BEAT OF HAWAII AND BEYOND

If our recent warning about Hawaii car rental availability and costs wasn’t bad enough, this is sure to add insult to injury at a most inopportune time.

New facility fee.

A facility charge of $4.50/day for all Hawaii airport car rentals is expected to go into effect starting September 1. The current charge is $1/day.  The fee is being proposed as a way of improving Hawaii’s aging car rental facility infrastructure.

The only way to avoid the charge is to rent off-airport. Unfortunately, in Hawaii, that isn’t all that easy or convenient. At Honolulu Airport however, it is possible to rent from two companies which are nearby, but off-airport.  They are Alamo and Thrifty.

Neighbor islands.

On the neighbor islands, it is more unclear as to how the charge will be applied. At Kona for example, all of the car rentals are a distance from the airport, but may still be technically considered on-airport.  At Hilo, all car rentals are on the Airport Road loop, but some are on-airport while others are not.  At Lihue, Thrifty and Alamo/National are clearly off-airport.

Fee likely unavoidable.

Unless current legislative plans change, off-airport locations will not be subject to the fee.  At other airports that have implemented similar fees, like Seattle for example, it is not possible for off-airport car rental locations to provide pick-up and drop-off at the airport.  I suspect that before it is all said and done, that will be Hawaii’s implementation plan as well.  Therefore, simply prepare to pay $4.50/day.

What are your thoughts?

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Affordable Hawaii Summer Vacation
• Hawaii Welcomes Allegiant Air
• Frommers Travel Show Interview

While banking online this morning, I stumbled upon a new source for Hawaii coupons. These are designed to help Bank of Hawaii customers, and are usable by anyone who chooses to print them.  There are quite a few already and I suspect that if you check back there will be more soon.

Here are just a few examples of the many coupons that might be of interest to visitors and locals:

Oahu

• Baskin-Robbins. Buy one get one free.
• Big City Diner. Free dessert.
• Wahoo Fish Tacos. Free taco.
• Iolani Palace. Two video tours for price of one.

Kauai

• Hanalei Dolphin restaurant.  10% off.
• Kalapaki Joe’s restaurant.  10% off.

Maui

• Cilantro Mexican restaurant.  $2.00 off.
• CJ’s Deli.  50% off second entree.
• Kobe Japanese Steak House.  20% off.
• Pizza Madness.  $5 off.

Big Island

• Taco Bell.  Free taco.
• Drysdale’s Two.  $1.50 off and free coffee or soft drink.
• Lulu’s restaurant.  50% off second entree.
• Captain Zodiac.  15% off dolphin/snorkel adventure.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Don’t Get Stung Inter-Island
• 12 Day Hawaii Cruise From West Coast $749
• Hawaii Vacation Costs Plummet

Travel reviews are something I’m very interested in.  So when something comes along that has the potential to change the review playing field, I take notice. Such is the case with the new location sharing applications.

If you’re already a Foursquare user, you know that one of the most interesting and useful aspects isn’t people checking in at various locations, but rather the comments they leave.  Taking this to a new level is the just released FourWhere, which is showing great potential to enrich your next Hawaii (or other) vacation.  If you’re not already familiar with Foursquare, read this.

FourWhere is basic in design and ease of use, overlaying venues and comments from Foursquare onto Google Maps.  Right-clicking on the map brings up options, so for example you can omit venues that don’t have comments.  You can choose a city, like Honolulu, or perhaps more useful, a specific street or neighborhood to which you’re headed.

Foursquare, FourWhere, and other Geo location products represent a whole different take on comments and reviews, which are paramount to travelers.  If you haven’t tried them, I suggest you do. They are evolving very rapidly and formidably.  Next to join will be mammoth Facebook, with yesterday’s announcement of their intention to release new location-based tools and features.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Google Places For One-Stop Reviews
• Can TripAdvisor Stop Review Fraud?
• No Wi-Fi On Hawaii Flights

There is still plenty of space available for this great deal.  Four carriers are competing on this route to create a far better price than normal.

