Hawaii-based Airlines - Finding UA Interisland Award Availability on Aloha for 5,000 Miles (Still Available)

I am trying to change an interisland award reservation I have on Aloha using UA miles. It's a frustrating experience because of the cumbersome booking process the two airlines use, and the general inexperience (at least with Aloha bookings) of the UA rez staff. I would love to be able to figure out the Aloha inventory myself, so I can steer the UA agent in the right direction. Is there any way to figure out which Aloha flights have reward seats? Just using the flights with the cheapest fare buckets available doesn't seem to work.

I've asked this question on the UA board, but it was suggested that there might be more experience on the subject matter over here.

Thanks.

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=664402

I suggest you call AQ for inventory answers. And yes, the process is cumbersome. Best of luck.

This thread starting here (http://web2.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6357306&postcount=97) might be helpful.

You might also want to consider a partner award on IslandAir. It seems that UA partner awards on IslandAir are still only 5K R/T instead of the 10K that is now being charged for interisland flights on AQ.

That said, given $29 and $39 flights, it also bears thinking about whether it's more cost effective/points effective pay for the flights.

This thread starting here (http://web2.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6357306&postcount=97) might be helpful.

You might also want to consider a partner award on IslandAir. It seems that UA partner awards on IslandAir are still only 5K R/T instead of the 10K that is now being charged for interisland flights on AQ.

That said, given $29 and $39 flights, it also bears thinking about whether it's more cost effective/points effective pay for the flights.

Thanks for the help. I don't see a way to changes the display preferences to show the fare buckets. Any ideas?

I already have the interisland award tickets, so I'm going to use them (redepositing them would entirely wipe out their value!). I didn't realize UA had raised the AQ mileage requirements -- I booked early because I heard a rumor they were going to, but an agent said that was untrue. Typical rez misinformation, I guess. At 5,000, I decided to redeem because non-HNL interisland roundtrips still go for $116+ at a minimum. I had the UA miles, and that struck me as a fair redemption value (more than 2 cents per mile).

OK, with the help provided here, and a little flyertalk research, I was able to find a booking engine which DOES show Aloha's "X" award inventory.

http://publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/

But, of course -- as so often happens with reward travel -- it gets even more complicated for me.

I am currently booked on a one-stop UA flight between the two cities. The only award seats available are on CONNECTING flights (actually, both are 1 stops, but the first flight only has award seats TO HNL, and the second has seats FROM HNL!). That wouldn't be a big deal for me, except that changes to UA award tickets are free unless you change your "routing." Going from one flight number to two flight numbers constitutes a change in "routing," and a $100 per ticket penalty!

Does anyone have any creative ideas here? I tried to get somebody at UA's India desk to waive the "routing" fee, but no luck. If I could somehow reach UA's Hawaii rez desk, I think they would appreciate the absurdity of this and do it for me. Any way to get UA Hawaii? If I dial the local UA number in Hawaii will I get Hawaii rez (I'm calling from the mainland)? Alternatively, is there any way to convince someone at Aloha to allocate award seats ALL THE WAY THRU on one flight number, instead of making me change planes? Both flights are wide open, and have unlimited inventory in all fare buckets, except for the "X" award quirk.

Thanks for any ideas.

Alternatively, is there any way to convince someone at Aloha to allocate award seats ALL THE WAY THRU on one flight number, instead of making me change planes? Both flights are wide open, and have unlimited inventory in all fare buckets, except for the "X" award quirk.

Thanks for any ideas.

The only thing that I can suggest is when you check in, ask the Aloha desk if you can "stand by" for the flight number you want. We have taken earlier flights as "stand bys" just because we showed up and there were available seats. One agent said that because they were 'award seats' they couldn't change the ticket. Another agent said, "forget the ticket, let them board". I don't know what you can do earlier than that. We also used our 5K miles for interisland flights. It was indeed a bargain. I like Island Air and if they are a partner for 5K, I would do that in the future. Additionally the interisland ferry will be operational within 6 months so maybe airfares will go down.

I did some more checking, and it does look like my best "hope" is to find somebody at UA would would let me change my 1-stop award seat into a connecting rez without assessing the $100 fee. Otherwise, in speaking with an Aloha agent, it doesn't seem likely that additional award inventory will be added. I think I'd have a shot if I could reach UA Hawaii rez. Does anyone have a strategy for reaching that specific UA rez center? Thanks.

Call in the late evenings, west coast time

Well, I decided to "give up" and fly a day later where -- with the link I posted above -- I was able to find "X" award inventory on Aloha. It seemed the easiest solution, especially since I wanted to minimize my interactions with UA's generally awful telephone rez staff.

