BEAT OF HAWAII AND BEYOND

Beat of Hawaii is fortunate to have such wonderful readers.

Following the recent post on our “first impression” experience with A.A., we heard from a reader, who is also a working American Airlines flight attendant.  I found this candid take compelling and wanted to share it, front and center:

Let me fill you in on a few items from the other side of the dolly trolly. Other work groups (as well as flight attendants) are now on their 5th year of pay cuts that were forced upon us by our own unions and accomplished by holding back SEC filings by managment. Flight Attendants took an actual pay cut of 17%, with benefit cuts it comes closer to 30%; conversely, AA executives have had bonuses EVERY year. All work groups are in contract negotations that may take years before settled. Why have we been holding on? The economy (where are we going?), the hope that we may get retro pay, we need the contractual raise so that we can complete our “best of 4″ (your retirement is based on your best 4 years of work plus other factors), and of course some of us actually like to fly.

Now, why is service not up to par onboard? We are down to FAA minimums of flight attendants working the flight, a marketing department that can’t make up its mind what it wants to sell on board, the Flight Attendants working your flight are suffering from lack of sleep, no food, having to work twice as much to make ends meet. You try to be chipper and glee when passengers treat you like crap and you work for a company that treats you worse.

Make it better for yourself on any airline. Be responsible for your own belongings, bring a sandwich, a bottle of water and a polar fleece jacket (no mater where your traveling!). Don’t let children travel alone, buy a seat for your child (yes, I mean all children- lap children are not fair for those sitting around you and it is unsafe) . Don’t treat the airplane like an open garbage can. No one wants to hear your audio – no Jr. can not play Barney out loud! Don’t wrap your coat around the back of your seat – that space belongs to the guy behind you.

It’s a different time. Travel has changed. It will get better someday – but it’s will never be like it was.

Aloha – thanks for the vent.

Thanks for the fabulous report from inside AA!

I’ve finally started to notice some softening in Hawaii airfares.

The fare below is down from over $500.  Weakness in the market is (as I had suggested) forcing the airlines to begin to either lower Hawaii fares or reduce schedules.

San Francisco to Honolulu

• Airline:  United
• Cost:  $451 RT (all-inclusive)
• Dates:  Travel through December 12
• Thanksgiving week for about $50 more (now that is a great deal!)
• Best found directly on ual.com

I recently had the opportunity to fly American Airlines between New York’s JFK and Seattle. While it’s true that one flight does not an airline make, impressions do count and can make or break an airline in today’s competitive market. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my observations.

What I found:

• Old appearing, dirty and not (cosmetically) well maintained 757 aircraft.
• Surly, careless flight attendants. We were struck by their lack of focus on or regard for the passengers. Their conversations were primarily between themselves and there was little engagement with their customers. This was not a single flight attendant, but appeared to be the crew overall.
• On-time performance. We were both pleased and surprised.
• Check-in. The kiosk check-in system at JFK worked flawlessly and efficiently. We were on our way to security within about 5 minutes of our arrival. Kudos here.
• Efficient baggage service. The bags arrived at the carousel in Seattle as quickly as we did. Kudos again.

The buzz in the industry:

I’ve been reading more articles about AA since our flight. As domestic airlines no longer offer much in the way of amenities, the way in which they handle the basics may be bellwethers of their ability to even stay in business.

• For the past two years, American has been at the bottom of all reporting US carriers in terms of customer satisfaction, on-time performance, baggage handling and flight cancellations. Even AA’s top executives acknowledge the severity of their problems.
• AA is trying very hard to improve in each of these areas. For example, they recently redesigned their schedule and have increased both flight and ground times in order to try to improve performance. Subsequent results are already reflecting some improvement.
• Employee morale. There is no doubt that airline employees have had a really tough time. The three major unions representing the bulk of AA’s employees, have all had embattled negotiations with the company within the past two years. An incentive plan long in place to attempt to improve both morale and performance produced no significant results. Employee satisfaction appears to be very low, as was readily apparent. This could well be one of their most significant problems.

