Any flight tips?

[jmw33]

Any tips for booking flights? We are a family of 4 (2adults, 2older teens) coming from Philly. Sticker shock did occur but I feel like I need to book the extra legroom...at least for my husband and I. Not sure what airline is best? Wish I could do first class, but that is not in the budget.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I personally have found tickets to a Hawaii at least from where I live drop in price about 45-60 days out on Hawaiian air

 

[OnThisMagicNight]

We visited Aulani in summer of 2024. Flew PHL to LAX on American Airlines and spent a few days in Disneyland first (also helped adjust to the time change!) Then flew from LAX to HNL on Hawaiian Airlines. We flew nonstop home from HNL to JFK on Hawaiian Airlines. I don't know that we'd do it again; it was rough! Longest flight I've ever been on, so I don't have a lot of experience to pull from there. The plane was older and the main cabin seats had much less leg room than the model we flew from LAX to HNL, which was new and much nicer. Definitely splurge for extra leg room if you're going to do it. My kids are younger so it was more work for us in that aspect as well. We'd probably stop in CA or somewhere else on the way home for future Hawaii trips, but maybe I'll feel differently after my kids are grown. Hawaiian Airlines was great though - amazing customer service and also full meal service provided. As far as deals, I used Google flights and I think 1 or 2 other flight trackers to keep an eye on pricing. I was able to grab all of our flights at low points this way (it's amazing how much the pricing fluctuates when you really start tracking.) I recall our Hawaiian Airlines flight from LAX to HNL was less than Southwest Airlines pricing at the time we purchased (and it included breakfast and snacks.)

 

[jimmymc]

In my experience, the three major airlines tend to be about the same for domestic flights, with Delta being a little better for cabins and customer service and American having tighter connections and worse delays. You also might have more options on Southwest if you're willing to drive to BWI or direct options from New York. Flights direct from the east coast to Hawaii tend to use widebody planes, which are more comfortable than the other options and sometimes have better legroom in economy.

I'm 6'1" and have done extra legroom flights on some long routes, like non-stop to Asia. I generally think it's not worth it if you have aisle access. You'll have plenty of time to walk on the plane and during a layover.

 

[_19disnA]

It has been a number of years since we last went to Hawaii, but I think many of the same considerations would still apply. It takes a LONG time to get to Hawaii from anywhere east of the Mississippi. Does your family really want a non-stop from PHL over one with a layover even if they are similarly priced? Check to see which airlines provide service to where you are going and look at the type of equipment they use. Make sure to check the layover time on any flight, since many airlines now show connecting flights with excessive layover times where in the past they would simply show they don't provide service between those cities. I don't consider anything a 'connecting' flight if the layover time is in excess of 8 hrs. Wide body planes are likely used by the major airlines for their longest domestic flights. I believe Southwest only has 737 aircraft regardless of where they are flying.

For the longer flights it pays to upgrade to seating options that provide more leg room. Using the various online travel websites you can easily compare who offers what and how much it would cost.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've flown to Hawaii several times, always in first class. Our options from Orlando to Honolulu on our preferred airline, Delta, is mostly MCO>ATL>HNL or MCO>LAX>HNL. We've done both an frankly the one that's non-stop from ATL is our preferred route. The reason we don't like the LAX route is that they are standard first class seats whereas the ATL flight is in lay-flat seating. We found that if we do LAX it's a long flight and when we get there the thought of having to do it again isn't appealing. We would rather get on a long flight (ATL>HNL), get comfortable and perhaps nap on the way. Unfortunately Delta tends to price that itinerary significantly higher that other routes.

 

[Patmcpsu]

Any tips for booking flights? We are a family of 4 (2adults, 2older teens) coming from Philly.

I'm also Philly based, and my advice is to fly on a widebody (i.e. two aisle) plane for a family of four. This is because seating configurations in coach is usually 2x4x2 which allows you to either sit in the middle 4 person section, or the side 2 person sections (see attached seat map of an Alaska Airlines A330 for reference). A narrowbody plane in a 3x3 configuration makes things feel claustrophobic and awkward for a family of four.

