Apr 17 2008
Can’t Find a Good Airfare to Hawaii?
Hawaii air travelers are swimming upstream at the moment:
- Soaring and unstoppable fuel costs
- Bankruptcies of Aloha and ATA
- Announced merger of Delta and Northwest
- Financial upheaval at Go! (Mesa) Airlines
As a result, airfares are up 30% over the same time last year and it is becoming nearly impossible to find reasonable airfares for any season. Further, the whole mess is completely unpredictable.
Here’s what we suggest:
- Wait for last minute deals. Look for them on each of the airline sites (Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, Northwest and USAir), plus at places like Travelocity using flexible date search, and on weekly deal offerings from Travelzoo and Sherman’s Travel.
- Expect the unexpected. The market is in a state of flux. There will be lower priced offerings coming and the players are still likely to be changing. For example, Southwest will play some role in the Hawaii market, and will replace their prior ATA partnership.
- Don’t book future travel yet. If your travel plans are beyond the upcoming season (say for fall, winter or 2009 dates), I suggest a wait and watch attitude. The only exception is Christmas, which I would buy now. Fares are always stratospheric over the holidays and this year may be even worse.
- Use frequent flier miles. These awards are becoming extremely difficult to get. Book as far out as possible, often 330 days (depending on the airline).
- Consider airfares as you would the stock market. Keep your ear to the ground and watch for any momentary softness as your chance to buy. Be prepared and buy quickly when the opportunity presents itself.
- Set up travel alerts. You can get notifications of relevant deals at sites like Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, airfarewatchdog and Kayak.
- Try package deals. Two examples are Pleasant Holidays and Orbitz.
- Combine fares. If you are not starting from a “hub” city, consider a two ticket approach. For example, we helped a reader find the best deal from Buffalo to Honolulu. It was $200 cheaper per person to buy two tickets (one from Buffalo to Oakland and a separate ticket from Oakland to Honolulu).
We’ll do our best to keep you updated on the latest and best deals as we find them.
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