline preference and airport preference.

Alaska Airlines (SJC-OGG 9:30am flight). We use companion pass using the Alaska Air CC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Companion Pass Alaska - We prefer Oak because it is closer, easy to get in/out and parking is a lot cheaper, but have also flown SJC and SFO to coordinate with family members.

Future: Southwest Companion Pass (cannot wait!)

 

[mjm1]

When we lived in SJ, we would fly Alaska using the companion ticket from their Visa card. It was an early morning flight, so you could either drive up very early that morning or the night before and stay one night. The companion ticket for $99 plus taxes is a great deal.

Mike

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If flight is early at SFO, we usually stay near the airport at a hotel using credit card hotel points. In SFO there are hotels where you can buy a stay and park package for up to 14 days and take their shuttle to the airport. Sometimes that is much cheaper than SFO parking, or a limo service and you can apply hotel points to pay for your parking.

 

[jlp879]

I live near SFO. Always happy to assist fellow TUGgers with parking arrangements and getting/to from SFO.

 

[TravelTime]

We live near San Jose. We fly to Hawaii out of San Jose whenever possible. Otherwise SFO is our second option. San Jose has many flight options to the various islands in Hawaii. We have flown United, Hawaiian Air and Alaska Air to Hawaii. We prefer United or Alaska since earning points on Hawaiian Air is not all that useful. As you may know, Southwest is starting flights to Hawaii. I tend to do a search on Expedia to see all the options and then I book directly with the airline that has the best schedule, price and location. Carmel is only 1.5 hours or so from San Jose or SFO so it is probably worth it for you to drive and leave your car at the airport. We tend to use a limo company but it is probably break even whether we leave our car or use our limo company. Last time we flew to Hawaii, it was on Hawaiian Air. They do not have wifi so that would knock them off the list for us in the future.

 

[LisaH]

We are in South Bay. When we travel these days, we just get uber or Lyft. Much cheaper in most cases than a limo service which I used for years when I traveled for work.

 

[vacationtime1]

I would take an early morning flight out of San Jose -- driving up from Carmel the evening before (when there is no traffic) and staying at one of the hotels near the airport that will let you park for free for a week if you pay for a night.

Your room is effectively free (or your parking is free) and you eliminate all of the flight delay risks associated with short hop flights.

 

[Jax44]

If flight is early at SFO, we usually stay near the airport at a hotel using credit card hotel points. In SFO there are hotels where you can buy a stay and park package for up to 14 days and take their shuttle to the airport. Sometimes that is much cheaper than SFO parking, or a limo service and you can apply hotel points to pay for your parking.

This it what we have done before, works very well.

 

[Jax44]

I would take an early morning flight out of San Jose -- driving up from Carmel the evening before (when there is no traffic) and staying at one of the hotels near the airport that will let you park for free for a week if you pay for a night.

Your room is effectively free (or your parking is free) and you eliminate all of the flight delay risks associated with short hop flights.

The Doubletree is great for the overnight.

 

[Jax44]

Sounds like airline consensus is United or Alaska. We have done it three ways:

Fly out of Monterey to SFO. The good: short drive from home coming and going, no hotel cost, but parking is 130.00. The bad: Have to transfer planes, both ways. Our luggage didn’t make it on the way back until the next day a few weeks ago.

Fly from SFO staying at a stay and fly hotel.

Fly from SJC staying at a stay and fly hotel.

SJC wins and I will give Alaska a try.

 

[TravelTime]

We are in South Bay. When we travel these days, we just get uber or Lyft. Much cheaper in most cases than a limo service which I used for years when I traveled for work.

How much does Uber charge to go from the South Bay to SFO? I haven't tried Uber to go to the airport yet. My limo service charges about $100 to go to SFO. I like to support them because they are a small company, have fantastic cars and dress up to pick us up. The drive is about 45 min - 1 hour, depending on traffic so I think $100 is probably about the going rate for that distance/time. They charge $50 to go to San Jose Airport, which is about a 20 minute drive from our house.

 

[TravelTime]

Sounds like airline consensus is United or Alaska. We have done it three ways:

Fly out of Monterey to SFO. The good: short drive from home coming and going, no hotel cost, but parking is 130.00. The bad: Have to transfer planes, both ways. Our luggage didn’t make it on the way back until the next day a few weeks ago.

Fly from SFO staying at a stay and fly hotel.

Fly from SJC staying at a stay and fly hotel.

SJC wins and I will give Alaska a try.

How long is the drive from Carmel to SJC for you? If it is 2 hours or less, why not just drive on the same day?

 

[LisaH]

How much does Uber charge to go from the South Bay to SFO? I haven't tried Uber to go to the airport yet. My limo service charges about $100 to go to SFO. I like to support them because they are a small company, have fantastic cars and dress up to pick us up. The drive is about 45 min - 1 hour, depending on traffic so I think $100 is probably about the going rate for that distance/time. They charge $50 to go to San Jose Airport, which is about a 20 minute drive from our house.

I just checked. Uber to SFO is $68 and to SJC $28. We usually leave on weekends and this is about the rate from Cupertino.

 

[vacationtime1]

How long is the drive from Carmel to SJC for you? If it is 2 hours or less, why not just drive on the same day?

Many of the Hawaii flights leave early in the day; one would have to leave Carmel well before dawn (even in the summer).

A separate problem is that the commute traffic coming north into San Jose on weekdays is a nightmare.

 

[Jax44]

How long is the drive from Carmel to SJC for you? If it is 2 hours or less, why not just drive on the same day?

With no traffic about an hour and 15 minutes, but at rush hour ( 5 am-9am) it can be 2 1/2 hrs up to forever!

It is what it is, pay for flight out of Monterey or hotel room in San Jose.

 

[TravelTime]

I just checked. Uber to SFO is $68 and to SJC $28. We usually leave on weekends and this is about the rate from Cupertino.

We are more south in Los Gatos. I should check on the price from Los Gatos to SFO and SJC. It seems like from where we are, the price difference between our limo and Uber would not be that different.

 

[TravelTime]

Many of the Hawaii flights leave early in the day; one would have to leave Carmel well before dawn (even in the summer).

A separate problem is that the commute traffic coming north into San Jose on weekdays is a nightmare.

Yes, during rush hours and on weekends, the traffic to/from Carmel, Santa Cruz and Monterey is pretty bad. We live in Los Gatos and the traffic on weekends to get on/off Hwy 17 is brutal and we have backups in our town since people try to drive through Los Gatos to get onto Hwy 17. All the locals are complaining but the town can't figure out a solution. I guess unless you time it right to go to SJC, it could be a long ride.

 

[Luanne]

How long is the drive from Carmel to SJC for you? If it is 2 hours or less, why not just drive on the same day?

That can be rough if you have an early morning flight. The first direct flight from San Jose , Oakland or SFO is about 7:00 a.m.