Putting Hawaii travel costs in perspective. From the Honolulu Clipper take off to today’s landing.
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192 thoughts on “Prices Went From $5,500 To $99 As Air Travel Reshaped Hawaii”
Putting Hawaii travel costs in perspective. From the Honolulu Clipper take off to today’s landing.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
First flight to Hawaii was in 1973. I was a freshman in college and the family took a summer trip to Hawaii, Kauai and Maui. I fell in love with Hawaii but alas, it was many years before I could afford to take my own family to Hawaii. We returned as frequently as we could over the years visiting all the islands.
Fast forward many years and now we have a fractional ownership on Maui and spend a good chunk of our winters there every year now that we’re retired (We’re getting getting geared up to head out in about a month).
We’re looking forward to seeing our Maui friends again.
How flying has changed since then. In too many cases passengers are a necessary evil. United may have owned the route in the early days, but we fly the friendly skies of Hawaiian Air.
I don’t recall my first of 20-30 flights to Hawaii. But, my first “trip” was on a ship in 1965; I was in the Marines and we stopped in Hawaii on the way back from Japan for less than a day. How excited we were. Mrs. Copeland, who I met in Japan, met me, took me to her home, and cooked a delicious steak dinner. I met her young daughter and son while there. Her husband was an officer in the Navy and in Mrs. Copeland Japan we look after us young Marines far away from home for the first time.
I first flew to Honolulu when I was 14 years old with my family. And have been coming to the islands pretty much every year till 1974 when my husband was stationed in Guam. In 1977 the Navy stationed us at Barbers Point for 4 years. After that my parents bought into a timeshare on Kauai where we have been going for over 30 years. Kauai is our 2nd home. Aloha
I flew to Hawaii the first time in 1972. I flew on Continental Airlines. My husband was hired right out of college to work for Pan American Airlines in 1971. That was the beginning of his long storied aviation career.
I was born at Tripler in 1962. My first flight was on TWA leaving the islands after my dad has been stationed at Schofield. First time back was on my honeymoon in 1982 with my first husband (that didn’t last) and in 1986 I flew as a Flight Attendant with TWA and met my now husband at Paradise Cove Luau. We visit as often as we can and try to only fly Hawaiian. ❤️🌴
Aloha BOH Bro’s
1973 out of SFO I was 12 years old with my mother, father and 5 kids.
We live in Sacramento my father a private pilot had several planes as a tax shelter on lease back. One being a Piper Chieftain.
SFO normally doesn’t allow private aircraft to use the airfield, but some how my dad got clearance for us to fly from Sacramento to SFO in the Chieftain.
We landed and taxied right up to the terminal and board our flight to Honolulu. People thought we were celebrities.
It was a Chevrolet trip I remember Don Ho played one night and spent time with us at our table. My younger brother who was 3 at the time order an Elephant trunk for dinner.
No, I don’t have photos from last weeks sky diving it’s not like we’re doing tandem newbie jumps with souvenir photo pics.
My first flight to Hawaii was on a chartered flight to Maui more than 40 years ago in 1980 where about 200+ of us teenagers worked for the summer picking pineapple through Youth Development Enterprises (YDE). As a fairly naïve Idaho boy, I spent that summer with what I can only describe as the teenage version of a crew of roughnecks picking pineapple in all of the fields in northwest Maui. It was hard work picking pineapple as a 15/16 year old boy in the hot Maui sun (thank goodness I was on the afternoon/evening crew) but I realized later that that hard work was the forge to developing a solid work ethic for the rest of my life.
I will always be grateful to YDE and to the Hawaiian people for sharing their culture with me and introducing me to all that the world has to offer.
Aloha! If anyone here is interested, you can go to Pan Am’s original arrival/departure spot in Pearl Harbor. It is located on Middle Loch where Lanakila Avenue trrminates into Middle Loch. There is a marker there that was dedicated in 1985 by Pan Am workers. If you search “Pan Am Transpacific Landing Site Hawai’i” on Google Maps, you can get directions there. (I know it is on Maps….because I put it there.)
Beyond the marker, there is not much else to see. It is in a housing complex and overlooks two decommissioned Navy ships. But it is cool to stand there and in your mind’s eye, envision well dressed travelers getting on/off a majestic flying boat, heading back to the States or further across the Pacific to Midway, Guam, the Philippines or China. It is a nice, quiet spot that I recommend checking out if you are on O’ahu.
