As you know, on Tuesday we saw five new routes from four cities on newcomer Allegiant Air. Those came with eye-popping fares starting as low as $130 each way. That announcement was followed yesterday by Alaska Air, which introduced a new route from Portland to Kauai. It featured a $179 each way fare. These two players are definitely ones to keep an eye on, as they attempt to further compete with Hawaiian Air. Legacy carriers like United, American and Delta, however, appear to be largely sidelined with more important matters. We’ve heard very little from them of late with regards to Hawaii.

Here’s what might be upcoming:

Alaska Air

This is the one to watch next. Now that Allegiant has chosen their routes, and Southwest has deferred its Hawaii plans, it would appear Alaska has reasonably free reign to see what additional Hawaii slots they would like to take on. My bet is for something from the Los Angeles area. With any new announcements we are going to see more Hawaii airfare deals.

Virgin America

The carrier has had its sights set on Hawaii travel for years. There have been rumors of their birds being spotted recently at Honolulu International Airport, perhaps doing certification runs with the FAA. They’ve also just run an ad for an ETOPS (over water) program manager. When they decide to come to Hawaii, I expect San Francisco to be their initial jumping off point.

Mokulele

The company known for their Cessna service here in Hawaii wants to offer seemingly unlikely weekly charters between Honolulu and London via Chicago (Rockford Airport). Flights that were to have begun this spring are now delayed until fall.  Reports indicate they have been able to negotiate terms of the lease for the 767-200 which they plan to use for the new route. There are more questions than answers here, but if it happens that will be a great addition.

What’s your pick for the next Hawaii route? 

For those of you who’ve been traveling as long as I have, you know that once much anticipated, divine Hawaii stopovers were extremely common place on these routes.

Japan

This week Hawaiian Air announced the addition of northern Japan’s Sapporo to its growing roster of international flights. Starting November 1, you’ll be able to fly from Honolulu to Hokkaido Island three times a week. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but you’ll definitely want to stay tuned for that. When Hawaiian announced their Fukuoka Japan route recently, they did so with introductory fares of just over $100 each way plus tax.

Australia

A Hawaii stopover is  perfect when flying between the US Mainland and Australia. It virtually eliminates the horrific jet lag you’d otherwise incur. How? Flying from the west coast of the US Mainland to Hawaii is pretty easy. Flying from Hawaii to Australia becomes a predominantly a southern (and thus east-west jet lag free) journey. Sydney is just four hours earlier than Honolulu (albeit the next day). Most flights to Sydney take place during the day, without a disorienting overnight experience. I speak from a lot of experience on this route.

There is now an abundance of service in the Honolulu to Sydney corridor. Quantas’ Jetstar flies to/from Hawaii now 4-5 times weekly. Fares vary, but during a recent sale I bought round trip tickets from Hawaii for $510, including tax. Hawaiian Air flies this route daily as well, so we’re looking forward to more competition and expect better pricing ahead.

New Zealand

Air New Zealand announced today they’ll be increasing their Hawaii lift 50% by adding a third weekly flight seasonally between Auckland and Honolulu. That starts in October. They’ll be upgrading their aircraft to B777 seasonally for increased demand. Air New Zealand also announced a new pricing model, that unbundles food and drink from the basic ticket. I expect to see future  competition and better pricing coming to this route too.

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First thanks to Beat of Hawaii friend Dodge who reminded me of this situation which first came to my attention last year, in Fall 2011. It relates to US DOT rule 397 and deals with itineraries using more than one carrier. Here’s what DOT proferred:

In the case of a passenger itinerary composed of more than one ticket, the rule does not require a downline carrier to apply the baggage allowances or fees of the first carrier if the flight of the first carrier is on a separate ticket from the other flights.

The situation in a nutshell

Most (but not all) airlines have traditionally offered free interlining of baggage, period. If the other airline’s flight wasn’t on the same ticket, simply showing that ticket was enough to qualify you for checking your bags all the way to your desination. So if you fly on United from Chicago to Los Angeles and switch to Hawaiian from Los Angeles to Kona, you would pay once and United would check your bag through to your final destination. And visa versa.

What to expect:

Beginning May 1, 2012, Hawaiian will not through check bags to other airline flights unless the other airline segments are on the PNR for which the passenger is checking in.

Airlines may now require you to claim and recheck baggage at intermediate stops along the way if you did not purchase tickets on a single itinerary. Therefore, a single suitcase may cost you $70 each way, when using two carriers. You should also plan on additional time between flights when using multiple tickets in order to reclaim and recheck baggage when changing carriers.

I expect virtually all domestic carriers to follow suit. Australia’s Qantas was I believe first to implement this change last year.