I’m sure some of you are frequent customers of AA and have a lot more information to share on this. I look forward to hearing from you. This week I’ll also be discussing my experience on United Airlines between Kauai and Newark (with a plane change in Los Angeles).

UPDATED 10/1/08:

Now valid through December 12, 2008

(Including Thanksgiving!)

A small and likely short-lived airfare skirmish is providing a nice Fall travel opportunity.  I hope that some of you who have been asking about Chicago to Hawaii deals can take advantage of it.  Act quickly if you are interested.

• Airlines:  American, Northwest, United
• Dates:  Through November 19 (November 27 on United)
• Minimum/maximum stay:  3/60 days

Yesterday I gave you my advice on what to do when your hotel room does not live up to expectations. Normally I complain immediately if I’m unhappy. On my recent trip to New York I was stuck with a bad room for 6 nights.

Here’s what happened at New York’s Millennium UN Plaza Hotel:

I booked a “superior room” through a Travelzoo promotion for $199 per night. This did not include the unbelievable daily charge of $12.95 for Internet.

At check-in I had just flown eleven hours through six time zones and was not feeling on top of my game. All I wanted was a bed. It was 9am and I was told the room would not be ready until 3pm.

By the time I got to the room I was completely wasted and had actually fallen asleep sitting in the lobby. It was not until the next day that I realized the room was not what I had been promised.  Even then, I was too tired with jet lag to deal with it.  I knew I’d been taken, but couldn’t deal with repacking and changing rooms.  Damn.

Here’s what I’ve subsequently done about it:

1. Soon after checking out, I received an online questionnaire from the hotel, inquiring about my stay. Had I not received that, I was prepared to contact the management directly.

2. The hotel’s general manager responded as follows:

…I had a chance to review the survey that you recently completed. We are sorry to learn that you encountered some service inconsistencies during this visit. In particular, your remarks concerning your accommodations. We also regret that you did not receive any assistance by Front Service and have addressed the poor performance with the appropriate managers and staff so that measures may be taken to prevent deficiencies such as you experienced. In the meantime, please accept our sincere apologies for having caused you disappointment and inconvenience….

Sincerely,
Mark Irgang
General Manager

3. I responded to the General Manager:

…When we checked out, the gentleman at the desk asked how things had gone and I told him about our dissatisfaction with the room and the misrepresentation compared with the photographs of our room type on your website. He said that we were in an old and unrenovated section (however that would not account for the window discrepancy).

Superior room on website photo:

Our “superior” room:

Under the circumstances, I think something more than I’m sorry would be appropriate….

Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. It’s important to know when to let go so your vacation is not ruined.

One of the best comments I read recently is saying this to the Front Desk agent at check-in:

“Give me the room you were going to give me after the one I came downstairs and complained about. ”

PS:  If we hear back from the hotel, we’ll let you know.

THIS IS A SUPERIOR ROOM ON THE HOTEL’S WEB SITE:

THIS IS THE SUPERIOR ROOM I WAS GIVEN:

I was expecting multiple windows, a corner room, and updated furnishings, based on the superior category I reserved.

This is the first of two parts on what to do if your hotel room does not meet expectations. Tomorrow I’ll tell you what happened recently in NYC when I was not able to change the above room. Today’s segment offers my suggestions on getting the best room for the price paid.

Here’s what I do:

1. Research the hotel’s site, and reviews before arriving.

I find what people have said about renovations and construction, corner rooms, views, noise, and areas important to me. Descriptions and photographs on review sites and the hotel’s site can be helpful in setting my expectations.

2. At check-in, I ask about the type of room I’ve been assigned.

If it seems appropriate, I may request a room upgrade at the same price. It doesn’t hurt to be members of the hotels’ frequent guest program before making special requests.

3. Proceed to the assigned room without making assumptions.

I may not even schlep the luggage. Before I unpack or use the bathroom, I assess the room in relation to what I expected.