My first flight was United in summer 1967 a day after high school graduation. The 4days later boarded Northwest Orient (the red tailed bird) for a long hop to Kwajalein atoll for the summer. It of course was a prop aircraft, and after a brief stop on Johnston island, I think the flight was something like 8 hours.
Quite a trip for my first flights.
Thank you for such a wonderful history lesson! Very well done and an enjoyable read. Such a great escape from all things ‘covid.’
We are relative newbies to the islands and our first trip in 2004 was a non stop on AA from Chicago. Don’t recall what plane – we just remember how LONG the flight was. From then on we did overnighters either on the West Coast or in PHX and then on to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines.
I think our most memorable flight was in 2005 on Aloha Airlines. I remember the wonderful service and the freshly baked cookies just before we landed. They went out of business soon after. We still miss Aloha Airlines.
Thank you for this educational and entertaining article. It has us all wishing we were back in Hawaii. Soon, we hope.
Hi Colleen.
Thanks. We hope to see you again soon.
Aloha.
That is awesome!! Kauai has always been my favorite!
My Dad used to fly to SF on the China Clipper back in the 30’s. My first airplane flight was on a HA DC-3 to Lanai.. They passed out chewing gum, the planes were not pressurized!
My first trip to Hawaii was in 1977. My sister and I traveled there together. I almost stayed. It was a big temptation but family duty called me back to the mainland. I’ve since made 4 trips back to the islands. The cost if airfare and the long flight which kills my back and hips ( auto accident) keep me from going more often. I introduced my husband to Hawaii in 2012 and he immediately started talking about moving there. But now with the cost of living and low pay in his field (SQL database administrator) and my being retired it really isn’t feasible. Hopefully, once this pandemic has died down we can plan another trip. I feel so at home and less stressed as soon as I step off the plane with the ocean breeze and scent if plumeria.
Flew from LAX in 1963 on a prop not a jet, don’t remember airline or aircraft. We try to go Hawaii almost every year from PDX.
The day after I graduated high school in 1968, my girlfriend and I hitchhiked to the San Francisco Airport and sat in front of the Pan Am building with a small sign that said “Please help us get to Hawaii!” Within a few hours we had been given enough donations to walk inside and buy a ticket to Honolulu. I can’t remember the price but it seemed awfully cheap. My girlfriend stayed a week and then flew back to California to be with her boyfriend. I refused to fly back because I had fallen in love with Hawaii! I lived in the area known as the “Jungle” in Waikiki, learned how to surf, and eventually moved to Sunset Beach on the North Shore to live in a house with a tribe of hippies.
Fast forward 50 plus years: I’ve owned a house here on Kauai for 40 years, lived through hurricanes, tsunamis, and now a worldwide pandemic. I’ve traveled all over the world and this is still the very best place to live. I love Kauai!!!
That is awesome!! Kauai has always been my favorite!
I remember the Waikiki “Jungle”. When my wife and I stayed at the Princess Kaiulani alot dring the 60’s and early 70’s. Most nights you could hear random gun fire, and always the police/fire sirens. This article brought back fun memories!
I was born at Tripler in 1955, still have my original Territory of Hawaii birth certificate.
My mother to say that flying to the mainland (with an infant and two year old) was the longest flight of her life.
As a kid growing up in the SF bay area, I was familiar with the Matson ships and C&H sugar ship, and plant in Crockett. United had a show on TV every week promoting the islands in the 1950’s. I would watch it every week.
In 1970 I was serving in Vietnam, and was offered R&R in several locations, so I chose Hawaii. My wife flew over on a new United 747. I had arrived a few hours earlier on a PanAm 707, and we took Hawaiian to Kauai. The CoCo Palms had offered 50% discount rates for those of us on R&R.
What a beautiful place and I am sad every time we drive by now on our visits to Kauai.
We love Hawaii, and visit yearly. We were in Maui in May, coming to Honolulu in two weeks, and again in December.
Thanks for your timely information. I forward it to friends who are coming to visit.
Northwest Airlines (they had just dropped the “Orient” a couple months previously) flight, I think it was a 747. December 14th, 1986, or within a day of that. Flight departed LAX several hours late due to maintenance issues with the plane’s landing gear.
Got to Honolulu, found the military desk, and signed into my unit at Schofield Barracks later that night/morning.
Our (husband and 6-month-old daughter)first trip to Hawaii was in 1978. Don’t remember the airline, or hotel in Waikiki; we were there for two weeks. Our second time was to Maui last month for the wedding of our youngest daughter. Had a wonderful time both times. Our next trip will be to Waikiki so we can see how much it has changed in 43 years.
