Best city for non-stop?

[squirk]

Sorry in advance if this has been asked and answered in another thread. I searched thread titles for "nonstop" or "non-stop" and got nothing).

We are heading to Aulani next Feb. from New Orleans. There are no non-stops from MSY, so we will have to stop somewhere along the way. We are only interested in one stop.

I know there are a lot of moving parts re: connecting flights, and what may be true today may not be true in six months, but is there any clear consensus on the best city to pick up the second leg of that journey? LAX seems like an obvious choice - major airport, probably plenty of direct-flight options - but what about PHX, DEN, LAS or even IAH? Do any of those offer hidden advantages that might not seem obvious at first?

Or is it really always a "case-by-case basis" kind of thing?

 

[kdonnel]

We have flown through Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and non stop from Atlanta.

I prefer the non stop if possible. It was not affordable for our trip this April.

Otherwise I prefer going to Los Angeles. Stopping in Dallas it is still almost 9 hours to Oahu. At least stopping in LA really breaks the trip up into close to 50/50 chunks.

Having said that, this year we are flying Atlanta to Dallas to Honolulu. Then Honolulu to Phoenix to Atlanta. On the oldest crappiest planes American flies. No seat power, no individual entertainment, and food for sale but we have been warned by American that they often run out so it is best to bring our own.

 

[squirk]

We have flown through Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and non stop from Atlanta.

I prefer the non stop if possible. It was not affordable for our trip this April.

Otherwise I prefer going to Los Angeles. Stopping in Dallas it is still almost 9 hours to Oahu. At least stopping in LA really breaks the trip up into close to 50/50 chunks.

Having said that, this year we are flying Atlanta to Dallas to Honolulu. Then Honolulu to Phoenix to Atlanta. On the oldest crappiest planes American flies. No seat power, no individual entertainment, and food for sale but we have been warned by American that they often run out so it is best to bring our own.

I have never been impressed with American. At all. They have popped up several times in my research, and I'd just as soon pay a little extra to fly United or Delta.

Unfortunately, it seems that a non-stop from MSY just doesn't happen. I can see the benefit of LAX and splitting the trip in half, though. Thanks for the idea.

 

[kdonnel]

United stunk in 2012 when we took them. The mechanics were working exactly to their contract prior to a strike. As a result flights were delayed or cancelled and the United gates were filled with angry fliers.

Delta was $800 more in regular coach and $1200 more in economy comfort per person compared to American this year. With four people going that is another vacation of money. Worth the American aggravation.

 

[DVCjj]

Last month I took a UA non-stop out of ORD Chicago to Aulani (HNL) Brand new Polaris plane. It was great.

 

[Glent59]

We fly from the northeast, so we had a couple different options. First was a nonstop from JFK, which we quickly nixed as nobody wanted to spend 10 1/2 hours in a tin can... Second was to fly from our local airport to the west coast. we elected that, using Southwest we flew to Oakland, stayed over night there to try to temper the time change a touch ( we left early enough in the am, where we were in Oakland by 11 am), and then spend the day in San Francisco ( 3 dollar BART ride each way ). Flying to SFO was RIDICULOUSLY more expensive. Then we flew Hawaiian air the next morning from Oakland to Honolulu. It was a new Airbus 300 and the flight was great, and was very reasonable. We are currently in the planning stages of our NEXT Aulani trip, and will do it the same way, but will see if we can figure out how to go thru either Seattle, or San Diego... Just so we can do something different on our west coast day

 

[nkereina]

We're from the Northeast so our options may be different, but we flew nonstop from Atlanta to Honolulu on Delta. The flight was about 8 hours long, and I'm pretty comfortable with the Atlanta airport so it was a good stop for us. As far as Delta, their plane was new and had awesome entertainment options. The times were ideal - early morning flight out and red eye on the way home. They also served meals to every class (we were coach) along with free alcohol. The plane on that route had a 2-4-2 seat configuration so we had our own space, and they provided pillows and blankets to everyone. I'd definitely do this flight again if/when we return to Hawaii.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

We flew nonstop from Denver to Honolulu on United.

