Timing is Key: Get the Best Hawaii Airfare Deals next Wednesday?

1. Seasonal timing. Look for the best Hawaii airfare deals to be announced on the Wednesday two weeks prior, then one week prior, to ending of a “high season.”

The first round of discounts are with the more distant locations (longer trips are less spontaneous so the airlines have less to lose in lowering those fares first). The second round of discounts are from nearby west coast locations, where travelers can be more last minute (the airlines could lose more high-season traffic when lowering fares too soon).

Going out on a limb, I’ll suggest that for the highly desirable and affordable August (“shoulder”) season travel, look for July 30 and August 6 as potentially the best buy dates.

2. Wednesday is the key day. I’ve known this for several years, but a post on Peter Greenberg’s blog today got me thinking. Wednesday’s are the day to buy airline tickets. In my mind this started years ago when the majors offered their best internet deals late on Tuesday night. And while, as Peter pointed out, weekends are when the airlines start to test new fares (both up and down), just after midnight on Wednesday morning is virtually always the best time to buy.

With oil (and jet fuel) in the stratosphere, look for airlines to be more tricky than ever in trying to strap you into higher priced seats. They are even taking out lavatories to reduce weight and add more seats. They have to.

But the deals, as you saw yesterday, are still out there to be had. We’ll keep giving the deals to you as quickly as we can find them.

3. Subscribe to Beat of Hawaii so that we can get you the best airfare deals first: email or RSS feed.

And please, let us know how it works for you.