Mahalo, Hawaii, for the wonderful memories.
Oh no! I’m almost a little sad for you. Two very different Waikikis. I miss the old buildings that actually were there even just a few years ago.
Wow! What a great historic article! Loved the early commercial! The 1930’s Clipper was awesome! Thanks so much for your endless and amazing newsletters you put out so often with the most up to date and accurate information. We were fortunate enough to to visit with my son and family this past summer for a few weeks. You always post the most up to date information and we so appreciate your hard work on maintaining this info! Thanks so much! Aloha!
Hi Toni.
Thanks! We appreciate your kind words and first-time comment. Hope you see you again.
Aloha.
Aloha Guys,
My first was in 1972 for our hunny moon. My wife a native Hawaiian had left HI in 1960 with her family moving to the mainland and they discovered how difficult it was to be away from their Ohana. One cousin set us up with all kinds of fun and exciting places to visit, two weeks and a taste of all the Islands had to offer. Our first night we were ushered off to a Waikiki night club and introduced to the audience by Don Ho who then gave us his gift of Tiny Bubbles, wow what a night. My wife took Hula from Keola Beamer’s mom many years before and if I recall correctly ,did some moves on stage that prompted a round of applause. Since then we have returned many times, with our keiki now with our grands. We read BOH and always look forward to stories like this to reignite the feeling of Aloha.
Mahalo and Thanks for the memories🤙
Hi Greg.
Thanks. We appreciate you sharing that story of your first visit in 1972. It sure sounds unforgettable.
Aloha.
Oh Greg, as a child of the 50’s, it was always my dream to meet Don Ho. Even when I got to Oahu in 1973, I could not afford to go see him, and just kept walking up and down the street hoping for a glimse. Fastforward many years, I heard he could be seen quite frequently at the bar there before his passing. I never did meet him, but he was a sure favorite in my book. Tiny Bubbles, was such an Hawaiian song for me. Loved your memory~ Thanks
I got married in 1976 and took my wife on her 1st plane ride ever. Charter airlines out of chicago IL.
What a great time even got flower Lia greeting. Boy times have changed. Followed that trip the following year with all our kids and their friends. We love Hawaii and especially Kauaii. See you in March 22.
My first trip to Hawaii was in 1972. I have returned every year since. 2022 will be the 50th to the 50th state. Aloha & Mahalo!!!
Hi Mary.
Thanks for sharing and welcome back in advance.
Aloha.
My first flight to Hawaii was in 1967. A high school graduation present from my Dad who was also a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was quite surprised at the changes in Hawaii from the time he spent there before WWII. Of course, the visit to the Arizona Memorial was very emotional for him.
Also, I have this very same PAA Clipper framed poster as a memorial to my Dad & his 40 yrs of service with Pan American.
Thank you for the article and all the info you have provided during the Covid pandemic.
Hi J. H.
Thanks. We appreciate you sharing your half-century of Hawaii memories with us.
Aloha.
Wow! J.H. I salute your Dad and the history you know that he shared!
Love the history lesson Guys. We too have a long time love affair with Hawaii. Yes, the cost of stuff has gone up over the years and there’s usually more competition for properties. I think what I miss the most about old Hawaii was the simplicity.
My first trip to Hawaii was in 1983 after high school graduation. Like most people, we went to Honolulu. We stayed at Waikiki in a hotel right on the sand. I remember parasailing back then. I think we flew on a Northwest Airlines flight but I can’t remember too much. I have been back many times since then and finally moved here 3 years ago. Best decision I ever made
Aloha Rob and Jeff. Wow!!! Great story. Thanks for the memories. I think it would be cool to take off in the water like that now. Wonder what kind of g-force they experienced on that ride. Looking forward to flying in to Kauai next week. When Nawilili harbor comes into view, my whole body relaxes. Now once I get through the safety measures and actually get out on the airport sidewalk will I then be able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Hi Debra
Thanks. Have a great time on Kauai next week.
Aloha.
My first flight to Hawaii was in 1970 when we were transferred to Ft Shafter – my father was in the Army. I was almost 5 at the time. We lived there for 3 years and I LOVED every minute of it, some of my favorite childhood memories. I’ve been back 3 times since there but my first time back was 31 years after we left. Was absolutely amazing to be back – something about Hawaii just stays in your blood! 🥰
So many great stories thanks for sharing.
Hi Liam.
