Getting to Aulani

[CEK40]

Hi Everyone...

I am not a DVC member but thought maybe someone out there would be able to help me.

We will be traveling from VA to Aulani in December for my daughters wedding. I was wondering which airline most of you use to get to the island?? There will be 6 adults and a 1year old and 2 year old traveling together. I know we can take Delta from Norfolk to Atlanta and Atlanta non-stop to Hawaii. There have also been a few special with Disney using Hawaiian Airlines but I have heard some less than wonderful about Hawaiian (Delta also).

If any of you have used Delta or especially Hawaiian I would love to hear your comments and reviews. One of the travelers, the groom-to-be is 6'3" and my son is 5'10" and 245 pounds (not fat just a big muscular guy).

I appreciate any help you can give us.

Thanks so much and love reading your msgs.

CK in VA

 

[dtauer]

Hi Everyone...

I am not a DVC member but thought maybe someone out there would be able to help me.

We will be traveling from VA to Aulani in December for my daughters wedding. I was wondering which airline most of you use to get to the island?? There will be 6 adults and a 1year old and 2 year old traveling together. I know we can take Delta from Norfolk to Atlanta and Atlanta non-stop to Hawaii. There have also been a few special with Disney using Hawaiian Airlines but I have heard some less than wonderful about Hawaiian (Delta also).

If any of you have used Delta or especially Hawaiian I would love to hear your comments and reviews. One of the travelers, the groom-to-be is 6'3" and my son is 5'10" and 245 pounds (not fat just a big muscular guy).

I appreciate any help you can give us.

Thanks so much and love reading your msgs.

CK in VA

There are several web sites that compare leg room, seat incline, good and bad seats, etc. on different airlines and their planes. Overall, we like Delta for in flight amenities and convenience, but we also fly out of a Delta hub so we are probably biased.

One thing I would recommend is to pick your flights carefully, are you sure you want to fly out of Atlanta? Any other options?

It's a long flight to Hawaii and we generally stop in LA or Phoenix on the way out. Flying direct out of Atlanta probably adds a couple of additional hours you are on the plane for the second leg of the flight. If you aren't travelling with experienced flyers, you may want to break the flight up into a little more even segments. I fly a lot and still found the trip from Phoenix to Honolulu to be a really long time to be on a plane.

 

[Psychodisney]

We just got back on United into Chicago nonstop over night. I was surprised at the little ones on the flight but they seemend to do OK. The other night on the Honolulu news they talked about some airline flying direst from DC.....might have been Hawaiian Airlines.

 

[izzy]

It would be a bit of a haul for you from Chesapeake, but I just went outof Dulles on United. Well, actually I flew to LA for a few days first and then on to Oahu. On the way back, I had a layover in San Francisco. This worked out pretty well as no leg was longer than 5 hours. I did pay extra for economy plus seating which gave me extra leg room. For this long of a trip, I thought it was worth it. United also has a direct from Dulles to Oahu both going and coming.

 

[CEK40]

Thanks to those who have responded. I have not had the opportunity to fly to the west coast so I don't know anything about that flight and especially with little ones along. have only flown with them to WDW on Southwest and Delta.

The only thing I am worried about flying out of DC, NY or anywhere north of us is the time of year and the weather, since it is in December.

I was wondering if it would be better to fly from Norfolk to someplace midwest of west coast and then stop and continue on to Hawaii. Just don't know.

I do appreciate all the help and look forward to others if there are any out there.

Thanks so much,
CK

 

[saintstickets]

We are looking at flights for our September trip to Aulani. Flying from Mississippi/Louisiana means we fly either United to Houston, American to Dallas or Delta to Atlanta. Delta flights add 2+ hours to the non-stop flight because we fly east before flying west to Honolulu. The Dallas and Houston flights are non-stop too so then it becomes a matter of price and flight times.

Southwest purchased some planes capable of making the long flight and applied for the special over-water license but I've read that their entry into this market has been put on hold.

I've been reading about great prices from Hawaiian Air and Alaska Air but their flights are not from any city near us. There was a flight from Charlotte, NC on one of those (can't remember which) so that might be an option for you in nearby VA. Go to beatofhawaii.com and get on their e-mail list for more info about flights to Hawaii.

 

[nordkin]

We just got back on United into Chicago nonstop over night. I was surprised at the little ones on the flight but they seemend to do OK. The other night on the Honolulu news they talked about some airline flying direst from DC.....might have been Hawaiian Airlines.

United flies nonstop from DC. Dulles to be exact. We are taking this flight in January. It is a 10 hour flight.

 

[mouseaider]

We flew from Rochester, NY to Hawaii in April. It is a long trip but Delta made it very enjoyable.