Someone above mentioned that UA awards on Aloha have gone up from 5000 miles to 10,000 miles. I'm not sure that's right -- the UA website still shows them at 5000. At 10,000 miles, no flights are really worth redeeming. At 5000 miles, it does seem reasonable to redeem an interisland award -- provided HNL is not your origin or destination. Non-HNL pax still pay a minimum of $58 in each direction. And armed with the above inventory research tool, it's pretty painless to figure out what's available -- a good thing, given the pathetic "help" you will generally get from UA when you call.

Someone above mentioned that UA awards on Aloha have gone up from 5000 miles to 10,000 miles. I'm not sure that's right -- the UA website still shows them at 5000.

That's for one-way.

AQ: 5k o/w; 10k r/t

WP: 5k r/t ;)

That's for one-way.

AQ: 5k o/w; 10k r/t

WP: 5k r/t ;)

Is UA's own website wrong?

"For roundtrip travel on Aloha Airlines within Hawaii -- Miles needed: 5000"


http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51922,00.html#jump3

I certainly hope you're right!!!

Is UA's own website wrong?

"For roundtrip travel on Aloha Airlines within Hawaii -- Miles needed: 5000"


http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51922,00.html#jump3


I requested an open jaw LIH-OGG/OGG-HNL today and the agent told be it would be 5000 UA miles. I have to call back tomorrow to see if Aloha confirmed my tickets.

Excellent news.

I requested an open jaw LIH-OGG/OGG-HNL today and the agent told be it would be 5000 UA miles. I have to call back tomorrow to see if Aloha confirmed my tickets.

I just checked my account activity for the these tickets I requested and it confirms the 5000.

Activity AQ SAVER ECONOMY WITHIN HAWAII

Miles added/deducted -5,000

Total -5,000

Now I just hope I get them.

Well, dfarr and iahphx, you both have my sincere thanks for correcting me. Indeed, I must have been confused in thinking that UA had recently lowered their inter-island r/t award miles charge on AQ from 10k to 5k UAMiles. Mahalo!

after raising it from 5k to 10k about 2 years ago.

Actually I booked AQ flights last June using UA miles and it was 5000 then too.

Well, dfarr and iahphx, you both have my sincere thanks for correcting me, and apprising just about all of us here in Hawai'i about this, as I was charged 10k UA miles for OGG - KOA r/t non-stop on AQ, on December 20/22, 2006, just two months ago. Indeed, as you have brought to our attention, UA has recently lowered their inter-island r/t award miles charge on AQ from 10k to 5k UAMiles, after raising it from 5k to 10k about 2 years ago. And oddly enough, AQ continues to charge 10k AQMiles for i/i r/t!!! As cblaisd wrote, that is excellent news. Mahalo!

I'm trying to remember some of the history on this. My recollection is that something was published by UA last summer which suggested that the number of miles for an Aloha award would go up in the fall. Maybe it was a Star Alliance chart or something. I remember then redeeming the points for a trip this spring to avoid the possible increase. As most folks probably know, the other major carriers went from 5000 to 10000 miles in the past couple of years, so "the rumor" seemed plausible.

I don't think anything ever happened, though. I recall asking an agent whether the award "price" was scheduled to increase and he said no.

As I noted above, I think non-HNL awards are still worthwhile at 5000, even though UA is charging a $15 service fee (+ $5 in taxes) for the award. Travelling on the lowest published fare, my ticket (with taxes) would cost $128 to buy. It's difficult to get that much value from a coach award ticket these days. I would also note that, through their credit card issuer, it's easy to pick up 20,000 UA miles "for nothing" by signing up for a card. If you've got a family of 4, that's an easy way to save almost $500 on your Hawaiian vacation with little effort.

I'm trying to remember some of the history on this. My recollection is that something was published by UA last summer which suggested that the number of miles for an Aloha award would go up in the fall. Maybe it was a Star Alliance chart or something. I remember then redeeming the points for a trip this spring to avoid the possible increase. As most folks probably know, the other major carriers went from 5000 to 10000 miles in the past couple of years, so "the rumor" seemed plausible.

Here's the deal: When UA announced its new award charts, there was a very confusing item on it that noted that United awards for inter-island travel would be 10K. But United flies no inter-island flights on its metal. If it ever does, then those United flights will cost 10K in miles.

But it was never explicitly addressed as to whether the cost of AQ and WP awards would go up. Since they are not Star Alliance but are nonetheless in some kind of odd "partnership" with UA, these awards were not subject (as it turns out) to the 10K for a r/t interisland award on UA metal (if such existed, which, as I say, they currently don't!)

As noted above, there is also some evidence that UA/AQ did raise the "rate" to 10K for awhile but may have lowered it back to 5K. Whatever the truth or reason, it will be nice while it lasts!

As I noted above, I think non-HNL awards are still worthwhile at 5000, even though UA is charging a $15 service fee (+ $5 in taxes) for the award. Travelling on the lowest published fare, my ticket (with taxes) would cost $128 to buy. It's difficult to get that much value from a coach award ticket these days. I would also note that, through their credit card issuer, it's easy to pick up 20,000 UA miles "for nothing" by signing up for a card. If you've got a family of 4, that's an easy way to save almost $500 on your Hawaiian vacation with little effort.