• Airlines: American,  Continental, Delta and United Airlines.
• Price: $386 round trip (all-inclusive).
• Availability: The only days the fare is currently not available from LAX are March 13, 19, 20 and 27, and April 1, 2, and 3.  Thereafter it is wide open through May.
• Book on-line at each carrier’s website.
• Offer valid both directions (a great opportunity for Hawaii residents).

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Photo:  Maui view en-route from Lanai

Related Posts:

• Spring Break: Orange County/Honolulu $174 Each Way
• Unadvertised West Coast to Hawaii from $124 Each Way
• Kapalua Villas Maui $199 (1K+ sq ft)

Thirteen year old Allegiant is a diminutive airline compared with mainline carriers.  Their might, however, is far greater than their size would indicate. Allegiant is one of the most profitable airlines, period.

Last year Allegiant reported net income of $76.3 million on revenue of $558 million.  Up to thirty percent of Allegiant sales are derived from non-airfare, composed mostly of packages that include hotel and/or car.

In comparison, Southwest Airlines reported net income of only $99 million on revenue of $10 billion.

Allegiant joins the Hawaii market later this year in a field dominated by regional airlines Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, together with mainline carriers American, Continental, Delta, United and US Air.

These legacy airlines all play on a relatively even field comprised primarily of air only.  Each is of course working to improve their all-inclusive package performance, but they have accomplished little in that area compared with Allegiant.

The Allegiant difference.

Two Allegiant destinations are similar to Hawaii:  Florida and Las Vegas.  There, the carrier has amassed nearly 60 exclusive accommodation deals which are offered in conjunction with air.  Not coincidentally, those are the only two major airports Allegiant currently serves.  Otherwise, and another Allegiant focus and distinguishing point, is that the company only flies from smaller airports that do not often have competing services.

Allegiant has been on the ground here in Hawaii for over a year shopping for the best deals possible as they begin to put together packages.  I expect this to put intense pressure on their competitors because Allegiant will offer Hawaii visitors advantageous accommodation deals not otherwise available. In fact, Allegiant may well choose to sell Hawaii air only in conjunction with accommodations.

Bottom line for Hawaii visitors.

First, it is going to be awhile before this is sorted out, as all of the new planes will not be in service for 18 months.  When complete, the six 757’s will be used exclusively for Hawaii service.  Depending on utilization, that should afford them the ability to run perhaps 10 daily round trips to the islands.  As such, Allegiant will become a major player in Hawaii, and their presence and unique marketing abilities will be taken very seriously.

Hawaii airfares have been climbing higher recently, and deals have been fewer and farther between.  Because of the way that Allegiant packages accommodations, cars and other trip expenses with airfares, and based on their history, I believe Allegiant can offer better value in Hawaii deals than any competitor.  That will in turn raise the bar, which should result in improved overall value in Hawaii vacations across the board.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Hawaii Welcomes Allegiant Air
• Affordable Hawaii Summer Vacation
• Hawaii Vacation Costs Plummet

Over a year ago we broke the news that Allegiant Airlines would be flying to Hawaii in the near future.  Today, Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher confirmed those intentions.  The carrier has acquired the six Boeing 757’s of which we spoke, and plans to begin Hawaii service later this year.  Delivery of the first two planes will occur within 60 days, with those remaining scheduled from November 2010 to December 2011.

This is great news for Hawaii bound visitors in search of great airfares and packages as well as for Hawaii residents visiting the Mainland.

Which locations will offer Hawaii service?

Allegiant did not announce the cities which will premier their Hawaii service, but I remain confident that the contending airports are:

• Bellingham, WA
• Fresno, CA
• Las Vegas, NV

What to expect.

Allegiant will be offering their stock-in-trade packaging of highly competitive airfares with great deals on accommodations, car rentals and other ancillaries.

The competitors.

The primary competitors will be Alaska and Hawaiian Air, because they both offer service from surrounding airports, and Pleasant Holidays, which features aggressive packaging of United’s bulk seats, together with cars and hotels.