4. Return to the front desk if not satisfied.

If the room isn’t everything I’d hoped for, seen and read about on the hotel’s site and in the various forums, then I go back to the front desk.

Normally the second room will be significantly better. If it isn’t, however, I don’t t hesitate to go back yet again.

If necessary, I ask to speak with the manager. By this point I may have been offered a major upgrade for a small amount of money. If the offer is reasonable, and there was no misrepresentation in terms of the prior room, then I might just say yes and pay up.

Suggestions:

• Ask for what you want based on reasonable expectations given what you reserved and are paying for.
• Realize that all rooms in the same price category are not created equal.
• Don’t be shy, but remain calm and polite. Room change requests are very common and not unexpected by the hotel.
• Consider checking a site like Tripkick, a website which offers room by room hotel guides.
• Sometimes tipping at the front desk doesn’t hurt. In my own experience, however, it usually isn’t necessary in order to get a better room.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s description of what happened in the photos above and what we are doing about it.

I received this travel insurance promotion from American Express:

Protect your travel plans for a more relaxing vacation….$28.95 per covered person per covered trip.

The maximum benefits offered:

• Cancel due to illness: $500 in non-refundable expenses.
• Airline baggage loss: $1,500.
• Stolen articles: $1,500.
• Flight overbooked: $250 a day for two days for expenses.
• Accidental death or dismemberment: $250,000.

What’s wrong with this offer:

1. There is no information on the terms and conditions of the insurance, no website listed, and on searching americanexpress.com, I found nothing for TravelAssure.

2. The coverages listed are inadequate, incomplete and scattered, as trip insurance goes. If you looked at our recent multi-part series on travel insurance, you know that there are many kinds of coverage you should consider before making your selection. Most of these appear to be missing from the TravelAssure policy.

3. The money spent on this insurance would in most all circumstances be better spent towards more appropriate and comprehensive coverage.

3. Unfortunately, purchasing TravelAssure might falsely give someone comfort via the impression of having travel insurance.

Suggestion:

Do your homework on travel insurance, don’t waste your money, and don’t rely on any big names including American Express or your airline, when shopping for coverage.

Coming home yesterday from the mainland, we were struck by the ever more blatant and sometimes annoying commercialism of Hawaiian Airlines. The other airlines we used on this 10,000 mile trip, United and American, were nowhere as bad.

Before I go on, let me just say that overall we like Hawaiian, have flown them for years and are Pualani Platinum, which is their highest level of frequent fliers.  Hawaiian has been very good to us and visa versa.

Nonetheless, here’s how we were struck by some commercialism you might not expect to find or might be surprised to learn more about:

1. Island maps. Hawaiian will offer you a free map of your destination island on all inter-island flights. Before you think altruism, think again. While the maps are nice, and make cute gifts too, this is a huge revenue opportunity for Hawaiian. It puts their map advertisers right in front of your face throughout your island visit.

2. Hawaiian Skies. This is Hawaiian’s in-flight video program featuring destination activities and cultural information. It’s gone from being really nice to one very long, obvious infomercial, parading one advertiser after another in front of your unable to move face.

3. Hilo Hattie promotion. Hawaiian is forever trying to get you to shop at their clothing and Hawaiiana store partner. When the Hilo Hattie promotions first started years ago, we even got some very nice T-shirts for five dollars. As with everything, the deals have since changed and not for the better. Look for flight attendants to be handing out these generally useless coupons when you disembark.

4. Hawaiian Miles Visa card. The flight attendants strongly promote the Bank of America Visa card, and walk up and down the aisle with applications.  For many people, however, the 20,000 mile sign-up bonus may not be worth the $50 annual fee. Hawaiian raised the mileage requirements for all award travel earlier this month, such that 100 mile, one-way inter-island flights will now cost from 7,500 to 15,000 each!

5. Hana Hou In-flight magazine. We’ve been told that this is the most expensive print advertising in our state. At over 100,000 copies per issue, it has the largest distribution too. While there’s nothing wrong with it in any way, it always causes me pause when an advertiser is paying a huge amount to get my business.

