Bought HNL plane tickets over the weekend

[njhowie]

Wasn't really planning to do it, but I did. I was browsing plane fares on Kayak to HNL and there was one fare that stood out, had good flight times, etc. I booked it knowing we had 24 hours to cancel for free and could sleep on it. Last night, the 24 hour window passed, so we're going! First week of April...we have something to look forward to.

Last visit was March last year, and we took DD along. This trip, just me and DW.

 

[Sojourner]

Congrats! Just recently went to Hawaii with DW and had a great time.

So, considering the long duration of the flight... did you BTD on first-class seats?

 

[njhowie]

Congrats! Just recently went to Hawaii with DW and had a great time.

So, considering the long duration of the flight... did you BTD on first-class seats?

Thanks!

As far as BTD - just the opposite. Got the cheap economy basic - $580/person round trip. We go PHL-SFO-HNL, so there is a break. When we went last year we did EWR-SFO-HNL and it was good.

And, continuing to keep the costs down, we'll be staying at Aulani on our Disney timeshare. Only cost is the transient accommodation tax, which is about $15/night.

 

[Texas Proud]

We went in Jan on points.... was able to get the round trip for 25K for each way.... and got a free connection from Kauai to the big island for free...

Prices are getting high... we just booked a last minute to Anchorage for a cruise that cost just over $1,000 each... but the cruise was really cheap so in all it was good..

 

[Koolau]

Sorry I won't be there to welcome you, but you are most welcome in the Islands.

E Komo Mai

 

[njhowie]

Sorry I won't be there to welcome you, but you are most welcome in the Islands.

E Komo Mai

Mahalo!

 

[Drake3287]

Wasn't really planning to do it, but I did. I was browsing plane fares on Kayak to HNL and there was one fare that stood out, had good flight times, etc. I booked it knowing we had 24 hours to cancel for free and could sleep on it. Last night, the 24 hour window passed, so we're going! First week of April...we have something to look forward to.

Last visit was March last year, and we took DD along. This trip, just me and DW.

You left out one important fact, how much was it and from what airport? April 2025 is a looooong ways away in the world of airfares.

 

[njhowie]

You left out one important fact, how much was it and from what airport? April 2025 is a looooong ways away in the world of airfares.

United PHL-SFO-HNL, $583/person round trip.

The fare was an outlier, nothing close, and the flight times are reasonable in both directions for one-stop (16 hours/12 hours). For example, all the other fares under $700 have one of the directions taking over 24 hours, some of them 36 hours!

 

[imnontrad]

Yes, travel to HNL has really gone down. And it seems that the cost of the hotel rooms have gone up to compensate.

 

[audreyh1]

A big risk buying plane tickets way in advance is that they will change times and planes on you. Even lower 48 domestic more than 2 months ahead chances are high.

 

[2017ish]

A big risk buying plane tickets way in advance is that they will change times and planes on you. Even lower 48 domestic more than 2 months ahead chances are high.

OMG, have we ever experienced this! (Particularly on American.) Yet, like OP, we will buy well in advance if the fare, like his, is sufficiently tempting. We just make sure we have wiggle room....

 

[brett]

Wasn't really planning to do it, but I did. I was browsing plane fares on Kayak to HNL and there was one fare that stood out, had good flight times, etc. I booked it knowing we had 24 hours to cancel for free and could sleep on it. Last night, the 24 hour window passed, so we're going! First week of April...we have something to look forward to.

Last visit was March last year, and we took DD along. This trip, just me and DW.

Good for you, enjoy!

It really does pay to shop. It pays to understand the pricing so you can pounce on an attractive fare when it hits-as you did.

 

[Koolau]

At one time, the ideal time to purchase tickets was about 45 days out. Has that changed?

 

[audreyh1]

For international 60 days for domestic 3 to 4 weeks has been my past experience. Right now demand seems high, it may be more seasonal. We have flexibility on when to travel so that helps.

I had difficulty for a Grand Teton trip in Sept looking way in advance as that’s when I had to book the lodging arrangements. Smaller regional airport. Months out flights and routes kept disappearing and prices kept rising. Pretty crazy making. Picked something OK and interestingly prices skyrocketed after that. Sure enough my flights already got changed but I can live with it. I just have to assume demand is very high.

 

[Koolau]

At this point, we won't need tickets "home" through HNL until early-mid October. Hoping flight prices stabilize (or recede somewhat) by then.

Coming this way from HNL, prices were down from last year, but that was mid-Spring. Oh, well, whatever we have to pay to miss the mid-west winter, we'll be willing to pay.

 

[marko]

Twenty years ago when I was first "let go", we decided to spend a month or two on Kauai just to decompress. Had been there before and loved it. Actually proposed to DW the first trip.

Delta, First Class seats, Paris to HNL: $1300 each round trip. I couldn't believe it. I remember telling the guy on the phone twice to please double check. Then I said: "last chance and I'm going to book it"...and I did.

Unfortunately, it was the time of rain for "forty days and forty nights", a 100 year old dam broke wiping out the road from Princeville and we decided to cut the visit short after three weeks.