What time leave for airport?

[justme0729]

Our flight leaves at 6:05pm on a Friday. I was thinking we would leave at 2:00, return the rental at about 3:00, and be at the airport to go through security at about 4:00 and then get dinner at the terminal before our flight. Is this enough time considering possible traffic? I'm deciding whether I should book an 11:00am or noon massage time

 

[ArcticTeacher]

Our flight leaves at 6:05pm on a Friday. I was thinking we would leave at 2:00, return the rental at about 3:00, and be at the airport to go through security at about 4:00 and then get dinner at the terminal before our flight. Is this enough time considering possible traffic? I'm deciding whether I should book an 11:00am or noon massage time

It depends on the day of the week you are leaving. We are leaving tonight (Sunday) and it took about 45 minutes to get to the airport, roads were fairly empty. But we went to Waikiki on Saturday to shop and traffic was terrible!

 

[luvmychaos]

That time was similar to ours and we left Aulani 1ish. One thing that shocked us was how long the check in lines were for Hawaiian. The line was wrapped outside the door and that was for TSA pre check, the regular security line was even longer. I was glad we had another hour of a buffer, just for peace of mind’s sake.

 

[frank808]

Our flight leaves at 6:05pm on a Friday. I was thinking we would leave at 2:00, return the rental at about 3:00, and be at the airport to go through security at about 4:00 and then get dinner at the terminal before our flight. Is this enough time considering possible traffic? I'm deciding whether I should book an 11:00am or noon massage time

Sounds like a good plan to me. Traffic is usually bad going west bound (towards Aulani) in the afternoon on weekdays. Traffic eastbound is bad in the mornings on weekdays. Book a 11am massage time or little earlier if you are going to the spa. You want to experience the rain showers and hot tubs before or after the massage.

 

[keishashadow]

Our flight leaves at 6:05pm on a Friday. I was thinking we would leave at 2:00, return the rental at about 3:00, and be at the airport to go through security at about 4:00 and then get dinner at the terminal before our flight. Is this enough time considering possible traffic? I'm deciding whether I should book an 11:00am or noon massage time

I’m looking to firm up a return time too but confused why you are allowing an hour’s gap between the rental return (3 pm) and security @ airport (4 pm).

Wound up booking Alaska air, no idea of how long their check in lines tend to roll

 

[justme0729]

I’m looking to firm up a return time too but confused why you are allowing an hour’s gap between the rental return (3 pm) and security @ airport (4 pm).

Wound up booking Alaska air, no idea of how long their check in lines tend to roll

I’m not sure- I think I just did an hour Incase there was more traffic on the way. With traffic, how long does it take to get to the airport worst case scenario? Will it take more than 1 hour?

 

[nkereina]

I’m not sure- I think I just did an hour Incase there was more traffic on the way. With traffic, how long does it take to get to the airport worst case scenario? Will it take more than 1 hour?

Are you returning the rental at an airport car rental location? We returned ours to the airport Alamo. It took maybe 2 minutes to return the car, and maybe another 10 minutes to arrive at the terminal on the shuttle bus. But, like PP mentioned, we did have to wait a while in line to check our bags before going through security. I like to overestimate personally, so I would think your timing all makes sense. I'd rather have to wait around than be rushing, personally.

 

[keishashadow]

Are you returning the rental at an airport car rental location? We returned ours to the airport Alamo. It took maybe 2 minutes to return the car, and maybe another 10 minutes to arrive at the terminal on the shuttle bus. But, like PP mentioned, we did have to wait a while in line to check our bags before going through security. I like to overestimate personally, so I would think your timing all makes sense. I'd rather have to wait around than be rushing, personally.

I was questioning allowing an hour from time you return car. Didn’t realize a shuttle involved as it’ll be our first trip. Will likely go same time route as OP

 

[bbrnca]

We are being picked up by at Aulani by Hele Hele transfers on our return to HNL @ 2:15pm for a 5:00pm flight with what everyone is saying about long TSA and baggage drop lines is that enough time to get to United gates ?

 

[ArcticTeacher]

Keishashadow- we fly Alaska Airlines when we travel to/from Honolulu, the delay with Alaska Air is that the scanners to check your luggage for fruits/veggies are only open a set amount of time before the flight. Alaska Airlines only has a few flights a day that leave Honolulu, so the USDA scanners for AK Air are not open all day. Once your bags are scanned, you still have to go through the regular check in line with the airline.

 

[nkereina]

I was questioning allowing an hour from time you return car. Didn’t realize a shuttle involved as it’ll be our first trip. Will likely go same time route as OP

I believe all the rental car companies at HNL use a shuttle. Our experience with the Alamo one was that it was very quick. But with the variables there as well as the potential lines for bag scanning (as PP mentions) and checking in at the airline counter, I think an hour is fair.

 

[BCV23]

We are being picked up by at Aulani by Hele Hele transfers on our return to HNL @ 2:15pm for a 5:00pm flight with what everyone is saying about long TSA and baggage drop lines is that enough time to get to United gates ?

We had that exact timing this past Sunday. No traffic on Sunday and no lines at the agricultural check, United or TSA pre-check. We weren't rushing because we knew our flight was delayed by three hours. I know we would have been fine if our flight was on time but if your flight is on a weekday, you might want to call and ask. The problem with flying United outbound is that security lines are now at the far end of the terminal and then you need to turn around and walk a really long way to the gate.

 

[RoyalJay]

What about an early morning flight? We leave at 7:00 am on United on a Thursday in March. We’ll be returning an Alamo rental car. Is 4:00 am early enough to get they in time?

 

[Princess KP]

Our flight leaves at 6:05pm on a Friday. I was thinking we would leave at 2:00, return the rental at about 3:00, and be at the airport to go through security at about 4:00 and then get dinner at the terminal before our flight. Is this enough time considering possible traffic? I'm deciding whether I should book an 11:00am or noon massage time

Sounds like a good plan to me. Traffic is usually bad going west bound (towards Aulani) in the afternoon on weekdays. Traffic eastbound is bad in the mornings on weekdays. Book a 11am massage time or little earlier if you are going to the spa. You want to experience the rain showers and hot tubs before or after the massage.

The hydrotherapy garden is the BEST! Definitely go early to the spa so you can enjoy it. I think an 11am massage is good as it will give you time to lounge around the spa before heading to the airport.

 

[frank808]

What about an early morning flight? We leave at 7:00 am on United on a Thursday in March. We’ll be returning an Alamo rental car. Is 4:00 am early enough to get they in time?

Yes, you should leave early. As rush hour traffic going eastbound starts about 5am or so. You don't want to get stuck in the morning traffic commute. At 4 to 430am the traffic should be relatively light barring any traffic accident.