We jokingly wondered if soon we could have our name engraved next to our favorite Hawaiian Air seat, the way some restaurants do.  What’s your experience with commercialism at 30,000 feet?

Yesterday afternoon we had the opportunity to visit three of Hawaii’s airports, Kahului, Honolulu and Lihue. The reason is that we were returning from Seattle, and this was the only routing available.

Sunday afternoons are traditionally a very busy time at our airports.  However, the photo is a frighteningly accurate depiction of what we found at the first two, though running though HNL quickly, there wasn’t time for another empty corridor photo. Lihue was somewhat busier and might reflect a slightly stronger visitor market.

The lack of reasonable airfares from California cities, plus economic uncertainties, have really put the kibosh on normally vibrant Fall travel to the islands.

Tip One: Autumn is in my opinion, far and away the best time of year to visit Hawaii. We are having our finest weather. It is usually still pretty dry (though it has been raining a bit this morning), and the edge of summer’s heat has passed. The more angled sun’s light is especially beautiful, something that Van Gogh might have related to.

Lastly, the number of tourists is always down in Fall (though not like it is now), which makes everything more accessible and affordable.

Tip Two: Hotel deals are better than ever. The net effect is that this is still a very good time to visit the islands, especially if you plan to stay for a week or longer. In that case, the higher airfares will be more than offset by the lower hotel costs.

Tip Three: If you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, you’re in for airfare deals to Hawaii.  Portland and Seattle continue to have the best deals, starting under $400 RT.

I received an email from a reader this morning:

Hi Jeff,

Read your comment to “It’s not a bird. it’s a gecko.” You said, (you) have pretty well gecko-proofed (your) house. Want to know how you did it. They are all over the place, dropping their poop everywhere. Can you tell me how (to) gecko proof my place. Aloha. (Joy)

I started the process of gecko-proofing years ago. While geckos may seem cute to visitors, those who live with them full-time know how destructive they are.

Specifically, they defecate on everything and anything you own. Their droppings typically contain salmonella, which should be a real warning on leaving food out. It also stains most light colored things, and can both make a cleaning nightmare and destroy valued possessions.

Here are my top three gecko proofing ideas:

1. Clean everything first.

You’ll see where the old problems are and then start with a clean slate to find new trouble areas.

2. Check the seals on all doors and windows.

Remove screens, as you’ll likely find white eggs, or eggshells in the space between the window frames and the screens. These spaces need to be filled (with foam filler strips). Check the space under doors, as geckos can slim out and squeeze under most door frames. Seal any gap with various hardware options.

3. Caulking is your best friend.

Any gaps around walls, doors, windows, ceilings, and roofing need to be filled. This may take some time to complete, so start with the biggest holes and those closest to the recent droppings. When caulk isn’t big enough, try spray foam filler.

There’s a fourth tip which I’m cautious to mention–but it scares the daylights out of the geckos. Any guess what it is? Feel free to comment.

We’re thrilled about most things Hawaiian, and want to start sharing some of those and tell you why they make us love our Hawaii home:

1. Iolani Palace. This is the only royal palace in the United States, and it dates back to 1882. In my mind this is a must see for all first time visitors to Honolulu. You won’t be disappointed and will learn a good deal about Hawaii’s history too. We wrote about it back in January.

2. On Maui, you can drive around the entire island while remaining near the ocean’s edge. Each of the other islands have parts that are not drivable, including the Big Island, Kauai and Oahu.

3. Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee commercially. Here on Kauai, as we just wrote, is the largest coffee plantation, at about 3,400 acres. There is commercial coffee grown on all of the major islands.

4. Mauna Kea, the dormant Big Island volcano, is generally considered to be the world’s highest mountain at 33,000 feet, when measured from its base (below the ocean). It is also the site of winter skiing. The summit is located above much of Earth’s atmosphere and water vapor, and thus provides an ideal location for its renowned osbservatories.