 

[mrp4352]

We did DFW-LAX-HNL last month. In hindsight, we would have done either a non-stop or DFW-LAX; overnight, then LAX-HNL. When we arrived in HNL, we were shot from the long day of travelling. We were also surprised at how much shorter the HNL-LAX leg felt on the return trip, and think that's in large part because it was the first flight of the day for us, instead of the second one.

 

[twodogs]

We live in Dallas so we are married to American regardless of like it or not... we flew them in June 2016. Seat map sowed we would get the refurbished 763 or 767 but it literally was changed back to the old configuration a few minutes prior to boarding. The new configuration still sucks compared to what other airlines offer on this route, but it was going to be a vast improvement over the planes that haven't been touched since pre9/11. I guess I'll never know because our return flight got flipped to the old configuration just prior to boarding too. Because they are refurbishing all of these planes to buy a few years until they replace them entirely, they do nothing to maintain them. We were in the "upgraded" section of coach. No one's reading lights worked in the entire section of the plane. Long 8.5 hour flight when everyone closes their window shade to use their Kindle and you just want to read a real magazine.. Power ports at seats didn't work. Flight attendants just shrugged and said we know. They did serve a wrap, which is a new change, in coach, for flight to Hawaii from DFW. There is no seat back entertainment. But you can watch whatever they are playing on a 30 year old screen in the ceiling four rows ahead of you, if your headphone port works.

We did AA because it is the only non-stop from Dallas to Oahu. I would never do it if we had other non-stop options. We looked at Virgin out of SFO, as their planes are very, very nice when we've flown them to NYC. But we would have had to go in the night before, pay for a hotel and transportation for 6 and it wasn't worth it. So AVOID American via Dallas if you can!

 

[Elima2015]

We don't fly from a far east as you do, but have to connect to a larger city. LAX has plenty of options. Last month, we flew to SAN on a Saturday morning, spent the day enjoying San Diego, and then flew onto HNL the next morning. It was wonderful and we would do that again - had a great day in San Diego and we were refreshed starting the next leg to HNL. I will do that again in a heartbeat if time and budget allows! We flew Alaska over and were very happy with the aircraft and service. We flew Delta back and it was really nice - a blanket and pillow on every seat, loads of free movies, aircraft was newer and clean.

We were also surprised at how much shorter the HNL-LAX leg felt on the return trip, and think that's in large part because it was the first flight of the day for us, instead of the second one.

The return trip IS much faster because of the winds. You are into a headwind the whole way to HNL, making the trip from LAX to HNL about 6.5 hrs (it took almost 7 last time). And the return trip was 4 hours, 50 minutes. Two hours faster is definitely noticeable.

 

[chainkid]

We flew from Providence RI to LAS on southwest , spent the day on strip and then took overnight to HNL on Hawaiian airlines. We booked a hotel room to use for day to relax and found it a very good option.

 

[jliehr]

A quick look finds the following

AA through DFW to HNL (does have returns through LAX)

UA through IAH, SFO, ORD or DEN

DL through ATL or LAX

Alaska through SEA

Virgin through SFO

All things equal? I would say Virgin through SFO, but it appears that forces an overnight

I would personally avoid ORD and DEN in February with weather, and Alaska through SEA sounds painful also.

Given those options, I would say in this order... price would be a factor also obviously

DL through ATL, yes, LAX would be splitting the trip, but the LAX to HNL route is a 30" pitch on the 737 vs the ATL to HNL route giving you an A330 with 31" pitch

DL through LAX

UA through IAH or AA through DFW are a wash, both have an option for a 777 with 3 x 4 x 3 in the back which can be tight

 

[squirk]

A quick look finds the following

AA through DFW to HNL (does have returns through LAX)

UA through IAH, SFO, ORD or DEN

DL through ATL or LAX

Alaska through SEA

Virgin through SFO

All things equal? I would say Virgin through SFO, but it appears that forces an overnight

I would personally avoid ORD and DEN in February with weather, and Alaska through SEA sounds painful also.