Thanks. We’re glad you enjoyed it. We did too.
Aloha.
In the summer of 1962 when we were sixteen, my best friend, Gary, and I flew the “Pink Cloud Flight”, on a four-engine prop plane out of Los Angeles to Honolulu. We stayed with my uncle’s family in Kailua for most of the summer.
Do you have any idea what type of aircraft it could have been? It took about 9-10 hours and we were in the last row with non-reclining seats.
Thanks a lot.
Hi John.
That could well have been a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser.
Aloha.
Aloha Folks—
Ironically, my very first flight was not to Honolulu—
It was from Honolulu— On Saturday, September 30th, 1950. I was almost four, and remember it vividly. My Dad was a Doctor in the Public Health Service, we were being transferred back to the Mainland.
At 3pm on that long ago Saturday in the Territory, at Naval Air Station Honolulu on Keehi Lagoon, we boarded the Martin JRM-3 Hawaii Mars flying boat, and took off from Seaplane Runway 4. Sixteen hours later,
we landed on San Francisco Bay and came ashore at NAS Alameda.
Google the Mars. It was an amazing way to take a first flight!
A Hui Hou,
Bill S.
Honolulu
Hi Bill.
Thanks so much for sharing that unique travel experience. What a fascinating memory.
Aloha.
I thought these were the Martin Mainer but no these were the single tailed sea plane. I knew a guy that was a gunner on a Martin Mariner in the Pacific in WW2.
Your Martin JRM-3 only had a top speed of a speedy 220 mph (😁) (not cruising speed) the reason fer yer long trip to NAS Alameda!
How sad NONE of the Pan AM China/Hawaii Clippers have ever been preserved, that I know of.
Correct, none of the 314’s survived…there is a full sized mock up in Ireland at the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime museum. Pretty
cool museum and worth the visit if you are in Ireland.
Rob and Jeff, just to add to your HA segment, while they operated the S38’s and 43’s inter island, they never actually utilized their water landing capabilities on the scheduled flights. They also started their mainland routes initially with DC-8’s before acquiring the L 1011’s . Hawaiian was the last airline in the U S to operate the DC 8 on scheduled passenger service. They also flew pretty much all over the globe with the DC 8’s on charter flights.
I recall my first flight to Hawaii in 1964 on a United DC 8…I still remember the inflight movie, Shane with Alan Ladd, it was a big deal to see that on an airplane at the time and still remember the distinct taste of the inflight steak. I was lucky enough to be in first as my Dad was pilot with United. He started flying for them in 1946 and flew DC-6’s and 7’s LAX to HNL in the late 50’s. He was a co pilot at the time and one of the Captains he used to fly with was Bud Gurney….Charles A Lindbergh’s old barnstorming partner in the early 20’s.
(This is way more fun the talking about Mask’s and vax’s…all that will pass and be consigned to history too!)
Hi John.
Thanks so much for that interesting Hawaii information from your own experience. Personally, these comments are a lot more interesting than the ones about COVID.
There was a time when HA kept old planes including a mish-mosh of 767’s and all those other aircraft that including those you mentioned. Then as we recall it was Mark that first had the foresight to modernize the HA fleet. Looking back, that was a really smart move.
PS. Thanks for more than 300 comments to date!
I love Hawaii and have ever since I transferred from New York in 1969 with Trans World Airlines to open our station in Honolulu . Unfortunately TWA had to leave Hawaii in 1975 due to high fuel prices and an austerity program. I was there to see wide bodied aircraft bring passengers to the beautiful islands and the major expansion if the airport in Honolulu. I have been able to return to Hawaii every 2 years with my timeshare in Kauai. I love that you have been able via your article to inform your readers to how travel to Hawaii has changed over the years.
Hawaii is like heaven on earth. The food the wonderful people. Hope I can return one day. Sorry Don Ho is gone but he is singing with the angels
1955: Flew on a DC-4 with a couple of high school buddies to surf Town in the summer. What a trip – about 12 hours of noise and vibration. Had great fun surfing all the Waikiki breaks. Bought a 1950 DeSoto with bad brakes for $49 and drove all over O’ahu surfing and bodysurfing where we could. It had a leaky exhaust so (1) the floorboards would get really hot and (2) the air in the car got pretty toxic. When we left we just parked it at the airport and flew on another DC-4 back to the mainland. Maybe it’s still there! (After that car, the DC-4 seemed pretty nice.)
