which airline to Hawaii?
 

message: traveling to hawaii in May out of Seattle. We have 3 choices: American, United and Hawaiian. Hawaiian is a direct flight on a DC-10. United and American fly to San Fran and then on to Honolulu. This is a budget trip so first class is out of the question! Any help would be appreciated! <BR>

Tammy - I live in the Bay Area and have flown both United and Hawaiian (but not American) to the islands (plus Aloha (also great) and Northwest). A direct flight is always preferable versus a stop (or change of planes) mid-route and should be a MAJOR factor to consider if they vary only a little by price. The layover in SFO adds unnecessary travel time. Who needs the hassle? As far as one airline over another, I heartily recommend Hawaiian -the cabin crew/in-flight service have always been very friendly and the Hawaiian Airlines experience has been excellent with us. Because they are a smaller carrier than American and United, I find their personnel to be a little more "personable." But that's just one person's option to be taken as such... Check out their website - www.hawaiianair.com to learn more about them. They list the movies being shown during that current month, plus sample menus for the meal service for your information. (Their First Class is out of this world!) But if airfare price is truly the bottom line, any of the airlines are fine to get you there. Aloha!

I live in SEA as well. Have taken UA both times to Hawaii and am taking them again this April to the Big Island. I do go through SFO, but it's only an hour layover/connection time. They fly 777 to Hawaii now which I like better than the DC-10 airplane. If you can get a cheap fare on Hawaiian (and they're usually listed in the Sunday SEA Times), then take it. The other poster is right - if you can get a non-stop, it makes the trip easier. Make sure you check with whom Hawaiian has an "alliance" with so you get all of the FF points!

You might consider leaving from Vancouver BC, exchange rate is very favourable.You have great choice of scheduled and charter airlines like <BR>Air Canada,Qantas, Candda 3000, Air Transat,and Royal.

We flew Hawaiian on our last trip this April. Service was horrible. We'll never fly Hawaiian again. In Seattle, we sat on the plane for an hour and a half after we boarded. No explanation until about 10 minutes before we finally took off. They had been checking the flow of fuel from one tank to another. They should have waited to load us on the plane until they'd finished their maintenance.<BR><BR>Flying between islands was a nightmare. We were supposed to leave at 12:50. That flight was cancelled and they put us on another flight that was supposed to leave at 1:28. Just before we boarded we found out that the flight was not going through to Maui. We were then scheduled on another flight that left at 2:00 but didn't actually leave until 2:40. When the plane landed in Honolulu we found out that it wasn't going through to Maui either even though we had been told earlier it was. We had to fly standby and didn't get a flight to Maui until after 6!<BR><BR>Don't fly Hawaiian!

We flew United last June direct from SFO to Maui, and then direct home from KONA to SFO and couldn't have been happier (777 by the way.) Also have had good experience with Hawaiian Air 3 times to Hawaii, but had to stop over in Honolulu before going to Kauai or Maui, and flew American a few years ago. They were all good. My friends are all raving about Aloha from Oakland, CA to Hawaii. I've never done that one though.

We left out of Sea-Tac last summer on Hawaiian Airlines to Hawaii. It was an amazing experience. They had all Hawaiians working for them, dresses in cute Hawaiian outfits, with flowers in their ears. They showed videos of Hawaii..what to do, expect, etc. They served hawaiian snacks and juices. It was great!

Just stay away from any carrier that uses go airlines the new upstart in Hawaii.

Unreliable, cheap but we got left at the gate because the flight attendant didn't show up for work. We also heard sometimes the pilots don't show up!

Which hawaiian islands are you visiting ??
We flew UA from San Francisco to Kona, Big Island and on the way back we flew Maui to Los Angeles with AA.
As UA and AA have also direct flights from SFO and LAX to each island you do not have necessarely to fly through Honolulu each time ! You may save an inter-island flight !

If travelling from Australia, then transferring straight onto a flight to Maui, how much down time do you need to get off the international flight in Honolulu onto an interisland flight? Also when travelling to Maui and staying at the Sheraton, which airport do you go to. Would appreciate some advise. Regards, Lorraine

loz - sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but this post is over 6 years old. You might get better/quicker answers if you started your own thread with your question. Just a thought.

I believe most airlines require a minimum connection time for international &gt; domestic at Honolulu of 120 min.; I certainly wouldn't make it any shorter.

As for airports on Maui, while Kapalua (JHM) is closer to Lahaina than OGG, OGG has a lot more service. Only small prop planes are allowed at JHM.

Lorraine,
Kapalua airport (which is actually located in Kahana) is closer to the Sheraton but has fewer flights. Kahului gets much more service and is about 45 minutes from the Sheraton.

Thanks Gardyloo and Patty. You have answered my questions brilliantly! We will fly into Kahalui and definitely allow two hours at least for transit. We can't wait to go. Although a long wait.....
Lorraine

You can buy the snack pack on American, so I would recommend another airline.