5. Mt. Waialeale, on Kauai, is considered the rainiest places in the world, averaging nearly 40 feet of rain annually! Luckily visitors don’t stay there.

6. All of our state’s beaches are considered public. Access to some of them however is only via private property or the ocean.

7. Hawaii produces some of the world’s best pineapple, and at one time produced a significant part of the world’s supply. We most like the pineapples we grow at home (just by sticking the crowns in the ground). Unfortunately labor costs have reduced our competitiveness with foreign producers. Remember that you can bring Hawaii pineapples back with you from your next trip. Pick them up at any grocery store. We wrote about that back in January.

8. Here in Hawaii we have a unique time zone, known as Hawaiian Alutian time. We are located at GMT-10 and we do not participate in daylight savings. That means that the time difference between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland (west coast) is 3 hours in summer but only 2 hours in winter.

9. We have four counties in Hawaii (Honolulu; Hawaii, Kauai and Maui). Some of the counties encompass more than one island. Each county has a mayor and a council.

10. The Hawaiian Islands (Archipelago), once known as the Sandwich Islands, consists of over 130 land masses that stretch over 1,600 miles from north (the Kure Atoll) to south (the Big Island). The name Hawaii comes from the largest of the land masses, the Big Island. The islands are considered to be the most isolated in the entire world.

This is the first in our series covering the Coffees of Hawaii. We are coffee snobs, and both grow and roast our own beans. But when push comes to shove, we have to buy beans, so we thought we’d literally start with those grown near our own backyard.

Kauai Coffee company is located in Eleele (pronounced L.A. L.A.) near Kauai’s south shore and Poipu Beach. The location was previously that of the renowned McBryde sugar plantation.

By far the largest coffee producer in Hawaii, Kauai Coffee has over 3,400 acres planted where sugar cane previously grew. There is a visitor center on-site where you can taste and purchase a variety of roasted and green bean coffees plus other food and gift items, and a museum where you can see antique coffee equipment and photos.

Kauai Coffee produces only 100% Kauai grown coffees, which are in no way comparable to lower quality and lower cost “10% Kona blend” coffees.

History

In 1987, the first coffee plantings occurred, which then was the largest Hawaii agricultural undertaking in half a century. The plantation was a joint venture between McBryde (owned by Alexander and Baldwin) and Hills Brothers.

Unfortunately, in 1992, Hurricane Iniki destroyed much of the plantation, inflicting an $8.5 million loss. Soon thereafter, Hills Brothers withdrew from the partnership. Nonetheless, the trees were replanted and have been thriving every since.

The end of commercial sugar production here on Kauai came in 1995, but the popularity of unique coffees has encouraged the ongoing success of Kauai Coffee.

Hawaii is the only place in the U.S. where coffee is grown commercially.

Process

Kauai coffee uses a sophisticated and automated production process. Flatland grown Kauai coffee is harvested mechanically while hilly Kona coffee is harvested by hand. The annual harvest begins sometime in October and goes until December, 24 hours a day.

Varieties

Kauai coffee grows 5 varieties of arabica beans:

• Yellow and Red Catuai
• Typica
• Blue Mountain
• Mundo Novo

Prized among all of their coffees are the estate roasted varieties which they produce on-site as well as the peaberry bean variety, which makes up about 2% of the total crop.

Cupping

Kauai coffee is an extremely pleasant everyday coffee, with a significantly lower acidity level as compared with Kona coffee.

Tip

Unfortunately, while it is romantic to buy coffee on your trip to Kauai, you can usually buy Kauai coffee for less money on the mainland. Here are two good sources we’ve found for buying Kauai coffee:

Trader Joe’s

Burman’s Coffee

Lastly, if you are going to be buying Kauai coffee here on Kauai during your vacation, the estate roasted Kauai coffee (especially peaberry), found only at their Eleele location, is great. The Kauai coffee found at the local grocery stores pales in comparison, and often features an overpowering rancidity.