Booked a RT from Hawaii to LA back in October. Most fares were going for around 350 per person.

So I take a look at fares for this coming September and they are all around 600 per person!! What happened?

Are you asking what happened between last October and now? Hm, let's see...

- Fuel prices have gone up.
- Many airlines have cut domestic seat availability (though not necessary for Hawaii).
- More people are travelling.
- As more and more of the plane's seat is filled up, more and more of the lower fare-class inventory are gone, and the airlines will hold the remaining for the higher fares.

Not sure why anyone should be surprised.

Why am I surprised?

Because all you mention happens almost every year.

So my question still goes. What happened this past year. Prices from Hawaii have gone up by almost 70%!!

Fuel prices don't go up every year as they have this past year.

Many airlines have cut back on number of craft used - making for more crowded flights, and higher prices. Remember the Law of Supply & Demand?

A War that still hasn't let up.

What else?? BTW - this is better asked in the AIRLINES forum, not United States.

Try Hawaiian Travel Club. They did me better than Pleasant Islands or Panda--I just scored a OHH-LAX r/t for leaving next wed for $379, when everyone else was quoting me upwards of 6 bills. They have an office in Kihei, and one in Hilo--they may have one near you too. Their number in Kihei is 879-5566, (866) 879-5566 is toll free.

Or it could be too early for sale fares. I see fares in the $400 range but they're all for travel through June.

Maui I'll try that.

Patty, I haven't looked in the Sunday paper yet. Hopefully, there will be some deals.

Many people don't understand how airline pricing works. It's not like they put all seats for sale at $350 last fall, and then raise them by 70% now.

Instead, airlines set up different fare classes or fare buckets for each flight, even though it's the same service class. For example, of the 200 seats, only 30 are in the cheapest fare class ($350, for example). Once they are gone, you'll not see that fare, unless the airline move more seats into that class - as they do sometimes if seats remained unsold.

But if there's good demand, then all you're left with are high fare classes. With more people travelling and fewer extra supply, that's what's happening.

The fuel thing usually work across the board. The airline may raise all fares by a small amount, typically $5 to $10 on each ticket, regardless of fare classes. But more importantly, the number crunchers will decide to offset the rising fuel cost, they will simply hold tighter to their inventory - meaning fewer seats in the lower fare classes.

Try www.airtohawaii.com. They have LAX-HNL roundtrip for $302.00