bonniebroad

Has anyone flown with SunTrips, Pleasant Hawaiian (flight legs on their own jets) or other charters....... rather than a regularly-scheduled airline? If so, how was your experience? Sometimes, you can grab a ticket on a lower-cost airline to the West Coast, then pick up a flight to Hawaii with one of these companies....... Has anyone done this?

here_today_gone2Maui

I book through Pleasant Hawaiian all the time, traveling between LAX and OGG. I usually fly on ATA flights 761/762, but once last fall I was on a Dleta flight through Pleasant.

I'm not sure what you mean by "flight legs on their own jets," in regards to Pleasant. Pleasant does not own the jet nor do they book these flights exclusively and thes flights have all been on a regularly scheduled flight. I have also booked ATA flight 761 and 762 on my own directly through ATA. Sometimes it's cheaper through Pleasant, other times it has been better to go directly through ATA.

bonniebroad

Here_Today, I know Pleasant Hawaiian has some special leasing arrangements with ATA....... they discuss it on their website. A couple of years ago, a P.H. rep spoke of certain flights as "ours" ..... when I was thinking of flying to the West Coast, and picking up a "P.H. flight" there. Also, in one of the major travel guides, I seem to recall they referred to P.H. having their "own flights"...... Whatever, I got the impression that only P.H. clients flew on these flights......... I guess not. I always hear good things about Pleasant Hawaiian, though. There prices seem pretty good.......

bonniebroad

Here_today, I looked up some info that I knew I'd read SOMEWHERE........ in the 2001 (1st) Edition of "Hawaii For Dummies"..... Cheryl Farr Leas writes that Pleasant Hawaiian books air travel aboard multiple airlines, as well as on their own charters. That's in line with what their reps told me when I was inquiring... However they do it, they take a lot of folks to the Islands!

GoTravel

Pros:
Charters are usually direct flights.

Charters are usually considerably cheaper than regularly scheduled flights.

Cons:
Charters use older planes. I was once on a charter flight to Acapulco and got a black eye from a burst blood vessel because the pilot could not stablize the cabin pressure. The rubber seal around the doors had gotten old and it was difficult to make the cabin airtight. My friend had both his eardrums burst.

If a charter flight is broken down or delayed, you must wait for another plane from the charter company or until yours gets fixed. The charter companies do not put you on other airlines. I've heard horror stories of people waiting 12-48 hours to get home.

GoTravel

Let me add that I had a wonderful cross country experience on a Delta Airlines charter.

It was one of those huge stretch 747s and they turned the entire plane into First Class.

Andre

bonniebroad,

What that means is that Pleasant Hawaiian sometimes books blocks of seats on scheduled flights and sometimes charters an entire aircraft. These flights, for which the tour operator (in this case PH) carries the entire commercial risk - they are not available by booking directly with the airline actually flying the plane - are referred to as charter flights.

PH have an agreement with ATA for their charter flights, so chances are you will be flying on one of their aircraft - it just won't be a normal scheduled flight since it is being carried out exclusively for PH.

Hope this helps,
Andre

bonniebroad

Andre,

Actually, when I said "their jets" I was not especially thinking that Pleasant Hawaiian OWNED them..... you know how you say "my apartment", though you are actually leasing it? That's really what I assumed. I'm sure that what you're describing is exactly what P.H. does....

Thanks for your reply!:-