What You Can Do:

Purchase a single ticket for your entire itinerary – unless there’s a significant and overriding reason for (and savings)  buying tickets separately.

Check with your carriers (first carrier on your outbound and inbound flights) to see how they are handling interlining on separate tickets.

Travel with carry-on luggage only whenever possible if you have separate tickets to avoid having to pay twice, leave security and recheck bags.

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This morning the first two routes and associated pricing were announced for service beginning June 29:

• Fresno to/from Honolulu $174 each way, all-inclusive
• Las Vegas to/from Honolulu $149 each way each way, all-inclusive

Allegiant is feeling confident regarding Las Vegas, as I’d said they should. This service is largely about Honolulu to Las Vegas, rather than the reverse at this point. It’s intended to bring Hawaii residents to their favorite destination. If you read “what’s up next” below, there’s an additional twist. Allegiant will be able to deliver solid Las Vegas deals, given all the packaging they already have in place for air, hotels and attractions. That makes them unique when compared with competitor Hawaiian Air, which already has 17 flights per week into Las Vegas. They’re also strong positioned against largely unknown Boyd Gaming, which runs 5X weekly charters between the islands and Vegas. Allegiant is starting with service three times weekly and I firmly expect them to break from their typical 2-3 times a week mold, and for this to become daily service.

Las Vegas (flights 570/571) is three times per week. They operate Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, departing Las Vegas at 840a arriving Honolulu 1150a. The return leaves Honolulu at 110pm and arrives Las Vegas at 950p.

Fresno

A toe in the water is how I’d portray this offering. Fresno of itself does not have proven traffic to Hawaii. Time will tell if they can build a regional base for this service.

Fresno (flights 573/572) are once weekly. They operate Saturday/Sunday, departing Fresno Sunday at 910a arriving Honolulu at 155p. The return leaves Saturday at 110p arriving Fresno at 925p.

Fares are for available for purchase by April 30 for travel by November 13. Baggage fees are “up to $35 per bag, per segment will apply to one carry-on and the first two (2) checked bags.”

Competition heating up

First, in the Las Vegas market look for competitive fares from Hawaiian. A quick glance this morning showed their fares dropping first to $239 and now to $219 each way, which considering their service inclusive model, including free overhead storage ($35 value) and a meal/beverages ($15 value), comes out just about right. I do expect more competition and the likelihood both carriers will need to discount further.

What’s up next

This is just a small, conservative beginning for Allegiant. Wanting to offer service by the end of June meant there simply was not enough time to put all the pieces in place that might have led to a wider initial route release. Today’s two conservative offerings are barely enough to require just one of their fleet of new 757′s. So this is a test. I understand these flights will be staffed by a Las Vegas based crew that will work both directions without a stay over in Hawaii.

Assuming bookings are on target, I still expect to see some or all of the other destinations we’ve discussed added to the Allegiant Hawaii route roster. Also watch for Allegiant to venture into the hub/spoke model, offering deals from other cities to Honolulu, via their Las Vegas hub.

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One year makes a huge difference – Pleasant’s Hawaii deals start now at $535 per person.

So what happened? Pleasant Holidays was a long time partner with United Airlines deals and committed to bulk purchase of Hawaii tickets. When there was remaining unsold inventory of those seats, they offered them at a fraction of their already reasonable cost. Fortunately for us, that occurred frequently. We mentioned Pleasant’s Hawaii deals an untold number of times and I know many of you took advantage of them in order to have last minute Hawaii vacations for an exceptional price.

Whatever occurred, after March 2011, Pleasant was no longer able to offer bulk seats on United. When I searched their site for offerings today, I found them using a mix of airlines including UAL, Hawaiian and Alaska. An interesting comparison of their cost for a randomly picked 3-night Honolulu getaway and buying it independently is below.

“Multiple-island visits…are very complex, so travelers need travel agents to assist them.” Pleasant Holidays CEO

A legacy focus on travel agents.

Pleasant Holidays, which is owned by the Automobile Club of Southern California, has always sold the majority of their packages through travel agents. As recently as this year, Pleasant CEO Jack Richards said that multi-island Hawaii vacations need travel agents.

For me, however, three things invalidate Pleasant’s travel agent centric perspective.

First, the great majority of Hawaii visitors do not use travel agents. Second, the number of multi-island vacations is low and going lower, due to the staggering cost of inter-island airfares and the availability of direct flights from the mainland to all major islands. And third, companies like Allegiant which focus on airfare plus hotel, car and activities largely replace what travel agents have traditionally done.

Mexico and the Caribbean in their sights.

Pleasant sees much opportunity in Mexico primarily, and in the Caribbean secondarily. Frankly these appear to have largely replaced their Hawaii business. Pleasant sees that “Mexico is a huge value right now,” and that value means more room to maneuver and make money. Proximity from Southern California to Mexico certainly also plays in Pleasant’s favor.