We flew to Atlanta and changed planes and then flew nonstop to Honolulu. We flew coach and had plenty of legroom, comfortable seats, plenty to eat and drink, and personal TV or movies.

Of course we fly Delta almost anywhere we go because we really enjoy their service.

apply for the gold Delta Credit Card and get priority boarding, one bag free for everyone in your party, and after first use, you get 25,000 air miles to use for another flight. You have an annual fee after the first year, but you will also get a companion ticket to use.

Good luck and enjoy Aulani! It is wonderful there.

 

[Anal Annie]

In the past I have used Delta 2x for trips to Hawaii (from BWI and / or Dulles). I have also used American (thru Dallas) and United (thru Chicago). I would encourage you to fly non-stop if you can (esp. in the winter) to avoid possible weather delays on connecting flights AND to cut down on total trip duration time. I also had noticed that United has a fairly new non-stop from Dulles to Oahu so IF we can go next year that will likely be what we book if it fits our budget. I have used Hawaiian Airlines for inter-island flights and they're good...but I think you'd have to fly from the east coast to somewhere out west to pick them up for the hop from the mainland to Oahu. I would book this option if I could use SW miles to get to CA or something. Delta goes thru Salt Lake City & Atlanta - if I were you and were definitely booking Delta I'd shoot for the Atlanta route. But really (ideally), I'd consider driving to Dulles and using United if the price is comparable. Much less hassle and probably about 3 hours less time for flights & transfers. You can drive up the night before & get a park & fly package at like the Hampton Inn Dulles or something.

 

[toocherie]

I have flown twice on Hawaiian this year from LAX to Oahu and had a really good experience. You actually get a "meal"! (Ok, it's a sandwich and cookie but it's more than you get on the other airlines)

 

[jenifred]

I have been looking at this issue as well. We are in Louisiana. As far as price goes, it seems cheapest option to take a flight on Southwest to LAX or San Francisco. Then take the Hawaiin Airlines from California to Oahu. It is about half the price of flying direct from NOLA or going through Atlanta. As far as airline qualty, I know what to expect with Southwest. No frills, but you'll get there. Not a problem since it's a short flight. I have no idea about Hawaiian, but it the online reports have been positive.

 

[carlbarry]

I used Delta to fly to Hawaii. I had a $200 credit for opening a Delta credit card, so the flight cost me about $356!
If you want to know about the seating, I strongly urge you to try
www.seatguru.com

 

[dsneygirl]

We just got back. Flew from Buffalo NY to San Diego, did the zoo and Sea World. Then San Diego to Oahu and then back to LAX and DL.

Both flight segments were about 5.5 hours. Very manageable with little ones. I had no desire to attempt 10-11 hours in flight plus all the waiting around/changing planes (we did have the luxury of all that extra time though, we were gone 18 days).

 

[NC State Tigger]

I used Delta to fly to Hawaii. I had a $200 credit for opening a Delta credit card, so the flight cost me about $356!

When did you fly to Hawaii that you were able to get a price like that ($200+$356=$556 from the east coast) I've been researching month/days of the week, etc to try and find something less then $900-$1000. We want to go in 2013 and are very flexible in our dates.

Any info you can share to find a "great" fare would be greatly apppreciated

 

[DVCismyhappyplace]

DH and I actually love the Delta Atlanta to Oahu flight. We've done it several times. Yes, it's 9.5 hours, but I'd rather do it that way than fly for 5 or 6 hours and get on another 5 or 6 hour flight. However, we also have the benefit of a ton of accumulated FF miles so we have always upgraded to either 1st or business class.

I'm not a fan of flying into Phoenix (maybe because I just don't "love" the US Airways product and they seem to be the airline that uses that route the most).

DH and I have always looked at it that the flight is awful and we don't like it, but it's totally worth it when we're in paradise!

 

[carlbarry]

When did you fly to Hawaii that you were able to get a price like that ($200+$356=$556 from the east coast) I've been researching month/days of the week, etc to try and find something less then $900-$1000. We want to go in 2013 and are very flexible in our dates.

Any info you can share to find a "great" fare would be greatly apppreciated

I went late February into March.
Fares were in the $1,200 range, about 8 months out I believe (because I know I couldn't book Aulani for a few weeks). Then I got an email from a friend, telling me to look quick, the airlines cut the fares to Hawaii! This was on a Wednesday, I believe. And indeed, the fares were now half price--except Delta!
A few hours later, Delta also cut their fares in half. But they didn't have any flights I wanted.
Late Friday afternoon, a good flight came up, on the Monday after the football all star game, I believe it is. So I booked it.
I think that was kind of a fluke. All you can do is keep looking, and if they lower the fare, grab it!