Excellent analysis.

Another thing to note: In those years in which I have redeemed AQ awards with UA miles, at the end of the year I gather all the PNRs and flight dates/itins up, fax it to UA Elite Customer service, and note that it is not fair that I be charged a ticketing fee for not doing on the website what I am unable to do on the website.

In each case, I have received travel credit vouchers exceeding the cost of what I had to pay for ticketing fees. It would be nicer if AQ/WP partner awards were bookable on the web, but since they're not the gesture was appreciated!

Another thing to note: In those years in which I have redeemed AQ awards with UA miles, at the end of the year I gather all the PNRs and flight dates/itins up, fax it to UA Elite Customer service, and note that it is not fair that I be charged a ticketing fee for not doing on the website what I am unable to do on the website.

In each case, I have received travel credit vouchers exceeding the cost of what I had to pay for ticketing fees. It would be nicer if AQ/WP partner awards were bookable on the web, but since they're not the gesture was appreciated!

I think I'll try that, too. In the past year, I have received some remarkably generous vouchers from UA for very minor problems (aka, $200 for not having my individual IFE system working -- I only filled out the comment card because the fa suggested I should). This "problem" is worse of course: you really shouldn't charge an agent fee when the customer has no booking alternative.

UA is a strange airline. They'll throw money at you, but can't get basic customer service right.

And evidently, the same i/i, r/t flight, on AQ metal, may be had for 5k UAMiles, or 10k AlohaPass miles; your choice. Bizarre.

Now I just hope I get them.

Aloha accepted my request and confirmed/ticketed today. 5000 UA miles+$5 tax+$15 ticketing fee.:D Maybe not the best use of miles but now that they expire you either use 'em or lose 'em.

And evidently, the same i/i, r/t flight, on AQ metal, may be had for 5k UAMiles, or 10k AlohaPass miles; your choice. Bizarre.

Been this way for years. It's not worth it to earn AlohaPass miles unless you do enough flying on AQ to earn earn AlohaPass elite status, since AQ flights don't count towards Mileage Plus elite. For the casual semi-frequent flyer or one that mostly flies HA and only uses AQ on occasion, this makes it better to earn UA miles even if you plan to use them on AQ, assuming you don't mind the complications of redeeming them.

Anyone else remember when Aloha let you earn miles in both AlohaPass and Mileage Plus for the same flight?

Thanks everyone for the tips in booking AQ award travel with UA miles. It saved me a lot of hassle (and nearly 500 bucks!). It would be nice, however, if UA's menu system on its phone tree recognized OGG as an airport code instead of trying to get it to understand Kahului, Hawaii.

It would be nice, however, if UA's menu system on its phone tree recognized OGG as an airport code instead of trying to get it to understand Kahului, Hawaii.

You actually tried to talk to their automated "attendant"? I just scream "agent, agent, agent" until I get in the India queue. :)

UA certainly makes you earn that award. If you can successfully book it, you deserve to fly for free! :)

Here's the deal: When UA announced its new award charts, there was a very confusing item on it that noted that United awards for inter-island travel would be 10K. But United flies no inter-island flights on its metal. If it ever does, then those United flights will cost 10K in miles.

But it was never explicitly addressed as to whether the cost of AQ and WP awards would go up. Since they are not Star Alliance but are nonetheless in some kind of odd "partnership" with UA, these awards were not subject (as it turns out) to the 10K for a r/t interisland award on UA metal (if such existed, which, as I say, they currently don't!)

Yes, these never changed. There were a lot of assumptions on the UA board that the AQ awards went up, but it was also confirmed back in October (hidden in a rather convoluted thread) that they had not gone up at all.

I just booked two round trip inter island tickets on WP (Island Air) 5 days ago, JHM - HNL, for Sep/Oct using UAMiles, (5k each), and the agent forgot to charge me the fees! Usually I pay $20 in total fees per ticket; this time none. Got the two tickets confirmed with Island Air, and haven't been charged a penny. Go figure.

Also just booked two 5k Aloha inter-island RTs, October 22nd-27th, HNL-KOA. Called in to reserve yesterday, agent said $5 taxes + $15 phone fee (per ticket, so $20 each), took MP numbers (using 2 accounts) and credit card numbers. Told to call back today and confirm they'd been ticketed. Called into the MP res number, was able to confirm and purchase tickets using the automated system. Emailed confirmation from United, and checked on Aloha to verify, no problems. Also, no mention on the United PNR of the $15 call center fee, only $5/ticket - so maybe I got lucky. We'll see when my CC statement comes. Great deal!

Edit: Only $10 total charged, works for me. Maybe since I was able to call back the second time and use the automated agent to actually purchase the tickets?