Current price comparison of a 3-night Los Angeles to Honolulu vacation for two with air/hotel:

• Purchased via Pleasant Holidays website: $1,217
• Purchased via Hawaiian Airlines plus hotel website: $1,210
• For travel 4/25-4/28, including 3 nights at Maile Sky Court. Including all taxes/fees.

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Latest route rumors

My sources indicate that Allegiant may have decided to include Las Vegas in their Hawaii launch plans. That makes a lot of sense for several reasons. First Allegiant already has a great deal of experience creating Las Vegas packages that will prove extremely popular with Hawaii residents. Las Vegas is a perennial top destination for those of us in Hawaii. And no other player in this market can do Las Vegas packages the way Allegiant can. The company already serves Las Vegas from dozens of cities, which could also open the possibility of using Vegas as a hub for Hawaii service from other locations. That would be a new model for Allegiant. Any way I look at it, however, Las Vegas sounds like a winning plan for them.

The other locations being discussed haven’t really changed. At the top of the list is Stockton, Fresno, Eugene and Bellingham. Add Los Angeles as an outside possibility to these other mainland cities.

Hiring a Hawaii based crew

Allegiant has been hiring flight attendants for their Honolulu base. Those positions may already have been filled. They still have an ad posted for a Honolulu base manager however.

ETOPS certification

FAA approval for trans-Pacific service appears to be the current stumbling block in order to begin service. That was to have happened earlier this year and Allegiant indicated that was the key hurdle essential to their 757 based Hawaii route announcements. With Southwest Air Hawaii service delayed for at least another year, I can see no other obstacles likely to curtail this inevitability.

What will Allegiant service be like?

Allegiant has a unique model we’ve discussed before, and based thereon is likely to offer service only 2 or 3 times per week per mainland location. In addition, they are primarily interested in selling packages of air with hotel, car and/or activities. That’s how Allegiant makes money. Another way they’ll garner income en route to Hawaii is via their infamous ancillary fees. This week they announced plans to charge from $10 to $35 per carry on (anything in the overhead bin).

Note: Positive industry reaction to Allegiant’s new carry on fees (in concert with its upcoming Hawaii plans) caused the company’s stock to reach an time high yesterday.

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There are recent changes in the travel review community. Competition and economic uncertainty continue to give rise to a desire to change the outcome of all-important travel reviews. The impact of positive and negative comments is huge. So why wouldn’t a business want to improve its reviews, even if that involves writing negative reviews about its competitors or buying positive ones?

What’s New at Expedia and TripAdvisor Since Their Break-Up Last Year?

TripAdvisor removed their “Reviews You Can Trust” slogan on hotels, replaced with, “Reviews From Our Community.” Doesn’t that say a lot? Immediately after spinning off TripAdvisor last year, Expedia launched verified hotel reviews in order to help make them trustworthy. Time will tell. Under the new model you can only leave a review if your trip was booked on Expedia so they can verify you actually stayed at the hotel. I’d suggested many times that TripAdvisor move to a review verification process and had explained why. That was met frankly with a bunch of party line chatter.

The critics

Our new found consumer voices seem to be tied to ever increased expectations and a demand for excellence, no matter the price paid. Even legitimate reviews are becoming more polarized with either glowing over the top accolades or free for all complaints. We know that these at times fun to read extremes may be justified, or can as easily be vindictive and emanate for a variety of other reasons.

Crooks: the black market of reviews

At the bottom line, anyone can write anything and reviews for the most part aren’t verified in any way. Last year, there was big news of something I’d addressed previously when the NY Times wrote about the business of soliciting and creating fraudulent reviews.

Damage caused by reviews

Valid or fraudulent, review based harm can be done quickly and have long lasting or even irreparable ramifications – reading that a hotel has bed bugs or someone found a cockroach in their food for example. A review I just read at one of my favorite eateries suggested the later. The guest was dismayed when the establishment would only give him one free meal, instead of the four for his entire family that he had requested. Apparently they were all damaged emotionally after having consumed all of the food.

I’ve also heard of requests for discounts in order to avoid a very poor review and have learned more than once about businesses being otherwise extorted in order to avoid falsified, negative reviews.

With nowhere else to turn

There are so many travel options to choose from, how else can we try to be sure that our choices will be to our liking? Review sources seem like the only option for starting to whittle down the field. As for me, I’ve taken more to using Expedia and Yelp rather than TripAdvisor. Yes, Yelp, even though they were once accused of extortion. I also like Amazon reviews. It doesn’t mean I completely trust even the verified reviews, but it feels somewhat better.