Given those options, I would say in this order... price would be a factor also obviously

DL through ATL, yes, LAX would be splitting the trip, but the LAX to HNL route is a 30" pitch on the 737 vs the ATL to HNL route giving you an A330 with 31" pitch

DL through LAX

UA through IAH or AA through DFW are a wash, both have an option for a 777 with 3 x 4 x 3 in the back which can be tight

Thx. We were thinking about going first class, and would prefer to avoid overnight layovers. As such, Google Flights/ITA Matrix consistently points me toward American through DFW as the cheapest first-class itinerary, as well as the one that best fits our desired schedule. I was really hoping for a better option than AA in terms of newer jets with better amenities. As you pointed out, Delta and Virgin would be more ideal.

Problem with Delta is that the cheapest first-class flight, MSY-ATL-HNL, is $700 more than the American first-class MSY-DFW-HNL. American offers lie-flat between DFW and HNL.

Virgin is currently not showing any flights that far out. Maybe that's due to the Alaska buyout?

 

[jliehr]

Thx. We were thinking about going first class, and would prefer to avoid overnight layovers. As such, Google Flights/ITA Matrix consistently points me toward American through DFW as the cheapest first-class itinerary, as well as the one that best fits our desired schedule. I was really hoping for a better option than AA in terms of newer jets with better amenities. As you pointed out, Delta and Virgin would be more ideal.

Problem with Delta is that the cheapest first-class flight, MSY-ATL-HNL, is $700 more than the American first-class MSY-DFW-HNL. American offers lie-flat between DFW and HNL.

Virgin is currently not showing any flights that far out. Maybe that's due to the Alaska buyout?

The Delta through Atlanta would guarantee you lay flat on the trip. American is retiring their non lay flat 763's, but they still frequently swap them out on the Hawaii routes. The 772 should be fine, but operations change and who knows what they'll do 10 months from now.

I'd keep an eye out for Delta personally. I see Virgin flights on Google Flights for mid February through SFO, but they all have overnights which wastes 2 days of vacation.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I have never been impressed with American. At all. They have popped up several times in my research, and I'd just as soon pay a little extra to fly United or Delta.

Unfortunately, it seems that a non-stop from MSY just doesn't happen. I can see the benefit of LAX and splitting the trip in half, though. Thanks for the idea.

I never been impressed with any 'American' airline

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I have flown business twice. I would say Los Angeles to see Disneyland

 

[squirk]

The Delta through Atlanta would guarantee you lay flat on the trip. American is retiring their non lay flat 763's, but they still frequently swap them out on the Hawaii routes. The 772 should be fine, but operations change and who knows what they'll do 10 months from now.

I'd keep an eye out for Delta personally. I see Virgin flights on Google Flights for mid February through SFO, but they all have overnights which wastes 2 days of vacation.

Thanks! Google Flights claims that my preferred MSY-DFW-HNL itinerary has lay-flats for DFW-HNL, both ways. But I appreciate your point that that could change. Overnight stays aren't happening, which knocks out Virgin, and there's five of us, so the current +$3500 price differential makes Delta through ATL a hard pill to swallow as well.

If I am lucky, Delta will come down in price on the ATL route, or offer a new itinerary similar in price and timing to the AA DFW flight I seem to keep coming back to.

 

[twodogs]

Thanks! Google Flights claims that my preferred MSY-DFW-HNL itinerary has lay-flats for DFW-HNL, both ways. But I appreciate your point that that could change. Overnight stays aren't happening, which knocks out Virgin, and there's five of us, so the current +$3500 price differential makes Delta through ATL a hard pill to swallow as well.

If I am lucky, Delta will come down in price on the ATL route, or offer a new itinerary similar in price and timing to the AA DFW flight I seem to keep coming back to.

Our AA DFW to HNL showed the new configuration with lay flat in first class until literally less than 5 minutes to boarding the plane both directions! It magically switched to the crappy old configuration on the app as we were walking down the jet bridge. People were pissed but AA can change the plane at any time (and they very often do). I would NOT book AA based on the configuration they show. Especially on this route, they are constantly swapping planes due to refurbishing these old 763's (and even the refurbished ones aren't great) and they do this at the gate, with no warning. And you have no recourse if your lay flat seat just became a junky first class seat circa 1984, because they reserve the right to change equipment any time. And this route, it is worse.

 

[twodogs]

I guess you just have to decide if the savings is worth the risk of having a bad, albeit first class bad, seat on an old AA plane without seat back entertainment (they bring you a tablet in FC, coach gets nothing even on the refurbished 763s on this long route).