If you google "hawaii widebody routes" the AI output seems pretty accurate to me about what routes have it for each airline. You'll need a positioning flight on a narrowbody to get to one of these widebody routes. The widebody routes tend to cost a little more than narrow body but I prefer paying a premium for that instead of extra legroom.

Don't overlook Hawaiian/Alaska Airlines (recently merged) as they're sneakily better-quality than the 3 typical airlines that come to mind. And if you have American Airlines status, it carries over to Hawaiian/Alaska Airlines too.

 

[adamak]

Use Google Flights to track the cost. And look the price history to see when / if they come down. From east coast, I actually prefer nonstop on the outbound. I don't want to be stranded elsewhere and delay the trip. JFK-LAS-HNL sometimes is cheaper, but the layover in LAS was not pleasant for me. Late at night and nothing is opened.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Any tips for booking flights? We are a family of 4 (2adults, 2older teens) coming from Philly. Sticker shock did occur but I feel like I need to book the extra legroom...at least for my husband and I. Not sure what airline is best? Wish I could do first class, but that is not in the budget.

May want to start booking now… society’s being a platypus right now… it could get hard in price to get flights…

 

[Lumpy1106]

If you are going to do a layover and spend some time in So Cal, be sure and check ALL the airports for the flight to HI. The last time we flew to Maui we flew out of San Diego.

FWIW - we have some travel planned from So Cal to New Jersey this summer and found that Newark was our best option (out of LAX unfortunately). Philly was quite a bit more.

 

[Psymonds]

Any tips for booking flights? We are a family of 4 (2adults, 2older teens) coming from Philly. Sticker shock did occur but I feel like I need to book the extra legroom...at least for my husband and I. Not sure what airline is best? Wish I could do first class, but that is not in the budget.

From SF Bay area, we're closest to Hawaii, generally of any major airport and it's still the same time as flying to new York or Orlando.

I've flown United, Hawaiian and Alaska from here. Hawaiian put me in the most "Hawaii" mood, but that was before the merger with Alaska. we will know more in June.

we booked Hawaiian again, using Alaska points, for this trip.

your choices are basically, 2 5-6 hour flights or looking for the more sporadic east coast direct to HNL service: I know there's service from a few New York Airports, not sure about Philly. I know I prefer one 10 hour flight when we go to Europe, but your preferences may vary.

Depending on the timing, I wouldn't bet on prices going down for the next month, given volatility in the fuel market.

ETA: the Alaska-Hawaiian Merger has changed the market, and probably not in a consumer friendly way. Alaska has pulled some of Hawaiian's widebodies to Seattle for Expansion of their international markets, and they've backed off a lot of the duplicate routes or schedules out of the Bay Area.

 

[WinterSolider]

I strongly disagree with taking a stop in California on the way there.

Flying west is incredibly easy, especially if you can find a direct flight. You leave Boston, New York, Philadelphia, etc. around 8am and you're in Honolulu by 3pm. No overnight on the plane and you get to the hotel right at check-in time.

If you're going to do a layover, do it on the way home, not the way there.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Yeah to me a layover always adds extra time which isnt worth it. And it adds a huge layer of extra risk of flight delays/cancellations which is way more uncomfortable than a long flight.

 

[jimmymc]

I strongly disagree with taking a stop in California on the way there.

Flying west is incredibly easy, especially if you can find a direct flight. You leave Boston, New York, Philadelphia, etc. around 8am and you're in Honolulu by 3pm. No overnight on the plane and you get to the hotel right at check-in time.

If you're going to do a layover, do it on the way home, not the way there.

I second not stopping on the way there. You do cover a lot of time zones, but flying west means you'll just be waking up earlier than normal. It's an easy adjustment overall, and you can use the early wakeup time to your advantage. IMO the wide body planes airlines fly from the east coast to Honolulu are also more comfortable than the narrow bodies that fly from California to Hawaii.

Stopping on the way back can be nice because it lets you avoid red eye flights. You can take a daytime flight to California, then another daytime flight to Philly.

 

[OKW Lover]

Stopping on the way back can be nice because it lets you avoid red eye flights.

I actually prefer the redeye for the return trip. But then again I'm always flying in the lay-flat seats so I can sleep for much of the flight.