Last January I went out on a limb and predicted what we’d see in Hawaii travel in the year ahead. As the sun sets on 2010, I had a look back to see just how accurate those prognostications were.
1. More Hawaii routes, based on 737 aircraft. That indeed came to pass as legacy and regional carriers jockeyed for position and more Hawaii routes came from both Alaska and Continental.
2. Allegiant all but made it to Hawaii as predicted too. The complexity of their ETOPS certification process unfortunately bit them by surprise and threw an unexpected 24 month wrench into the works.
3. Airfare sales. I suggested that 2010 would have more sporadic sales. Indeed the nature of 2010 Hawaii deals was quite different than in 2009. As you may recall, in 2009 we had $99 fares from Los Angeles to Hawaii and sub $200 each way fares from the East Coast that lasted for months on end. 2010 deals have been of far shorter duration.
4. More expensive (peak season) summer travel. There were fewer summer deals to be found this year compared with 2009, as I’d suggested would be the case. Hawaii’s high season summer and Christmas holiday travel has been solidifying faster than off-season, with most prices returning to their pre-2008 stratospheric levels.
5. Hotel bargains were abundant. Hotels continued to suffer from too much inventory throughout most of 2010, which resulted in great deals on all the islands. As we got to the end of the year, however, inventory and demand began to come into better alignment, which has started to result in fewer hotel deals, and higher prices. Hotels focused on value accommodations, such as our advertiser Aqua Resorts, are well-positioned for this development.
6. Variability in Car Rental Prices. Indeed car rentals have been all over the map. We’ve seen prices range all the way from $10 to $150 per day for the same car, depending on seasonal demand. Recently we published our top ten suggestions for paying less for Hawaii car rentals.
What to expect in 2011?
That’s next. Please stay tuned.
Cat (1 year ago)
I just want to say thanks for all your hard work during 2010 bringing us the most updated info!!