SO bummed about air to Hawaii!
Jul 1st, 2006, 01:58 PM
#1
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SO bummed about air to Hawaii!
Has anyone else noticed that airfare almost doubled what it was last week? I am planning a trip to Hawaii and now my plans have been foiled because all of a sudden airfare has doubled. I am not a super frequent traveler, so does anyone have an explanation? Have we passed some threshold that makes decent prices skyrocket? FYI, I am traveling from LAX to Hawaii...
Jul 1st, 2006, 02:05 PM
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Where are you looking. I just priced a trip from LAX to Honolulu yesterday and it was about the same it's been for a few weeks. The Hawaii-based airlines are in the midst of a price-way. ATA is expanding its flights from LAX.
Jul 1st, 2006, 02:15 PM
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I think the last day I looked before the weekend was Wed or Thurs...from LAX to Kauai on American or United was about $420. To Maui was about $380. Nonstop. I'm looking to go Sept, Oct or Nov, every date I looked at (Mon-Sun) was that same price. Now it is high 700's for Kauai, 600's for Maui. I've looked on all the travel sites as well as directly with the airline. I am baffled and really bummed. I will check out ATA. I've never flown ATA, what do you think of them?
Jul 1st, 2006, 02:15 PM
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You need to keep shopping. I noticed that air fares fluctuate wildly within a one week period sometimes! Just keep checking back at the site you're shopping on, you may find what you're looking for. And, take Mike's advice.
If you have the time--and believe me, it takes time!--try shopping at various sites. Here's a link to another thread that has an alphabetical list of 78 air search (or related) sites:
http://tinyurl.com/qdzhc
Case in point: My boss filled me with hysteria a couple of months ago, making me feel as if I needed to buy my Hawaii to Chicago tickets NOW NOW NOW or the prices would go up. This is against my normal shopping patterns, but he seemed so convinced that his $800 fare was good. So I bought a $700 ticket that has me stopping in AZ for a couple of hours each way. Ugh. Well, yesterday, my other coworker finally got around to buying HER Chicago tix. She's got a direct flight on United for $600! That was more in line with what I was thinking of. The moral of the story is, be patient when shopping for air fares. Don't let people fill you with hysteria!
If you have the time--and believe me, it takes time!--try shopping at various sites. Here's a link to another thread that has an alphabetical list of 78 air search (or related) sites:
http://tinyurl.com/qdzhc
Case in point: My boss filled me with hysteria a couple of months ago, making me feel as if I needed to buy my Hawaii to Chicago tickets NOW NOW NOW or the prices would go up. This is against my normal shopping patterns, but he seemed so convinced that his $800 fare was good. So I bought a $700 ticket that has me stopping in AZ for a couple of hours each way. Ugh. Well, yesterday, my other coworker finally got around to buying HER Chicago tix. She's got a direct flight on United for $600! That was more in line with what I was thinking of. The moral of the story is, be patient when shopping for air fares. Don't let people fill you with hysteria!
Jul 1st, 2006, 02:26 PM
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Maybe since I'm not a seasoned traveler, I am nervous to book my accomodations without knowing what airfare will be. It wouldn't be a problem if I was planning on staying in a resort, but I am planning to stay at a condo and that is only refundable if the place gets booked during the same time. My other dilemma is that I was planning on staying at the Hyatt part of the time with stay certs, and so it just went from the perfect plan (that I finally came up with after a lot of research) to a complete mess with the airline changes. Ugh. and ATA doesn't fly to Kauai which is where I decided I would rather go. Guess I just have to wait it out...
Jul 1st, 2006, 02:51 PM
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Are you only considering LAX-LIH nonstops? Hawaiian currently has one stop LAX-HNL-LIH for $462 for that time frame.
You may or may not see a fare of $420 on the AA/UA nonstops again. If you do, I'd grab it.
You may or may not see a fare of $420 on the AA/UA nonstops again. If you do, I'd grab it.
Jul 1st, 2006, 03:23 PM
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I've just been searching like mad and I see that there are some 1-stops that are in the 400's....I'm just really bummed that only a few days ago I could have had non-stop on aa (which i am frq flyer) for so cheap. i didnt' expect it to double all of a sudden.
Jul 1st, 2006, 04:53 PM
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also check the 2 flights seperately...aa or whatever to hnl, then aloha, hawaiian or www.iflygo.com, the new interisland carrier. there's a price war going on now, so you might luck out and get cheap interisland flights. aloha or hawaiian have almost hourly flights to lihue so there wont be much layover.
Jul 1st, 2006, 05:51 PM
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Thanks for all the advice/help, I really appreciate it! I believe you MelissaHI that the prices may fluctuate...I guess I'm just too nervous to book the accomodation part of my trip without knowing for sure what the air will be...
Jul 1st, 2006, 06:10 PM
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gretsch, don't be nervous about booking the hotels. Try to reserve something that's cancellable, or even make reservations for a couple different dates.
I've flown from LAX to HNL in the fall and springtime, and I also feel confident you'll find some prices lowering once we get through July. After all, that's when some of the hotels start having their "one night free" specials, so it's lower season.
Patience, my dear. Patience!
I've flown from LAX to HNL in the fall and springtime, and I also feel confident you'll find some prices lowering once we get through July. After all, that's when some of the hotels start having their "one night free" specials, so it's lower season.
Patience, my dear. Patience!
Jul 1st, 2006, 08:22 PM
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Hawaiian is having a sale from San Diego and Phoenix direct to Maui or Oahu... We picked up two tickets for $735 (TOTAL including taxes). Your dates need to be a little flexible (within 3 days either way) to get the best price with that offer.
-S
59 days 'til MAUI
-S
59 days 'til MAUI
Jul 1st, 2006, 10:37 PM
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MelissaHI
You haven't been on an ATA Flight to Hawaii lately. No more sorbet or anything else. You can buy a little tiny box lunch for $3.00. They have cut back on everything just like all the other airlines. You still get good value for your money, however.
You haven't been on an ATA Flight to Hawaii lately. No more sorbet or anything else. You can buy a little tiny box lunch for $3.00. They have cut back on everything just like all the other airlines. You still get good value for your money, however.
Jul 2nd, 2006, 03:51 AM
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aaaaaaaaah I stand corrected. Sorry about that! it may have been last year that I lew ATA. But, as kopp says....patience, dear. Just keep checking. Did you look at any of those sites on the link I posted?
Jul 2nd, 2006, 08:44 AM
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Yes I did check out many of those links (not all of them, there are so many!), and that's where I found some pretty good 1-stops. But everything direct is at least $700. Thanks for that link, I bookmarked it. So I need to decide if I'm brave enough to book the accomodations (only a big deal because it's a condo, so i can't just cancel without penalty) and wait for better direct air, or just get the 1-stop now.
Jul 2nd, 2006, 01:33 PM
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Here's what I did for my upcoming Paris trip--I got my accomodations before I got my tickets. Unless it's something like Priceline--and you'll have to check with whoever you're booking with to be sure--you can probably change your plans with the hotel as long as you do it in advance. Then I just waited for the right ticket price to come along, and once I secured my tickets I contacted the hotel to let them know the true dates of my stay at their hotel. they were fine with it--after all, it's still months away.