It was so different then. the area around Queen’s was called the Jungle and it really wasn’t too safe at night. We were just kids so we stayed in at night anyway – not old enough to go to any of the multitude of cheap beer bars in the area.
Our family traveled to Hawaii for the first time in 1972. Mom had set up a two week whirlwind tour of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai and Oahu. We boarded the United flight at SFO, somehow we got bumped to first class and it was memorable. We landed in Hilo and back then there were no Jet ways. After a night in Hilo we drove over to Kona, while driving we noticed a boy on the roadside with a long stick poking a tree. Intrigued, Dad stopped and asked what he was doing. Mangos! We bought a couple for .25 each, wow were they good. We body surfed at Magic Sands (no body boards back then), well the truth is we ate a lot of sand while being pounded along the bottom. Still I was hooked. Other highlights of the trip were the road to Hana and the “Seven Sacred pools” which was much different back then. Kauai was marvelous, we had bikes and I went everywhere, no traffic, just a million dead flat frogs. The last stop was Oahu and it was so different. Mom had written the Navy and arranged a Pearl Harbor tour that has us land on the Arizona, which at that time was the only way you could. My memories of a Hawaii that is long gone, in substance and spirit. I miss it.
1964 – transferring from tour of duty in Japan to McGuire AFB, NJ – my parents and I had 10 glorious days at Ft. Derussy, right on the beach. Dad insisted I buy a bikini (I was 14) and we took surfing lessons, then he and went out on our own. Ooops the tide was going out and I was not strong enough to paddle fast (never have been) so it took hours lying on our boards to get back to the beach. Super bad sunburn on virgin areas of my back made the 12 hours flight to San Francisco rather painful. Loved being met with Leis, performing at a Luau, eating fresh pineapple. Could not eat pineapple from a can for years after that, and of course the stores in the mainland did not get fresh pineapple back then. 1992 – Holistic veterinary conference to be held on Kauai, then Inki came through and devastated it. In two weeks we were able to relocate to Maui, so my husband, 3 year old daughter and I had a glorious week there, and a second on Hawaii – turtles, decorating coconuts to mail back to amazed friends of hers in Maryland, black sands, beginning to appreciate the old ways. Next trip was a week at Poipu with husband and 10 year old daughter, then Oahu to teach a class on homeopathy for animals, then flew back to Kauai. As I stepped off the plane, as Rob said, I felt a deep connection to this island, as if it were a long lost home. Too many wonderful memories from that and other trips to Kauai as I began learning the old ways from Iokeppe and Inette Miller’s books – Grandmothers Whisper and The Return Voyage. I was in the first protest against GMOs that was held at Poipu (still have the tshirt and my white sandals turned red!). Greeted with a lovely lei when on the radio with Dr. Ihor Basko, an amazing holistic veterinarian on the island. Many plans to return frequently.
A first time flyer scared out of my mind, I flew to Honolulu to meet my husband for R&R in 1970. I don’t remember much about that trip! BUT, I flew to Kauai to visit my sister who lived there in 2010, heard Delta was starting ground handling in LIH, and got a job – moved immediately! I did return to South Carolina after a few years, but returned to live in Kauai once again for a few years. Now I keep in touch with my Ohana – the friends you meet in Hawaii stay with you as Ohana all your life! I’ll be back to visit as soon as my airline (AA) and the other airlines are able to get back on track.
After all of these years of seeing the Matson containers on the back of trucks and sitting in the port of Oakland, I find out that they are Hawaii’s premiere shipping company. And here I thought I knew all there was to know about the Bay Area, not realizing the very special relationship we have with Hawaii. Interesting read, thank you. Aloha!
Hi Debi.
Thank you.
Aloha.
Little known fact, after WW2 Matson Steamship Company started an airline with DC 4’s. The famed author Ernest Gann flew for them.
They offered inflight service far superior to the competition. PanAm had the political clout to stop them in their tracks in the then highly regulated airline industry so they lasted less then a year.
Speaking of regulation, the airline industry was deregulated in 1978 to allow for open competition. Every prederegulation airline in the U.S since then has either disappeared or merged to survive the competitive environment the industry became, every single airline but one….Hawaiian Airlines. They are the lone survivor of the airline deregulation era.
On several of our first flights to Maui involved an inter island flight from Honolulu to Maui on a two engine 6 passenger plane . The GREAT thing about it was the small A framed terminal on Kaanapali beach. The pilot would spot humpbacks and dive down to get a better look. Fun times back then. We could walk to the hotel from that terminal. Wish it was still there.