Help Aulani and aifare!!

[bbn1122]

I would love to go to Aulani in the next couple of years, but whenever I look into airfare it is frightening. We are from NJ, so we can fly Newark, Philly, or from NYC area.

Is it really going to cost almost a $1000 per person to get to Oahu? There are 5 of us, so that why I am really looking for help.

If anyone has an insight on this, or thought, help etc, I would appreciate your input.

Thanks....

 

[WsPrincess]

Sounds about right. DH and I have been pricing it out. We live near a Delta hub city so we can usually get OK flight prices but we are looking at about $1200 per person to get there and we have to change planes somewhere (the 1 non stop is over $2000)

 

[DVCismyhappyplace]

yes - the airfare to Hawaii from NY is very high. DH and I have found that the flights are usually less money out of Newark.

Also, Hawaiian airlines recently started flying out of JFK - they can be reasonably.

The other tips I can give you: try to fly out on a Tuesday/Wednesday and home on a Friday or Sunday.

Flying there on a Saturday/Sunday/Monday is usually high because of people's honeymoon dates. Also, flying home on a Saturday night is usually most expensive since you'll land back on the east coast on Sunday and most people have to be back at work on Monday.

 

[Pakey]

We live in CA and still pay close to $500 per person and that's with driving 3 hours to an airport that has direct flights. From our home airport, it is $800 per person.

We go to Hawaii quite often and you used to be able to get some pretty good deals with last minute airfare but in recent years, the number of flights has decreased and the planes are always full.

 

[counselormom]

Don't give up hope! . We are headed to Aulani in October flying out of Dallas and I was preparing myself to spend $900 each on airfare. I had been watching for several months and it never went below $850. I signed up for a Kayak alert and one day a rate of $401 came up. I jumped on it and all 4 of us are flying for $1604.00.

 

[G'sMaman]

I know it’s not ideal, but have you thought about getting an Alaska Airlines credit card? With the Signature Card, you get a $110 companion pass yearly (no blackouts I believe) which could save you a lot of money. Both my husband and I have a card so that gives us two companion passes a year along with 25,000 bonus miles per card for signing up. Using the 50,000 miles (25,000 from each card) you could potentially have enough miles for the 5th ticket. The card does carry a $75 fee so you need to factor that into the overall cost.

I know it doesn't sound intuitive, but Alaska Airlines actually has many flights into Hawaii! If you pm me with some hypothetical dates, I can tell you what the total would be using my companion pass.

 

[jel0511]

We are leaving on Sunday and it was actually CHEAPER for us to fly into PHX, then fly from LAX to HNL then nonstop home to EWR than book nonstop flights from ear to HNL. Not much savings, about $25 a ticket, but we did pay almost 1k per ticket. If you are planning on going in the summer, which is high season for HI, expect to pay 1k from the east coast per person.

 

[LoriKutchey]

Airfare is crazy to get there. We were just there in May, it was a little over 3000.00 for the three of us!

 

[bbn1122]

Don't give up hope! . We are headed to Aulani in October flying out of Dallas and I was preparing myself to spend $900 each on airfare. I had been watching for several months and it never went below $850. I signed up for a Kayak alert and one day a rate of $401 came up. I jumped on it and all 4 of us are flying for $1604.00.

Thanks eveyone for your input....I believe I did the Kayak alert a couple of months ago, so I will have to pay attention to alerts.....

First, we have to decide when, then book at the 7 month window and then hopefully fine good price for our flights...thanks everyone.....

 

[Island Mouse]

If you are flying from the East Coast it is not impossible to get airfare for less than $700. In fact of all the times I've flown from Hawaii to NY or Hawaii to Orlando, I've never paid more than $780. With Hawaiian Airlines now having nonstop flights to NYC, there are more options available. I think the cheapest I've ever paid to Orlando was $500 and $600 to Newark, both from Honolulu.

 

[Tigger031266]

We went last jan for $575 on delta from JFK to Honolulu. I checked every day. The flights we booked had 3 planes each way. However, delta changed the times of the flights so often, I was able to rebook for free and get it to two flights.

Check every day. If your willing to do 3 flights....you maybe able to get a deal.

Jet fuel is a bit higher but you never know.

The key is when u find the deal book right away. The deals can be gone in hours.

 

[Tigger031266]

Matter of fact just checked Expedia for mid jan and its $750 from JFK. Shop around every day

 

[Eeyores#1Fan]

We just returned from Aulani about a week ago and we had to pay $983 from Charlotte, NC with a layover in Pheonix. And there was 9 of us! LOL! I had to pay for 5 though so still hurt my pockets. Cheapest I've seen was $806 from NC but not during the time we were trying to go unfortunately.

 

[slowly]

We went last jan for $575 on delta from JFK to Honolulu. I checked every day. The flights we booked had 3 planes each way. However, delta changed the times of the flights so often, I was able to rebook for free and get it to two flights.

Check every day. If your willing to do 3 flights....you maybe able to get a deal.

Jet fuel is a bit higher but you never know.

The key is when u find the deal book right away. The deals can be gone in hours.

This is exactly what I was going to add. You need to check everyday both morning and at night. I have been going back & forth from Philly, Newark & JFK to HI & back and never paid more than $700 pp. Feb, May, Sept & Oct are the lowest. If you have kids your best bet is either late May, early June or early Jan.

Get the Capital One card or Pentagon Federal Credit Union Visa that have points and just charge everything on it to get free flts. We are lucky to get at least one free flt a yr. the good thing abt these cards are they are not limited to one airline. We charge EVERYTHING on it.

Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

Definitely keep an eye on Alaska Airlines. I get emails from them all the time with deals to Hawaii!

 

[woodkins]

We are flying JFK to HON nonstop in November and were able to get a great deal using travel points. We ended up not paying a dime for all 3 tickets! We used our American express points and capital one miles, but Hawaiian air was offering flight for very low points ch way. It may be worth you getting credit cards with points and booking that way.

 

[jockotaco]

Flew to the big island in February from Denver...Airfare was $750/PP...Ouch. Saving for airfare to go to Aulani for 5. I think Hawaii is always expensive and very few deals are available. Just keep checking as airfare does fluctuate.

 

[oktracy]

Check Beat of Hawaii Blog. Allegiant Airlines is flying to Hawaii from Central California and Las Vegas. Usually great fares, just watch out for the the fees. Baggage and seat upgrade fees can really add up!!!

 

[OurDogCisco]

totally agree even being from CA it is expensive to fly to Hawaii especially if you want to go to another island besides Oahu.

I would consider several things. If you can fly off-peak do that. I found like May or October to be the cheapest. January to April can be pricey because of the snowbirds, whale season and spring breaks. Then, the summers get pricey too but I found cheaper airfare in early June like the 1st week and late August. September, October and early November are good months to go. Also, the 1st week of May is a major Japanese Holiday. You need to consider other countries that travel there. I would google Japanese Holidays to get a good idea.

The other thing I would definitely consider is gettting an Alaskan Airlines Credit card or another type of card. I use Starwood American Express and then, transfer my points to Hawaiian as they fly from my home town. I've been doing this for years. We charge everything and pay it weekly. I know some people freak out with charging everything but you can make payments in the middle of billing cycle. We do that all the time. If I saved up for a big ticket item. I charge it and then, when I get home I just make an online payment from my checking account.

Good luck...