ATA Airlines to Hawaii?
 

Does anyone have recent experience flying ATA Airlines to Hawaii? I've heard some bad stories, including some I read here (one by Owen who will never fly with them again) but I got a great price on a package so I'm hoping all the bad news is past history. If you have a recent experience please share it!

Susan, My family of 5 used ATA last<BR>July. We went from SF to Maui. I was also very nervous about it but we had a good experience. The flights were on time, the people were very nice and the food was just fine. Relax - It should be just fine. Have fun.

Well.... I suppose you guessed that I'd spot this thread! I did have a bad experience flying with them as did nearly everyone else I spoke to. In their defense I can say that the FIRST leg of each trip was okay and ran more or less on time (NY to Chicago and Denver back to Chicago). It was the interminable delays during the plane change (for which explanations were not provided). I should stress that I did not feel unsafe - the aircraft seemed fine but the delays were unacceptable. One fellow I spke to said he flew them from Denver to Chicago and back on a weekly basis and had done so for well over a year with almost never a delay. OTOH... a friend flew them to Europe and was stuck in France for two extra days (that he had not planned vacation time or budget for) until they got it together and had a plane that could get him back (the dilemma is that unlike the major airlines , apparently they don't just stick you on some other carrier at their own expense - you have to wait for their planes. Based on Jennifer's experience it seems that your chances are good to have a good experience. They continue to offer incredibly low prices on certain routes - please report back and let us know how it goes.

We flew ATA to Hawaii in Decmber. No problems.

I flew ATA last November from Phoenix directly to Honolulu and back. No delays or problems on either of the flights. I was also worried, but everything turned out just fine.