Flights

[KathyB 0911]

Hi- I am starting to plan our trip to Aulani...hopefully in 2017. It will be me, DH and DS #1 (7 years old) and DS #2 (3 years old). We are coming from the east cost. For those that have traveled with kids, would you recommend a direct flight? Thanks!

 

[blessed2BaMama]

We haven't gone yet, our first trip is this fall but we chose to break up the flight there, (goingCharlotte to Salt Lake City then on to Honolulu) and a direct flight HOME . The overnight flight home will be easier to sleep on than the day flight there- and we picked a company/plane with wifi all the way- a big need for the kids!

 

[cleophus12]

We have done it both ways. This last time we stayed two nights at DL in order to run the Tinkerbell race in May. The stopover made the adjustment to Hawaii time so much easier.

 

[islandsnoopy]

We've done direct flights from the DC area to Honolulu and also flights with layovers. I prefer the direct flight. Agree with blessed2BaMama that the flight home will be easier since kids will likely sleep.

 

[nkereina]

If you're in an area that has direct flights, I probably would. We're flying from Buffalo which does not have direct flights. Our layover points were either Newark, Chicago, JFK (NY) or Atlanta. We opted to go with Delta and change in Atlanta because the plane they use has the most amenities. We're also doing a red eye back home, changing in Atlanta again.

 

[Regan117]

We traveled from the East Coast (Pennsylvania) with a 4-year-old and two 3-year-olds. We did Newark to Dallas and then Dallas to Honolulu. It was nice to have the break to stretch out, walk around, get good food, etc. I've done it as a nonstop flight alone before and wouldn't do it with kids I don't think.

 

[twodogs]

We flew from Dallas with kids and grandparents, and did a direct flight, about 8.5 hours to get to HNL. I did not want to risk a flight delay (we are dealing with American Airlines, so that is always a high possibility!) causing us to miss a connection or bags to miss the connection. I also feel it just increases my chances that American will have a mechanical problem, if I fly on two of their planes instead of one! Can you tell I've had some bad experiences with connections?? It really was pretty tolerable to do the non-stop, and it cut our total travel time down a lot. It was still a long day, so adding several more hours to change planes and have a layover seemed so much worse! So I personally would fly direct, but I always fly direct when I can because I get worried about missing connections/bags/mechanicals. Another consideration for us is that many flights leaving the West Coast to HNL leave in the morning, so we would have had to fly in the night before, stayed in a hotel, traveled back to the airport, etc, and there was no way I was going to try that with a party of 6 people!

 

[cmph]

Have your kids flown before? If yes, and they know what to expect in general, and for the 7yo at least, understand how long the flight will be - I would do as direct a flight as possible. I'm not sure if there is going to be a nonstop available, depending on where you're coming from, though. My kids are used to flying b/c we lived on the east coast most of their lives, with one set of grandparents in AZ, so we always aim for nonstops whenever possible. If your kids haven't flown before, I'd hesitate to put them on a super long flight where they are awake the whole time for their first flight, but then if one of them freaks out - at least you don't have to repeat it on the second leg. Hard to say. We super-appreciated the time we had a stopover and DS had thrown up all over himself and us... thankfully he has outgrown plane-related motion sickness.

If you have the time and energy to devote to it (and possibly money), I would maybe do a night or two stay somewhere on the west coast. Break it up a little, and get them slightly adjusted to the time change while seeing a new place. Some times there are good deals on flights to Hawaii from west coast cities, that combined with a lower-cost mainland flight, might not be much more than flying between your home city and Hawaii. But like I said, you have to have the time and energy to look into options, as well as the extra vacation time to make it worth the stopover.

FYI - my 7yo slept for, oh, about an hour on our return red-eye flight home... be sure to bring a portable charger just in case! And yet the only ones who napped when we got home were the grown-ups...

 

[newdeal]

where are you flying out of? If you are near the border you may be able to save a small fortune by flying out of Toronto instead of Buffalo. When I booked my flight they were hundreds of dollars cheaper per person to fly out of Toronto. I know there aren't many people whom that would help but if you live near the border you might want to look into it.

 

[happymommy]

I've taken my kids back 8 times now, starting when they were 4 and 6 years old (my oldest was born on Oahu though). We're also on the East Coast now.

What airports are you near? In the DC area, only one flight from Dulles is nonstop currently. I haven't taken that flight, since I use miles with either American or Delta for our flights (never paid cash).

I always go with one stop, so either going through ATL, DFW, SLC, or once years ago Chicago.

I am going back for 4 weeks mid June next year, and am already starting to look at flights. Usually we're booked with flights about 7 or 8 months out, if not further.

Going there coach is fine. Coming home in coach is brutal! Sometimes I'm lucky to get first class, but the ones I really like have lie flat seats (American through DFW or Delta through ATL) - but those flights are hard to get in first for miles. I'm not hopeful this time - it's getting harder and harder to use miles! It is nicer to be able to stretch out since it's an overnight flight.

Either way I'd go with something like economy comfort so at least you have some leg room!

