best airline from east coast to Honolulu?

[nkereina]

Planning my Aulani trip for next year, coming from the east coast. Has anyone been happy with the airline they've used to HNL, and also the plane they've been on? Comfort and amenities are the biggest concerns for us.

I've been leaning towards United on their 767 out of Newark in economy plus seats. A little extra leg room, gets us to HNL around 1pm local time, seems to have a few in-flight entertainment options, wifi, but can't confirm if their are power sources at the seats.

Another United option that gets us in at the same time is their 777 out of O'Hare, but lots of poor reviews on Seat Guru, no seat power, no in flight entertainment, etc.

Anyone you'd recommend?

 

[Jimsig]

We flew Continental flight #15 (now United) from EWR to HNL back in 03, is that the same flight you are talking about? They have since changed the version/configuration of the 767. According to Seat Guru the seats in Econ Plus do have shared power, but that I mean 2 seats have one power outlet and the three seats have 2 power outlets.

It's a long flight at 10 hours but they did a good job of the timing of beverage and food service and at any time you could go to the galley and ask for a drink etc. IIRC they always had a pitcher of water available. Be sure to get up and walk the aisles every couple hours and do a lap or two.

I myself didn't mind the length of the flight there and would not hesitate doing it that way again. We did BOS-EWR-HNL On the way back we flew back to BOS via Houston and liked the stop there on the way back.

 

[MillauFr]

I would be hesitant to fly United with all of their problems now days. The only thing preventing them from landing at the bottom of the rankings is Spirit. I would chose Hawaiian if that is an option. They have non stop flights from JFK.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

United will be fine and you're going to get the most legroom of other airline choices with their Economy Plus seats (35" pitch on your aircraft). Their 767-400 has power ports even in economy (shared between seats). They have the AVOD system (Audio Video on Demand), which in my experience, works well. Go with the non-stop EWR-HNL flight.

I wouldn't chose Hawaiian. For the dates I checked (next February) from EWR-HNL, they were much more expensive than United, they were a code share with Virgin America, and there were no no-stops.

 

[micfan]

We flew the United flight out of Newark. No problems at all. We were able to upgrade to first class on the way out but not on the way back. If you can anyway swing it I'd recommend the upgrade, the lie flat seats really made a huge difference. Coach was fine, still free entertainment etc.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Planning my Aulani trip for next year, coming from the east coast.

"East Coast" is a large geographic area.

If you want to start in the New York Metro area, you have two nonstop options to Honolulu (HNL): United out of Newark (EWR) or Hawaiian out of JFK. There are three big advantages flying nonstop: You'll arrive at HNL in the afternoon. Your total travel time is less. You eliminate the possibility of missing the second segment if your first segment is delayed (because the whole nonstop flight is a single segment).

I recently flew Hawaiian from LAX to HNL. We flew first class, but I got the impression that Hawaiian is an excellent airline if your destination is Hawaii, regardless of your class of service.

If you're starting somewhere other than the New York Metro area, you have many connecting airport choices -- including DFW, LAX, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Phoenix. When I've taken connecting flights to Hawaii, I've picked connections with around two hours at the connecting airport. That reduces the chance of missing the connection.

Honestly, I don't think it makes a big difference if you fly American, Delta, Hawaiian, United, or Alaska. First Class will be very good -- but usually not as good as international business class and definitely not as good as international first class. Economy seating will be tight. Tall passengers will be unhappy.

Usually there will be an extra legroom economy option if you pay a premium. Tall passengers will be much happier. For example, American calls it Main Cabin Extra; United calls it Economy Plus; Hawaiian calls it Extra Comfort Seating.

I would consider price, schedule, and getting enough legroom at a reasonable price much more important than which airline or which aircraft type.

 

[dvcmom14]

I've always flown Delta because they fly nonstop from ATL. About an 8-10 hour flight. Most comfortable if you can get a bulkhead seat.

 

[nkereina]

Thanks all for the replies! We will be originating in Buffalo, so our options for connection are EWR or O'Hare primarily, with a few select flights out of JFK but they're out of our price range currently. Hawaiian is an option for us via Jet Blue from BUF to JFK, and then Hawaiian to HNL but it's currently about $200 more and the layover is something like 4 hours. The United layovers are about two hours.

We flew the United flight out of Newark. No problems at all. We were able to upgrade to first class on the way out but not on the way back. If you can anyway swing it I'd recommend the upgrade, the lie flat seats really made a huge difference. Coach was fine, still free entertainment etc.

Did you upgrade to first class at the airport? Is the cost for first class more affordable if you upgrade day-of? It's currently about $1000 more per person each way.

 

[micfan]

We upgraded when we got to the airport the day of, it was a like $500 to $600 upgrade. None were available on the return.

 

[RideShareRob]

I flew American out of MCO, connected at DFW for the HNL leg. I did first with the angle-flat seats. They probably upgraded the plane by now. It was $2600 for a December flight.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I flew American out of MCO, connected at DFW for the HNL leg. I did first with the angle-flat seats. They probably upgraded the plane by now. It was $2600 for a December flight.

American has reconfigured most of their Boeing 767 aircraft with new seats in the forward cabin (sold as business class internationally and as first class domestically). The old seats can be adjusted to an angled flat position. The new seats can be adjusted to a true flat position, and all seats have aisle access in the new configuration.

However, flights between DFW and HNL normally still use the old configuration. I was on such a flight recently and asked the flight attendant. She said they occasionally get the new configuration on that route, but it's a surprise when they do.

For a red-eye coming back from HNL, getting either configuration is far better than trying to sleep in an economy seat or a conventional domestic first class seat.

 

[loves to dive]

Atlanta to San Francisco on Delta (cause you almost can't fly out of Atlanta without flying Delta) then San Francisco to Hawaii on Delta as well. San Francisco is not Delta friendly, had to leave the terminal, go outside walk to a different terminal, not under cover and go back through security.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

....



Did you upgrade to first class at the airport? Is the cost for first class more affordable if you upgrade day-of? It's currently about $1000 more per person each way.

Be warned that you may not even have the option of a paid first class upgrade on United to Hawaii, as most flights have free upgrades available to premium frequent flyers.

 

[nkereina]

Atlanta to San Francisco on Delta (cause you almost can't fly out of Atlanta without flying Delta) then San Francisco to Hawaii on Delta as well. San Francisco is not Delta friendly, had to leave the terminal, go outside walk to a different terminal, not under cover and go back through security.

Another viable option for us is Buffalo to Atlanta to Honolulu on Delta. I initially didn't consider Delta because we've had bad experiences with them recently. Why the change at San Francisco? Was it cheaper than direct? If we go the Delta route, it's on an Airbus 330-300 which does seem better than the Boeing models United uses for the HNL

Be warned that you may not even have the option of a paid first class upgrade on United to Hawaii, as most flights have free upgrades available to premium frequent flyers.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[loves to dive]

Another viable option for us is Buffalo to Atlanta to Honolulu on Delta. I initially didn't consider Delta because we've had bad experiences with them recently. Why the change at San Francisco? Was it cheaper than direct? If we go the Delta route, it's on an Airbus 330-300 which does seem better than the Boeing models United uses for the HNL



Thanks for the tip!

At the time there were no direct flights out of Atlanta, you had to stop somewhere on the west coast.

 

[RustManFan]

We flew United from Newark with a stop at LAX when we went to Hawaii. Was fine...