Flights from MCI to HNL--anyone purchased recently?

[allesonwonderland]

We're planning a cruise in June and I started watching airfare as soon as the dates were released. But, since I've never flown this route before, I don't know what the historical rates are, and what would be a 'good' rate to jump on. Has anyone else flown from Kansas City and can give me a ballpark? There are a number of smaller airports I could use too, but I figured MCI would probably be the cheapest. My dates will be 6/5/14-6/14/14. Right now, it's coming up around $1k per person. I'm signed up at various rate watching sites and have received notification for fall fares under $700. My neighbors thought they paid closer to $500 when they went, but that's been awhile, so I don't know how reliable that is. Thanks in advance!

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading on the board would reveal:

 

Previous year's fares matter little. Trends in the current year are the main determinant.

 

You would see mention of a website referred to as ITA. Looking there, I see $950-970. $500 is out of the picture, realistically. I seriously doubt $700 is going to happen, but maybe if you watch closely. And that is what is required. Monitoring trends and fares.

 

MCI sounds like an expensive place to fly from. What else is in the area?

[headhunterke]

While not being familiar with the route, 1K each seems an awful lot of money. (you are flying economy, right?). You can never compare prices to what they've been. It'll give you some kind of indicator when you match the price with one from a couple of months ago, but not from last year, so to speak.

I've searched many sites with your info given, and they indeed all come up around 1K. However, your flying date is still a long way ahead. I'd wait and see how prices develop. All airlines have approx. the same price from what I've seen. In the worst case, you'll still pay 1K, but on another airline than you've set your mind on. If you strike some luck, who knows, prices will drop or some airline releases a limited sale. Keep you eye out, I'd say.

 

Man, still can't believe the price for a (technical) domestic flight. I mean, I've done the exact same booking from my home airport (Brussels, Belgium) and I've found a cheap one for 1.3K I mean, come one, that's $300 just for BRU-MCI...

I'd expand my search to some airports in the area, to try and save some bucks. On the search I've done, flying from STL (St. Louis) will give you fares for around $800. Tulsa & Des Moines are around the same as MCI

[allesonwonderland]

MCI is 4 hours away, but usually has the best fares for other places we've gone. I thought since it would be a hub that logic might work still. We could fly out of TUL, XNA, ICT, OKC, OMA, maybe DAL--though that's the opposite direction of where I need to drop my kids off beforehand. The other airports would be even smaller, so I don't think there's any chance they would be cheaper.

 

I'm pricing regular economy flights. I saw United had flights for only 20k miles each way...maybe I need to find someone to gift some to me. ;)

 

We could try to find a separate flight out West, then go to Hawaii from there, but I'm guessing once we add the costs together there won't be much savings.

 

Thanks for the insight so far!

[Twickenham]

MCI is 4 hours away, but usually has the best fares for other places we've gone. I thought since it would be a hub that logic might work still. We could fly out of TUL, XNA, ICT, OKC, OMA, maybe DAL--though that's the opposite direction of where I need to drop my kids off beforehand. The other airports would be even smaller, so I don't think there's any chance they would be cheaper.

 

Run the search using ITA Matrix. You never know. A lot of times, pricing from YUL, the major hub, and my home airport of YQB, a lot smaller, are almost the same.

 

I'm pricing regular economy flights. I saw United had flights for only 20k miles each way...maybe I need to find someone to gift some to me. ;)

 

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/united-airlines-credit-card.aspx

[frugaltravel]

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/united-airlines-credit-card.aspx

 

If they are going to pursue the credit card route, a much better option is probably something like a Chase Ink or Sapphire card where they earn Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred 1:1 to United. The signup bonus is much bigger most of the time.

[zoncom]

United still does NON stop to Honolulu from Denver.Really convenient.

[kenish]

The assumption that a flight to HNL from a hub is cheaper than a connecting flight through the same hub is not always correct. Airport size has nothing to do with it. What matters is supply vs. demand from A to B.

 

As a made-up example, travel to HNL originating in ORD may be in high demand while demand is lower from MCI. Meanwhile, the airline has unsold seats on the early morning MCI-ORD flight. So they offer a good MCI-HNL fare on that flight, connecting through ORD and take care of two problems.