Earlier posts regarding Allegiant:

• New “Deal” Airline Coming To Hawaii?
• Allegiant Confirms Hawaii Plans
• Allegiant Buys 757s: Hawaii Service Update
• Allegiant Air Hawaii Update
• 2010 Hawaii Travel Trends

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Allegiant Will Recast Hawaii Deals
• Affordable Hawaii Summer Vacation
• No Wi-Fi On Hawaii Flights

I was awakened before 5:45 am on “Tsunami Saturday” by government text messages and recorded phone calls warning of an impending tidal wave.  That was followed at 6am by air raid sirens.

I was concerned until 8am; here’s what changed my mind:

On-line maps of wave heights arriving in French Polynesia clearly indicated even to a lay person that a significant tsunami was not possible in Hawaii. At 2,500 miles closer proximity to the event epicenter, French Polynesia reported only a 6 foot wave in the Marquesas Islands followed by a half foot in Tahiti.  It isn’t possible for a tsunami to suddenly pick up strength as it moves; all models indicate the reverse happens as it loses power over time and distance.

Look at the chart below and think how you would react.

The is a screen-shot of the report I found on-line early Saturday morning.  Why didn’t NOAA explain this and curtail the panic?

Even without any serious threat, NOAA’s Hawaii Tsunami Center scientists continued, based on unsubstantiated assumptions, to create unnecessary panic including hourly air raid  siren blasts.

• The event fueled incessant, irrational and non-investigative traditional media fervor that went unabated well past mid-day.
• Social Media, otherwise extremely helpful in disasters such as Haiti and with this earthquake in Chile, served to only exacerbate the false alarm here in Hawaii.
• Before the bewitching hour, stores closed, and many did not reopen again.  People had been so frightened by the incorrect information that many simply did not want to leave home.
• Many roads throughout Hawaii were roadblocked making transportation difficult to impossible.  Statewide, police department ordered to work all officers on their day off to stop traffic.

NOAA has been apologizing, not for the panic, but for how incorrect they were. Other reports indicate that tsunami forecasting will now need to be completely reassessed.

The whole state seemed simply worn out from Saturday’s drill. One Facebook friend lamented that he wanted his Saturday back. Some say that it was a good preparatory drill while others believe say it will backfire and that next time there’s a warning, people won’t heed it.

Charles McCreery, NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center head admitted, “we’re still in the incipient stages of using these models to constrain our forecasts. There are still lots of improvements we need to make before we can rely on them totally for our decision making.”

One of the most frightening aspects of this erroneous reporting and seriously flawed modeling is that it would seem to indicate that an error in the opposite direction could be made just as easily.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• A Wrecking Ball Saved This Hotel
• Last Minute Valentines Day in Hawaii
• Kapalua Villas Maui $199 (1K+ sq ft)

We rarely feature hotel deals, but this Maui one stands out as worthy of consideration.  It has generally received good reviews, if you can trust them.  And while I haven’t stayed here yet, I’d love to have your feedback if you have, or if you plan to vacation here.

• Kapalua Villas Maui.
• One bedroom, 1022-square-foot Fairway View villa with full kitchen, in-unit washer/dryer, and sleeps up to four guests.
• Availability:  through December 21; 4-night stay required.
• Bonus:  $150 resort credit (which will just pay for the exorbitant $25/night resort fee).
• This offer is in conjunction with Travelzoo.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Spring Break on Maui $175 Each Way
• Cheap 4-Star Hawaii Hotels On Priceline
• Newark Honolulu Nonstop $263 Each Way

Right on the heels of their $25 million loss due to snowstorms, Continental is going to give you a great price to either escape the cold or visit New York.  This deal has been on and off again for about a year.  Yesterday it resurfaced on Continental’s convenient and typically more expensive daily non-stop.

• Airline:  Continental Airlines.
• Price: $585 round trip (all-inclusive).
• Availability:  Good availability from now through May.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Spring Break: Orange County/Honolulu $174 Each Way
• Spring Break on Maui $175 Each Way
• LAX to Hawaii Market Heating Up

An article in NY Times comparing several meta-search sites got me thinking about how each might or might not find the unadvertised Spring deals we reported last week between the West Coast and Hawaii.

Meta Sites like Bing Travel, FareCompare, Fly and Kayak are designed to save you time in finding the best deals.