I think Hawaiian has a nonstop flight from New Jersey? I took Hawaiian first class from Korea to HNL two years ago, and them first class then from HNL to LAS. I didn't have a good experience with either flight! I think their planes are fine for short haul flights, but for a longer one it was awful.

 

[alohamom]

where are you flying out of? If you are near the border you may be able to save a small fortune by flying out of Toronto instead of Buffalo. When I booked my flight they were hundreds of dollars cheaper per person to fly out of Toronto. I know there aren't many people whom that would help but if you live near the border you might want to look into it.

This is sooo true, especially with the exchange factored in. We paid $570 Canadian for our up coming round trip tickets from Toronto to Honolulu so with the USD conversion it would be approx 440 USD per person round trip.

 

[happymommy]

This is sooo true, especially with the exchange factored in. We paid $570 Canadian for our up coming round trip tickets from Toronto to Honolulu so with the USD conversion it would be approx 440 USD per person round trip.

That is great! From here it's double that usually!

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

We have done the direct flight on United out of Newark many times. They have the individual TVs in the back of the seat in front of you. You will sleep part of the way. You can also get up and walk around a little. The hours go by.

The direct flight is great on the return when you will be sleeping. I have done non-direct flights in the past. I remember arriving at LAX after midnight. Nothing was open in the terminal we were in. We sat on a bench for 45 minutes, totally exhausted.

 

[Sepo]

I always prefer non-stop (edited from 'direct'). One less get-to-the-airport and security line, one less terminal-time with carry-ons and keeping-the-kids-fed and behaved before boarding. It's a figurative analogy to the plane itself burning the most fuel on takeoff. Pack the electronics and other diversions : )

Of course... this presumes no health issues (back pain, etc) or layover interests (friends, DL, etc) that would tip the scales.

 

[happymommy]

Direct just means that you may stop but no plane change. Nonstop mean just that - not to be nitpicky! But I'm active on flyertalk, and get lots of good info there for finding flight options.

Sleeping in a seat is soooo uncomfortable, unless you can get a lie flat seat. Those to and from HNL are few and far between. And now, super expensive with cash or points (I used to be able to get them with miles pretty easily with daily checking, not any longer).

 

[buffettgirl]

I've done Boston to a midway point like Phoenix or LA and then on to Honolulu, and I've also done Boston to Atlanta or Boston to Minneapolis. I much preferred the longer flights from Atlanta and Minneapolis as the planes were much larger, seating was better, bathrooms were better, food service was more often. We use delta almost all the time and they have free movies in the seat and the flight sort of just passes by really quickly. I've also done some horrid flights with more than one stop thinking it would break the trip up (honolulu to seattle to minneapolis to boston) and that was something I never want to do again.

Most flights from the east coast though are morning flights. It's not as easy to find a night flight. That's ok since you will sleep when you get here and then you;ll have almost no jet lag the next day. The west to east is the worst flight for jet lag, so leaving honolulu at night is much nicer if you can sleep almost the whole first flight.

 

[Disneyx6]

We are traveling in April with our 4 kids and booked the non-stop flight out of Newark-HNL. It is a morning flight going and a red-eye coming home. My children are older than yours and are frequent flyers, but I can't deal with the layovers/fear of loss of bag/and just getting everyone on/off the plane more than once! While this is our first trip to Aulani with the children my husband and I have taken this flight in the past and were happy with it. Good luck with your decision and your flights!!

 

[nkereina]

FWIW on the Buffalo vs. Toronto flights - we're traveling in September which is a slow time of year. We would have saved $400 if we flew out of Toronto instead of Buffalo, but for us, we also would have needed a hotel for the night before our flight and a hotel for the day we returned. That diminished the savings for us, so we booked out of Buffalo. While one could make the two hour trip/border crossing on the same day, that's about the last thing we wanted to stress over. I do see the value in flying out of Toronto though, if the savings is greater than our experience.

 

[newdeal]

It's basically the same price to pay for a hotel in Toronto that includes parking for the week and a shuttle to the airport as it would be just to pay for parking for a week at many airports. As for needing a room on the way home I guess that depends if you can't sleep on an airplane

 

[nkereina]

It's basically the same price to pay for a hotel in Toronto that includes parking for the week and a shuttle to the airport as it would be just to pay for parking for a week at many airports. As for needing a room on the way home I guess that depends if you can't sleep on an airplane

My point was that if I am only saving $400 on flights out of Toronto versus Buffalo, and I spend $150+ of that on a hotel the night before my departure, that means my savings is now down to $250. Minus gas and tolls from that as well. I wouldn't need to pay for parking at the airport in Buffalo as family or friends could drop us off. I suppose one could drive back after their return flight instead of booking another hotel, but after taking a red eye 10+ hour flight home, about the last thing I'd want to do is drive 90 minutes on the QEW and deal with bridge and border crossing traffic. To me, if I'm spending that kind of money on a trip to Hawaii, a savings of $250 isn't worth all that hassle.

Now, if you have a larger family and the savings is in excess of $500+, then I can understand why someone would want to do that.