 

Real world example...SAN-LAX-HNL is often $50-$100 cheaper than LAX-HNL, *connecting from SAN to the very same LAX-HNL flight*!

 

ITA Matrix, as others suggest, is a good tool for exploring and vetting the options.

 

Look into flights at early/late hours, longish layovers, and/or multiple stops for additional savings. Consider too, a connection in Hawaii...for example, MCI-DFW-KOA-HNL may come up less expensive. Again, this is all a matter of demand, and you're going to need to trade convenience for price (note I didn't say "cost")

 

FYI, hubs with nonstops to Hawaii include DEN, PHX, IAH, DFW, ORD, ATL, EWR, IAD, and I may have missed one or two. I've left out the obvious West Coast cities, but don't overlook SAN, OAK, SJC, and PDX.

 

Unfortunately, MCI-HNL was discontinued (old TWA route) about 10 years ago.

[seventhwardhustler]

We're planning a cruise in June and I started watching airfare as soon as the dates were released. But, since I've never flown this route before, I don't know what the historical rates are, and what would be a 'good' rate to jump on. !

 

I'll be traveling ATL to HNL (3 people) in september and i, too, see $1K (august fares) but september fares are not out yet. i purposely had to book my cruise way out just because i needed more time to budget for hawaii prices.

 

good luck! i'll be watching right along with you. one august airtran/sw ATL-HNL flight was $199 one-way (late night flight). they hadn't posted fares yet for the return leg so it's just too early for me. deals do happen though. i'll be checking daily.

 

various tips i've read for HNL (can't vouch for veracity):

- check 4 months before departure

- fares cheapest on sundays, after 4

- avoid monday and friday; go midweek, midday

- use bing, kayak, and fare finder

- nonstop from east is grueling

- if you see a deal, make sure it's rt

[allesonwonderland]

Thanks for the info on the ITA Matrix, I wasn't familiar with that one.

[kenish]

I'll be traveling ATL to HNL (3 people) in september and i, too, see $1K (august fares) but september fares are not out yet. i purposely had to book my cruise way out just because i needed more time to budget for hawaii prices.

 

Most airlines release fares 330 days out (exceptions are Southwest and JetBlue, who put their fares on sale months later as part of a brilliant marketing strategy that creates the illusion of lowest fare). The September 2014 window is starting to open. Since September has a lot of vacation and student travel early in the month, fares early in the month will probably be much higher than the 2nd-4th week...supply and demand.

 

i'll be watching right along with you. one august airtran/sw ATL-HNL flight was $199 one-way (late night flight). they hadn't posted fares yet for the return leg so it's just too early for me. deals do happen though. i'll be checking daily.

 

You will be looking for a looong time, since neither AirTran or Southwest fly to Hawaii ! (SWA has the blessing of their unions to do so, but nothing has been announced...mere speculation right now.) But definitely look for good fares, and be aware if you wait for Southwest, even better deals on other airlines are usually long gone.

 

Hawaiian Air often has low fares. Look at fares from home to a city that HAL serves. However it may be difficult to beat a low fare on Delta from ATL-HNL, for example. BTW, $1k seems about right for summer fares through Labor Day.

[kenish]

Adding to the previous ^^^^

 

The lowest ATL-HNL fare in early Sept 2014 is around $1000 with the average closer to $1200. Fares drop about $100 after the weekend of 9/7. There's a $770 fare on US Airways but it includes a 15 hour layover in PHX. Maybe that's a good thing if you can visit friends or sightsee.

 

By all means, start browsing fares...the window is open through Sept 16, 2014 as of today. But you're way too early to purchase...if it were me, I'd wait until January at the very earliest. The "dead season" is right after New Year's through mid-February. Travel bookings are slow so travel deals abound.

 

Also decide in advance what you're willing to pay ($900 is a good number for ATL-HNL). If you see that fare, book it immediately. It can easily disappear in the 30 minutes it takes to check with your spouse, travel partners, etc. Keep in mind you have exactly 24 hours to cancel without penalty. AA is more generous; you can put a reservation on hold until midnight of the following day (which is 25 hours if you reserve at 11pm, or almost 48 hours if you do it right after midnight). If you book through AA, be *sure* to select the Hold option on the "purchase" screen...it's easy to overlook.