Excellent!

If you want to do online check in, make sure you get Aloha's PNR (which will be different from United) and e-ticket #. You'll have to have the latter to do any interlining of baggage, and you'll need one of them to do online check-in.

Sooo... just purchased another set of i/i r/t's on WP w/UAMiles, 5k each, and this time have a charge for $10 pending on my cc acct. Last time: nada! Time before that: $40.

I booked two r/t tickets HNL-KOA an Aloha ticket using UA miles last week for December. The process was cumbersome, but the tickets were only 5,000 miles each -- I only had silghtly over 10,000 miles in my account, so I know that's it.

The agent booking the flight initially warned me that it would take 24 hour to setup with Aloha, but would only be valid for ~36 hours from the time I called, else it would be canceled in UA's system. I cannot imagine a less efficient system, though when I called back, everything was confirmed with UA's auto-attendant, which required time consuming repetitions of information as it failed to pick up my verbal commands.

The net cost was 10,000 UA miles that I was about to abandon and $10 for fees & taxes. I'll take the inconvenience for that level of value.

I booked two r/t tickets HNL-KOA an Aloha ticket using UA miles last week for December. The process was cumbersome, but the tickets were only 5,000 miles each -- I only had silghtly over 10,000 miles in my account, so I know that's it.

The agent booking the flight initially warned me that it would take 24 hour to setup with Aloha, but would only be valid for ~36 hours from the time I called, else it would be canceled in UA's system. I cannot imagine a less efficient system, though when I called back, everything was confirmed with UA's auto-attendant, which required time consuming repetitions of information as it failed to pick up my verbal commands.

The net cost was 10,000 UA miles that I was about to abandon and $10 for fees & taxes. I'll take the inconvenience for that level of value.

Good move. I'm not sure I'd normally use 5000 miles for trips from HNL (given the crazy HNL fares these days), but if they're "orphan miles" it certainly makes sense. I'd note that UA recently announced they would cancel unused miles (after 18 months, right?) so this is a good reward for infrequent UA flyers.

Given the general incompetence of UA rez, it definitely helps to use this tool to check your own reward availability before you call. Just look for flights with the "X," and you'll know the confirmation will come back positive.

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7298485&postcount=5

Sooo... just purchased another set of i/i r/t's on WP w/UAMiles, 5k each, and this time have a charge for $10 pending on my cc acct. Last time: nada! Time before that: $40.

I really can't explain it, but the pending $10 hold has been removed from my on-line account info, meaning the merchant (UA) did not charge me any $, again, for my WP tix. This is confusing, but I'm not arguing nor investigating!?!?! And oh, yeah, everything is 100% confirmed with WP, with both a WP confirmation code and a UA PNR.

Does any one know or have experience on change origin and destination for interisland tickets booked before travel begins on Aloha with UA miles?

Thanks a lot,

I would suggest calling Aloha first and explaining what you want to do. If there are award seats on the changed flight(s), they may be able to simply do it.

Does any one know or have experience on change origin and destination for interisland tickets booked before travel begins on Aloha with UA miles?

Thanks a lot,

UA's official rules are bad with regard to this. You can't change O/D, and you can't even change routings. For instance, if you're booked on a nonstop interisland flight, you couldn't take a different flight between the two cities that had a stop with a change of planes. And the change penalties are so high it would be better to throwaway your existing tickets and start over.

A couple of years ago, I had a very bad experience with UA in Hawaii on a related matter. I was flying back to the mainland from Honolulu, flying UA on a US award ticket. US DOES allow (or at least did allow) routing changes on award tickets, even on their partner airlines. And I had changed my itinerary for a better routing, eliminating a stop on my way home. When I got to the UA ticket counter, they insisted my family had to pay a couple hundred dollars for the change. It was a red-eye flight, and I couldn't get anyone at US (in the middle of the night mainland time) to explain it to UA. I argued at the counter for hours, figuring if I paid the money I'd never see it again. Finally, I wore them down (after almost missing the flight) and they let us board without paying the fee.

So you've been warned. :)

Whether an Aloha agent would help you, I don't know. I've had ticketing troubles with Hawaiian in the past (cancelled award flight) and they weren't inclined to be helpful (wouldn't reroute me). My guess is that the average Aloha rep would rather have nothing to do with this and say there's nothing they can do.

On a side note, I just spoke to the 1K desk and they allowed me to request an "open jaw'" HNL ==> LIH ===> OGG routing on the 5000 award ticket with Aloha. I should get a confirmation tomorrow.

I am not sure if this was pointed out before but I found it pleasantly surprising.:cool:

Probably off-based here, but when you can fly on HA for $50 Rt including tax, why would you even bother with an AQ award (and their horrible old 732's) under any circumstances?