Searching hundreds of other sites, they present pricing to you, before directing you to the site of your choice for purchase.  They make money through referring you to the purchase site and through advertising.

Not one of the Meta Sites found my $336 airfare between LAX and HNL.

They couldn’t see all of the dates for the lower-priced, non advertised deals which I found on the Hawaiian Airlines site.

FareCompare missed the lower airfares in terms of the initial pricing presented, but found the deals when I clicked specific dates. It also uncovered a $329 Delta fare, that was more difficult to find.

I talked recently about how sites use backward and forward looking pricing and what that means to you while shopping online.

The examples below are screen shots of my meta flexible date search.

Bing and Kayak came closest to my $336 fare with their $352 offering.  FareCompare was higher at $381 and Fly was a dollar more. I  was also able to get an additional 5 percent discount using an Affiliate Code which lowered my fare to $320.

What does this mean? No one is perfect. All of these sites have a place and strive to be as accurate as possible.  We’ll also keep reporting the best deals we find.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Why Airfares Vary From Site To Site
• Do Cookies And Travel Deals Mix?
• LAX to Hawaii Market Heating Up

It’s full moon, and winter is thawing, together with some very good Hawaii airfare deals.

You can now fly on Hawaiian Airlines from all of their West Coast locations to Hawaii for between $124 and $170 each way, plus tax.  Pricing is based on their website price, less 5 percent using Hawaiian’s affiliate program (with which we have no affiliation).  Available dates vary widely depending on the city.  Some are only valid in March, while others are available through May.

• Las Vegas $171
• Los Angeles $157
• Oakland $159
• Phoenix $154
• Portland $133
• Sacramento $156
• San Diego $190
• San Francisco $137
• San Jose $143
• Seattle $124

Let us know if you land one of these deals.

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Spring Break: Orange County/Honolulu $174 Each Way
• Unadvertised: Bay Area and LA to Honolulu Sale
• Spring Break on Maui $175 Each Way

Here’s an update since my last post about Airline Broadband Service to Hawaii.

Last week, Alaska Air pulled the plug on Row 44 Wi-Fi service, a Ku-band satellite-based system. The carrier opted instead for Aircell’s Gogo, a terrestrial-based service which has already been installed in over 700 aircraft.

Out the window with that choice went the likelihood of finding Wi-Fi on flights to Hawaii anytime in the near future.

Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawaiian has not made their intentions clear regarding Wi-Fi. When and if they do choose (and I suspect they will soon), we’ll likely see them select from one of the few viable over-water solutions of which I’m aware:

• eXConnect. Lufthansa has just signed on to use this by Panasonic Ku-based system to equip their fleet.
• OnAir. British Airways’ internet service provider, uses technology based on SwiftBroadband, and the latest high-bandwidth satellite technology from Inmarsat.
• Row 44. The Ku-band satellite Wi-Fi chosen by Southwest Airlines (but currently in use on only four planes).

Other carriers to Hawaii.

Air Canada, American, Continental, Delta, United and U.S Airways have all standardized on Aircell’s service, which is incapable of providing service beyond the continental U.S.

More Wi-Fi deployment issues.

It’s interesting to see how some carriers are rapidly deploying Wi-Fi while others are dragging their feet. Southwest, for example, originally indicated that they would have Wi-Fi throughout their nearly 600 plane fleet in early 2010. The latest word is that they’ll now start the rollout by June, but won’t complete it for another 2 1/2 years.

One problem is the lack of power outlets for laptops on planes. Most laptops can’t take full advantage of a long trans-Pacific flight without it.

The financial model for the airlines seems to remain unproven. Implementation cost is estimated at $100,000 per aircraft, and it still isn’t clear how many customers are willing to pay for Wi-Fi. Travelers, weary of ala carte pricing, certainly rebel against hotel Wi-Fi charges. Will the same prove true for Hawaii-bound and other air travelers?

Comments.

Subscribe to our email updates.

Related Posts:

• Allegiant Will Recast Hawaii Deals
• Spring Break: Orange County/Honolulu $174 Each Way
• Atlanta to Honolulu $184 Each Way