Major change from DOT to impact Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines Hawaii flights, perhaps others.
133 thoughts on “Why DOT Just Approved Major Route Cuts For Alaska and Hawaiian”
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Home » Blog » Hawaii Travel Tips » Why DOT Just Approved Major Route Cuts For Alaska and Hawaiian
I was booked on Alaska Air to HNL on April 28. Alaska cancelled that flight but rescheduled me on another that same day. I guess that is their response to cancelled flights. Most likely I will not fly to HNL in April or May, even if we are cleared to travel and 14 day quarantines are no longer required. But with this strategy Alaska gets to keep my fare.
Would you like me to forward the email I received from Alaska Air this morning?
Thanks for running this website. I fly twice a year to visit my elderly mom on Oahu. I get great fares thanks to you.
Hi John.
Thanks for your nice words, and you comment. Have you personally contacted Alaska to request a refund? That’s what we would suggest. Please let us know how it works out.
Aloha.
I had a trip scheduled for April 28 to May 11 and had to cancel. Both Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines gave me the credit and did tell me when I reschedule if there is a fare difference I would have to pay even if it was the same flight # that I cancelled.
Aloha! My problem wasn’t the airlines, it was the Airbnb. My trip for 4/29 – 5/6 was canceled. My Airbnb hostess couldn’t afford the refund and asked me to rebook. I did rebook for October and Hawaiian (via chat) changed the flights without a fee or fare increase fee. My return trip on Alaska was canceled but the money is in my Alaska wallet. I was torn between knowing Hawaii is hurting financially due to travel restrictions and wanting more time than the December cutoff to rebook. My fear is that October (being the other off season) will now be booked to the Max with crowds of people that had to rebook their Spring travel. I’d love to go on New Year’s Day (my birthday) but don’t want to pay triple the price on everything. Wish I tried for the holiday timeframe when I rebooked. Who knows though… could be a resurgence of fly by the end of the year so I guess fingers crossed. Sure makes planning difficult when you don’t know if the tiki bars will be open or if they’ll still be on lockdown etc. anyway… I’ll be going as soon as they reopen. Hope everyone is doing ok on the rock, that’s the most important aspect in all of this. Take care, stay safe. Mahalo! PS I wish Y’all had comment notifications because sometimes I forget to check back for responses and I miss comments that are made.
Hi Tammy.
Thank you! We’ll look into turning on comment notification.
Aloha.
Alaska Airlines changed our return flight from Hawaii. Because it had a totally different flight number and the original flight we had booked was no longer available, it was considered a cancellation and we were refunded our money. We appreciate the way they handled it.
We had planned to visit Maui in May but our flight was under standably canceled by Southwest, they did offer a credit ut when I tried to reschedule our flight to a later date they stated it would cost $1000 dollars more! I insisted on a refund and went onto their website and was able to book the same flights for under $200 dollars more, cannot understand why they would try to price gouge me and create and unhappy customer, especially in these times. What they should have done was offer the same flight for no extra fees.
Thank you for all your comments, information and insights to what’s going on with all the flights. We paid for trip insurance because my father-in-law is I’ll and we wanted to cover ourselves in case something happened. We were scheduled to go to Maui on April 29th. Because this trip falls into the time frame to at is being discussed, would be eligible for our flight insurance to be refunded as well? Thanks.
Hi Larry.
Thank you. We don’t know the answer to that one. It sounds like you’re saying you bought it directly with your flight. Certainly no harm in asking, although it would not appear to fall under the DOT requirements.
Aloha.
Aloha, Larry,
We had trip insurance with Allianz and they had a very specific list of items that would allow for an insurance payout. Customer illness, injury, loss of job, quar antine, etc. The closest I could find was “quar antine.” I sent them an email a few days ago to inquire. Still no answer! But luckily I got a refund from Alaska Air due to them changing the departure time by more than two hours.
Good luck!
Aloha, Mahalo for the informative and valuable information. I want to share an Alaska Airlines experience. My daughter flew home from SLO for Spring break on 3/14/20. Since then her upcoming classes will be virtual. So I was waiting for them to cancel her return flight to SLO on 4/18/20 so I can receive a refund.
I called and spoke to an agent on 4/5 who told me that my only option was to receive a voucher that would expire 1 yr from my purchase date, so it would expire on 10/02/20. As I purchased travel insurance, she further advised me to file a claim for a refund. I did, no response.
I called Asurion on 4/7, spoke to an agent. They advised that I cancel the flight with the airlines, obtain the voucher, then file a claim with Asurion requesting a refund. So I called Alaska. They advised to text chat with an agent. Ok, I’ll give it a shot. Started texting immediately. She immediately said that the flight was cancelled and will refund the unused portion in full. I was in and out in 20 minutes. It would’ve been faster if my texting was faster.
Two days ago they only offered a voucher, today, a full refund. so just keep trying.
Hi Karen.
Thank you. That’s great input.
Aloha.
Hello, firstly, thank you for all the valuable information and insight. I want to share my experience with Alaska Airlines. I had reservations for a round trip from SAN to HNL on 4/24/20. I’ve been waiting for a clear statement that the flight was cancelled such that I could request a full refund. I couldn’t wait, so I called on 4/05 and spoke to an agent. Upon investigation I was told that my flight time was changed to more than an hour from the original time. As such I was entitled to cancel an receive a full refund. Typically I would’ve received an email notification of the change, but I did not. Don’t know why. I didn’t question it. I don’t know if the times really changed. I just thanked her and accepted the refund. easy peasy.
Hi Karen.
Thank you. Yes that has been our experience with that airline as well. If the changed time was more than a hour different, we’ve been able to cancel.
Aloha
Aloha, information from HA: “Travel Flexibility
Tickets purchased between March and May 2020: No change fees for any changes made within one (1) year of the original ticket purchase date. A fare difference may apply.
Tickets purchased before March 1, 2020 with travel dates between March and May 2020: No change fees for rebooked travel that begins on or before Dec. 31, 2020. A fare difference may apply. Tickets must be changed no later than Dec. 31, 2020 or one year from the original ticket purchase date (whichever is later). If the ticket expiration date occurs prior to Dec. 31, 2020, a one-time exchange (without charge) can be applied to extend the ticket validity another 12 months.”
This last sentence applies since purchase date was 12/23/2019 so I am hoping that my ticket is extended instead of refund. Mahalo
Hi Marilyn.
Thank you! Look for one of today’s posts which relates to this and other airline offers getting extended.
Aloha.
Didn’t mean your comment was awaiting moderation. Meant thanks for the awesome service.
Hi Karen.
Thank you!!
Aloha.