Go with the numbers

My best advice is to check the profile of each reviewer to see how frequently they write and the history of past reviews. From that I can decide on trust. If there’s only one review in the profile history, I move on quickly.

Has your use of travel reviews changed? How do you determine accuracy?

Want to read more – see related posts below.

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No Hawaii service in 2012

The airline’s CEO Gary Kelly said last week that they now do not intend to start Hawaii service this year. There are union agreement labor rates that need to be worked out prior to any announcement, he added. It seems to me, however, that Southwest is having cold feet again (or at least they are pretending to), not unlike when they axed Hawaii plans three years ago.

In a Facebook comment, it was suggested that perhaps Southwest is having ETOPS certification issues. And you may recall that Allegiant did earlier. While my understanding is that Southwest’s new planes comes certified, the airline process is another issue. I don’t know where Southwest Air is in the regards. If anyone has more information on that, please let me know.

Airlines serving Hawaii play it close to the vest

New Hawaii service plans are becoming more secretive than ever. Allegiant continues to delay their long-anticipated announcement of service expected to begin this summer, and we are awaiting news of added Alaska Air Hawaii services as well. Stay tuned for these.

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So what does that mean to you and, most importantly, how to get to Hawaii on the cheap:

We are about to see more flights coming to Hawaii

You already know about the recently announced services from the east coast. In June, Hawaiian will start service between Honolulu and JFK and United will commence flying Washington, D.C. to Honolulu.

Beyond that, any day now, Allegiant will announce their plans for Hawaii service scheduled to begin this summer. That was due to be announced two weeks ago but has for some reason been delayed. I expect to see Allegiant Hawaii service from both California and Oregon.

There should also be more news upcoming from Alaska Airlines, as they continue to expand their Hawaii offerings. I was recently surveyed by Alaska and the nature of their questions leads me to speculate that more Southern California to Hawaii service will be on tap soon.

Southwest has been all too quiet about their Hawaii plans. They have already begun taking delivery of their new planes, and could announce at any point if they are so inclined.

More flights mean new airfare sales

While airfare deals are always tricky to find, more flights will mean more opportunities. On the other hand, with smaller planes, the airlines are in the best ever control of their inventory and ticket prices. So sales will remain short-lived. Knowing your availability and being ready to book within the first few hours of a deal is becoming even more important. When Hawaiian introduced their New York to Honolulu flight, they did so with a brief $212 one-way fare. That price subsequently doubled.

Hotel and car rental deals harder to get

With Hawaii expecting more visitors, it going to get trickier to find the best accommodation and car rental deals. Therefore we need to get even more creative. Consider alternatives to hotels including vacation rentals, and start looking for changeable hotel positions as quickly as possible when planning your Hawaii vacation. Don’t forget about Priceline too. It isn’t advisable to wait on car rentals bookings either, as they can become inordinately expensive or even sell out entirely.

Consider Alternatives

Are you willing to drive to a neighboring airport. It can often save you hundreds of dollars per person. Can your summer vacation be the second half of August? That is going to be much less costly than the first half. Flying inter-island? The time of day has everything to do with the ticket price. Are you flexible about your activities? Inquire and you may find that certain dates/times cost considerably less.

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Last March, an Indiana man who complained of fatigue collapsed and died after completing a zipline tour in Princeville on Kauai. Then in September, one person was killed and another was injured in a zip-line accident at Honolii Mountain Outpost at Puaka’a on the Big Island. An employee doing a test run died when a tower collapsed. No paying customers were involved in that accident. The incident pointed out that there are no zip-line workplace safety regulations here in Hawaii.

While zip-line incidents remain rare, proactive Hawaii zip-line operators have been working with the State to help enact safety legislation for the fast growing industry. The bill has been postponed until next year however. The enforcing Dept. of Labor and Industrial Standards opposed the bill because current staffing was deemed inadequate in both time and expertise. The onus is now on the state to figure this one out.

Zip-Lining Has Been Around for 300 Years

It’s anything but a new invention and is a descendant from the rope sliding of the 1700′s. In China it’s still regularly used as a means of transportation to cross rivers. The aerial activity is growing exponentially more popular and I’ve heard that the number of venues in Hawaii may double in upcoming years.

Safety Suggestions

1. Make sure you are in good enough shape to get on and off, and hike to and from the actual ride, typically over uneven hilly terrain.

2. Be aware that most zip-lines require you to be between approximately 70 and 270 lbs in weight.

3. Tours are not suggested for those with heart conditions and any recent bone and joint injuries or surgeries.

4. Pregnant women are not allowed to zip-line.

5. You must wear closed toe shoes.

6. Be prepared to sign a liability waiver.

What Are Your Zip-Line Experiences?

We’d love to hear from you.

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