[Zach1213]

Most airlines release fares 330 days out (exceptions are Southwest and JetBlue, who put their fares on sale months later as part of a brilliant marketing strategy that creates the illusion of lowest fare). The September 2014 window is starting to open. Since September has a lot of vacation and student travel early in the month, fares early in the month will probably be much higher than the 2nd-4th week...supply and demand.

 

 

 

You will be looking for a looong time, since neither AirTran or Southwest fly to Hawaii ! (SWA has the blessing of their unions to do so, but nothing has been announced...mere speculation right now.) But definitely look for good fares, and be aware if you wait for Southwest, even better deals on other airlines are usually long gone.

 

Hawaiian Air often has low fares. Look at fares from home to a city that HAL serves. However it may be difficult to beat a low fare on Delta from ATL-HNL, for example. BTW, $1k seems about right for summer fares through Labor Day.

 

Not only that, but I don't believe Southwest is an ETOPS approved airline yet. Many of the new 737-800s are ETOPS approved aircraft, but if they're not an ETOPS approved airline, they can't do the flights to Hawaii yet.

[kenish]

Not only that, but I don't believe Southwest is an ETOPS approved airline yet. Many of the new 737-800s are ETOPS approved aircraft, but if they're not an ETOPS approved airline, they can't do the flights to Hawaii yet.

 

All evidence points to SWA putting ETOPS (and Hawaii flights) on the back burner. They have not started or have paused the processes and training needed for FAA approval. My speculation? ETOPS is very costly to establish and maintain, Hawaii will be their sole route needing ETOPS, Allegiant had major pains getting approval, and the Hawaii market is pretty saturated already. So the diversion in money and attention isn't worth it right now.

[seventhwardhustler]

You will be looking for a looong time, since neither AirTran or Southwest fly to Hawaii ! (SWA has the blessing of their unions to do so, but nothing has been announced...mere speculation right now.) But definitely look for good fares, and be aware if you wait for Southwest, even better deals on other airlines are usually long gone.

 

Hawaiian Air often has low fares. Look at fares from home to a city that HAL serves. However it may be difficult to beat a low fare on Delta from ATL-HNL, for example. BTW, $1k seems about right for summer fares through Labor Day.

 

You're right, I don't remember what I was looking at. It may have been something on expedia, because I check that daily. Right now, the flights for a week earlier (9/5-13) are running in the $800s so i hope it'll slip down next week. Delta is at least $1K. I'm starting to feel slightly better. Also I've read it's better on the body to break up the flight rather than go nonstop but I think i'll go the cheapest route.

[seventhwardhustler]

Adding to the previous ^^^^

 

Also decide in advance what you're willing to pay ($900 is a good number for ATL-HNL). If you see that fare, book it immediately. It can easily disappear in the 30 minutes it takes to check with your spouse, travel partners, etc. Keep in mind you have exactly 24 hours to cancel without penalty. AA is more generous; you can put a reservation on hold until midnight of the following day (which is 25 hours if you reserve at 11pm, or almost 48 hours if you do it right after midnight). If you book through AA, be *sure* to select the Hold option on the "purchase" screen...it's easy to overlook.

 

Ok thanks!! I'm writing it all down.

[Zach1213]

All evidence points to SWA putting ETOPS (and Hawaii flights) on the back burner. They have not started or have paused the processes and training needed for FAA approval. My speculation? ETOPS is very costly to establish and maintain, Hawaii will be their sole route needing ETOPS, Allegiant had major pains getting approval, and the Hawaii market is pretty saturated already. So the diversion in money and attention isn't worth it right now.

 

Doesn't surprise me. The Allegiant Hawaii "fiasco" was interesting, and definitely seemed to be a poor choice, albeit with 20/20 vision in hindsight. I don't blame Southwest for not wanting to rush in to that market. Plus, I can't count the number of people over the past several years who are saving their Southwest points for "when they start flying to Hawaii". I just picture the first year of flights being filled with freeloaders ;)