Probably off-based here, but when you can fly on HA for $50 Rt including tax, why would you even bother with an AQ award (and their horrible old 732's) under any circumstances?

Only 2 reasons: 1) expiring orphan miles; 2) a non-HNL itinerary, where the cost would be double.

Only 2 reasons: 1) expiring orphan miles; 2) a non-HNL itinerary, where the cost would be double.

re 1): but don't you have to pay go have ua ticket it (forget, like $15), so down goes your orphan mile value to near zip.

re 2) yes, that's very true.

Aloha...Sorry to ask a silly question, but are airports on the BI treated as the same airport for these Aloha/WP redemption airfares, so that one can fly HNL-KOA ITO-HNL as a Rtn flight?
I'd have thought this would be popular, if it were possible.

Is it for all UA members or just 1ks?
I shall try the local UA res number tonight (unless someone has a better idea(.

Mahalo again! :)

Aloha...Sorry to ask a silly question, but are airports on the BI treated as the same airport for these Aloha/WP redemption airfares, so that one can fly HNL-KOA ITO-HNL as a Rtn flight?
I'd have thought this would be popular, if it were possible.

Is it for all UA members or just 1ks?
I shall try the local UA res number tonight (unless someone has a better idea(.

Mahalo again! :)

Hi, BiziBB!!!!

I understand! Nope, KOA and ITO are two seperate stations, just like HNL and LIH, and must be booked accordingly. And the 5k redemption is for everybody!

Did you pull the trigger on your condo?

Aloha,

kaukau

I want to get the airfares done then will get the condo.

Unfortunately in the UA redemption search (SAVER awards):
- May 17 HNL-KOA shows no availability May 17-23
- May 22 KOA-HNL shows no availability May 16-29!

Yet there are still WP flights (Island Air - got it right!) available, though not the super super saver, on these dates. (NEXT: I will need to check STD rewards!)


I'll check Aloha with this FT resource (http://publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/).
:) If I can't redeem the UA miles then this is okay, I guess...
$69.81 RT per person HNK-KOA (https://www.itn.net/cgi/res?stamp=1UrfoifPGIz*itn%2Ford%3D1176263028.64205 %2Citn%2Fcb%2Fwotw&air.0=2&air.1=4&persons=2)

But note that you can book an open jaw for the 5K UA on WP/AQA.

Aloha...Sorry to ask a silly question, but are airports on the BI treated as the same airport for these Aloha/WP redemption airfares, so that one can fly HNL-KOA ITO-HNL as a Rtn flight?
I'd have thought this would be popular, if it were possible.

Is it for all UA members or just 1ks?
I shall try the local UA res number tonight (unless someone has a better idea(.

Mahalo again! :)

HELP! :eek: :)

Get the flight # and details of the WP flights you want to book, and then call UA reservations on the phone and say "I want to book award flights on Island Air: that's airline code WP. (repeat) I want to book a flight on Island Air, airline code WP!!" They can do it, they just need to be shown how!

I'll stand by to keep helping you! ^

Do I try two separate 1-way bookings for an open jaw?
Sorry, I'm not confident with the UA redemption process yet.

Is it possible to book on WP with UA 5k miles, for HNL-KOA ITO-HNL open jaw?
I will try this tonight - if it's possible (or there is a better way) let me know, MAHALO!

OT for this, but should we stay in Hilo on the final night, to make it east with the VNP day-trip and night lava watching? Is this sensible? Thanks. ;)

Do I try two separate 1-way bookings for an open jaw?

No, it's one booking using 5K miles (if the seats are available); it's just open jaw instead of r/t



Is it possible to book on WP with UA 5k miles, for HNL-KOA ITO-HNL open jaw?

If the seats are available, yes.


OT for this, but should we stay in Hilo on the final night, to make it east with the VNP day-trip and night lava watching? Is this sensible? Thanks. ;)

I definitely think so. It is a very long trip back to north Kohala after a long day at VNP.

Do I try two separate 1-way bookings for an open jaw?
Sorry, I'm not confident with the UA redemption process yet.

Is it possible to book on WP with UA 5k miles, for HNL-KOA ITO-HNL open jaw?
I will try this tonight - if it's possible (or there is a better way) let me know, MAHALO!

OT for this, but should we stay in Hilo on the final night, to make it east with the VNP day-trip and night lava watching? Is this sensible? Thanks. ;)

Hmmm, wow, if you can get them to book the open jaw, sure; if not, and you have the miles, book two one ways. And if you run low on UAMiles, let me know. I got 'em in spades!

If you stay in Hilo, VNP is closer, but you'll have to rent another vehicle, yes/no?

kaukau, you are a mind reader (of course that's the way to do it!).
I can't phone now, so is the res line 24hrs? I could try in 5 or 6hrs if that's good.

Okay, another dumb newbie question (sorry again);
If my JQ 4 flight arrives 07.45 on May 17, what is a reasonable time for an interisland flight, given US customs this year for Aussies, baggage, wiki wiking to the interisland terminal etc? TA!

Yet another Q.
Dollar, Enterprise etc plus Hertz etc - are one-way hires charged additional fees, or do people generally not bother?

I was thinking we'd do a RTN via KOA along w the rental, but an open jaw & one-way car rental would be ideal, KOA-ITO. Possible and would you do it?

Hmmm, wow, if you can get them to book the open jaw, sure; if not, and you have the miles, book two one ways. And if you run low on UAMiles, let me know. I got 'em in spades!

Very kind of you!

Given the price right now on WP or AQ or HA, using 10K miles of an open jaw is a lot of "currency" wasted, imo.


Dollar, Enterprise etc plus Hertz etc - are one-way hires charged additional fees, or do people generally not bother?

I was thinking we'd do a RTN via KOA along w the rental, but an open jaw & one-way car rental would be ideal, KOA-ITO. Possible and would you do it?

Usually Hertz is the only one with no one-way drop charge. Otoh, their prices are usually higher.

Drop charge or no drop charge, it may well be worth it to avoid the hassle factor.

kaukau, you are a mind reader (of course that's the way to do it!).
I can't phone now, so is the res line 24hrs? I could try in 5 or 6hrs if that's good.

Okay, another dumb newbie question (sorry again);
If my JQ 4 flight arrives 07.45 on May 17, what is a reasonable time for an interisland flight, given US customs this year for Aussies, baggage, wiki wiking to the interisland terminal etc? TA!


The UA res line is 24hrs.

However, you'll want to try very hard not to get one of the outsourced agents. IslandAir ranges from unknown to poorly understood among many even non-outsourced agents. Most still think that IslandAir is a part of Aloha

Thanks, cblaisd, if it is only a 4 day hire then I'd prefer it too *(and maybe get some value with my Hertz membership).

What time am I likely to get to TX rather than Mumbai or worse?
It is 2.15PM here at present.

I have just over 10k UA miles, so will be overjoyed if I can actually use them (will likely lose them from inactivity by Dec 31 anyway!). kaukau you are indeed a most gracious soul - thanks for your support!

I'll check out some WP flights on the UA hotline tonight - maybe from 10AM to give ourselves 2.15hrs from our scheduled arrival time.

kaukau, was your JQ flight to HNL on time? I only have BAD not on-time experiences with QF on non 747s.

kaukau, was your JQ flight to HNL on time? I only have BAD not on-time experiences with QF on non 747s.

Right on time, BiziBB. About 5 minutes early, IIRC.

However, you'll want to try very hard not to get one of the outsourced agents. IslandAir ranges from unknown to poorly understood among many even non-outsourced agents. Most still think that IslandAir is a part of Aloha

Just keep repeating: "I want to book a flight on ISLAND AIR. Airline code WP. That's ISLAND AIR, airline code WP!!!

Yell it, scream it, repeat it as often as necessary, until the agent responds "YES, I understand: Island Air: airline code WP"

"Yes, that's it! Island Air. Airline code WP. Thank you."

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Just keep repeating: "I want to book a flight on ISLAND AIR. Airline code WP. That's ISLAND AIR, airline code WP!!!

Yell it, scream it, repeat it as often as necessary, until the agent responds "YES, I understand: Island Air: airline code WP"

"Yes, that's it! Island Air. Airline code WP. Thank you."

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Thank you very very very much! :D :D :D :D

Thanks, cblaisd, if it is only a 4 day hire then I'd prefer it too *(and maybe get some value with my Hertz membership).

What time am I likely to get to TX rather than Mumbai or worse?

Just for the record -- the outsourced India agents for UA that I have dealt with have been universally nice, polite, wanted to be helpful but simply have been shabbily trained by UA.

Best chance at getting the HNL or DTW call center is late afternoon to mid-evening California time (it's 9:26pm there right now)

I would disagree with kaukau on this one, even though he is akamai on so many things! Get a U.S. based or AU based agent to do the deal.

Just for the record -- the outsourced India agents for UA that I have dealt with have been universally nice, polite, wanted to be helpful but simply have been shabbily trained by UA.

Best chance at getting the HNL or DTW call center is late afternoon to mid-evening California time (it's 9:26pm there right now)

I would disagree with kaukau on this one, even though he is akamai on so many things! Get a U.S. based or AU based agent to do the deal.

Totally agree: if can, can. If no can......: plan "B" :D

Verna's!

Sorry, Bizi, slightly mangled inside reference.

Okay, thank you cblaisd and kaukau for such akamai info!
I'll try this asap tonight and let you know. (bloody oath...!)
I have joined WP's Cloud 9, and hope to get something as a redemption!

Just for the record -- the outsourced India agents for UA that I have dealt with have been universally nice, polite, wanted to be helpful but simply have been shabbily trained by UA.

Yup, nobody on the India desk has actually yelled at me yet. And, somehow, I have avoided yelling at them. :)

I had the misfortune of booking an Island Air award reservation (after several tries!), that I then had to switch to an Aloha rez after Island Air cancelled my flights (requiring me to switch from Kapalua to OGG, too). You can imagine how easy those phone calls were. :)

Called UA reservations day before yesterday at 10:00pm HST to book two r/t tix JHM-HNL for the Honolulu DO on May 29, return May 30: the friendly Mumbai agent never heard of Island Air (WP) and insisted that AQ was the only carrier that I could book. I politely informed her that she was mistaken; that I am currently holding half a dozen reservations on Island Air (WP) made with UAL MileagePlus ff miles through her reservations desk; and that if she would take a moment to speak with her supervisor and check her computer, she would see what I was talking about. After 2 minutes on hold she came back, apologized profusely, and thanked me for helping her learn the intricacies of a job that she takes great pride in. Nice. Everything went smooth as silk after that. 5 minutes later I had my PNR; 12 hours later I called back to purchase and complete the transaction. It goes down like this every other time.

We're all getting better at this! ;)

Pushing one's luck...
For the days I'd like to fly, there are many AQ morning flights HNL-KOA and ITO-LIH, but the ITO-LIH are two separate flight numbers.

On Island Air (WP) there is an ITO-LIH flight on one flight number (also with a stop, but is still 'one' flight no.).

What would you recommend?
a) Try to mix & match AQ & WP flights onto one redemption;
b) Get the AQ ones + add HNL-LIH (if ITO-LIH is really ITO-HNL-LIH w. 2 flight #s won't I have to buy HNL-LIH?)
c) Do (b) but somehow have ITO-LIH recognised as one flight, therefore not have to pay for a HNL-LIH sector.

I can PM flight numbers if you think it helps.
Mahalo! ^ ;)

Looks like you've stumped the band, BiziBB! Rarely does a question get posed here without some sort of answer offered. "What fabulous prizes has our contestant won?"

Please let us know how this resolves!

kaukau

kaukau, It's surely just me asking the question in the wrong way. :)

If WP's flight uses just 1 flight number (but has the stopover) but AQ has 2 flight numbers for a similar flight (each of them ITO-LIH), I just want to know how to book the AQ flight as 'one' flight!

Will end up having to ask someone at UA.

Apparently the ITO flights book up quickly, so we may not even get the flights we want!

Looks like you've stumped the band, BiziBB! Rarely does a question get posed here without some sort of answer offered. "What fabulous prizes has our contestant won?"

Please let us know how this resolves!

kaukau

Pushing one's luck...
For the days I'd like to fly, there are many AQ morning flights HNL-KOA and ITO-LIH, but the ITO-LIH are two separate flight numbers.

On Island Air (WP) there is an ITO-LIH flight on one flight number (also with a stop, but is still 'one' flight no.).

What would you recommend?
a) Try to mix & match AQ & WP flights onto one redemption;
b) Get the AQ ones + add HNL-LIH (if ITO-LIH is really ITO-HNL-LIH w. 2 flight #s won't I have to buy HNL-LIH?)
c) Do (b) but somehow have ITO-LIH recognised as one flight, therefore not have to pay for a HNL-LIH sector.

I can PM flight numbers if you think it helps.
Mahalo! ^ ;)

I have limited experience booking AQ interisland awards with UA miles, but I think I might be able to help you a bit.

First off, you won't be able to fly HNL-KOA//ITO-LIH as an open-jaw on a 5K award, unless some other definition of an open jaw is used. On an open jaw, your itinerary involves three cities, and you fly two legs of the triangle defined by these three cities, with each leg originating in a different city and each leg terminating in a different city--i.e. either A-B//B-C or A-B//C-A. Technically, you also must fly the two longest segments of the triangle--but I don't know if they'd actually enforce this rule on an AQ interisland award. EDIT: Looking over past tickets, I've ticketed KOA-LIH//LIH-HNL, which would contradict the two longest segments of the triangle rule.

Second, for each of these legs, say ITO-LIH for example, if the leg consists of multiple segments, e.g. ITO-HNL-LIH, there is no requirement that each segment has the same flight number. Each leg does not have to be a direct flight. I've personally flown KOA-HNL-LIH//LIH-HNL-OGG on AQ involving four different flight numbers, all for 5K.

Lastly, I have never been able to book on a single 5K award segments that include both AQ and WP. I would think this might be possible, but every agent I've ever spoken with (including the few who were aware of redemption on WP before I spoke to them) said this would not be possible. Please let us know if you successfully pull this off.

Thank you Bill_Luv2Fly, I understand now, that my flights are not open jaw, unless it was HNL-KOA/ITO-HNL, to make HNL the 'joined' end of the jaw.
So I should expect to only get the above redemption, then buy the HNL-LIH part, unless I can construct a redemption of the to separate island hops. HNL-KOA and ITO-LIH.

Thanks/ Mahalo!
BB

OK, with the help provided here, and a little flyertalk research, I was able to find a booking engine which DOES show Aloha's "X" award inventory.

http://publicbackup.com/shared/flyertalk/availability/


Mahalo nui loa for this.

Just booked three interisland award tix, two separate itins and routings, with no problem. It was very nice to have the award buckets in front of me so I didn't have to play hide the cheese with the agent.

It was also nice to get an ORD-based agent. Not as nice as HNL, but very nice compared to some ;)

So I should expect to only get the above redemption, then buy the HNL-LIH part, unless I can construct a redemption of the to separate island hops. HNL-KOA and ITO-LIH.

Thanks/ Mahalo!
BB

Personally I'd ticket HNL-KOA//ITO-HNL as an award, and then buy the HNL-LIH segment for around $30. Note the $19 fare sale mentioned here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=684252

which AQ itself has matched through the rest of this year. Maybe you'd even rather not use miles at all, as your entire itinerary should now cost only about $90.

Mahalo Bill_Luv2Fly, cblaisd and kaukau,
Using the award website above, there is x9 availability for my dates for the following flights on AQ.

I did dummy bookings on HA to know the alternative (preferred!) option, which cost (for 2) $50 all-in for HNL-KOA + $50 ITO-HNL, but then $90 HNL-LIH, for available flights.

For me, I think my expiring UA 10k miles are worth the $190 saved, if this works out.

We also get the day in Hilo or VNP, though Mrs B will be very tired this first day!

Will let you know if I can redeem for these flights (X9 seats currently):
17 May: AQ 246 HNL-ITO 09:00-09:51 (or AQ 242 11:40-12:31)
22 May: AQ 237/93 ITO-HNL-LIH 15:33-17:37 (a few later options, but some x0 availability).

Cheers! ^

Good move. I'm not sure I'd normally use 5000 miles for trips from HNL (given the crazy HNL fares these days), but if they're "orphan miles" it certainly makes sense. I'd note that UA recently announced they would cancel unused miles (after 18 months, right?) so this is a good reward for infrequent UA flyers.

Given the general incompetence of UA rez, it definitely helps to use this tool to check your own reward availability before you call. Just look for flights with the "X," and you'll know the confirmation will come back positive.

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7298485&postcount=5

Did NOT get the flights I really wanted (HNL-ITO, ITO-LIH) as the UA Filipino agent could not find any of these on the dates, despite being X9 for the ones I'd selected.

Instead, was able to get HNL-KOA, KOA-LIH for similar times.

As long as we stay 1 night in/near VNP and see the volanos and coast, it should be okay, but more driving.
Having ITO as the middle of the open jaw worked best.

So I have a reference #, but will ask again tomorrow in case ITO becomes available.

Was told the cost $15ea + taxes, with the taxes to be advised when I check back in 12+hrs.

Many mahalos :)^

What are the chances of requesting/changing to my original HNL-ITO, ITO-LIH flights tomorrow, before the KOA ones are locked in? :)

Good enough that it's worth a try.

Good enough that it's worth a try.

I tried. Flights HNL-ITO and ITO-HNL-LIH are available now, but the redemption would only be back to HNL.

That's funny - my original HNL-KOA KOA-HNL-LIH flights redeem okay as 5k redemptions, but not if the open jaw is ITO!


I've kept the KOA-based redemptions, despite the advice that it is poor value.
Anyway, we are being charged USD$15 per redemption + AUD$12 taxes.

MNL-based call centre person was very good, so overall I think these people do a good job.



Mahalo and cheers ^,
BB

Update: phoned to confirm flights with UA but now find that due to UA agent not asking for my CC number, my booking lapsed.

Now required to pay $75 x 2 fee plus tax for tickets within 72hrs! :mad: :mad:

So when phoning back to confirm: ensure the agent takes the credit card and issues tickets! :mad::mad::mad:

Given that, I'd suggest just purchasing the tickets and getting the miles.

I wish I'd gone Hawaiian at $19ea, but remember I'd need to get HNL-KOA KOA-HNL HNL-LIH for two, vs. 10k (about to expire UA) miles for 2x three sectors.

As we say here: Not Happy Jan!

Update: phoned to confirm flights with UA but now find that due to UA agent not asking for my CC number, my booking lapsed.

Now required to pay $75 x 2 fee plus tax for tickets within 72hrs! :mad: :mad:

So when phoning back to confirm: ensure the agent takes the credit card and issues tickets! :mad::mad::mad:

That is so totally messed up, it almost is beyond comprehension. I experienced the same nonsense several years ago but fortunately figured it out in time: When one calls UA to book a ticket on AQ or WP, one is instructed to call UA back in 12 (used to be 24) hours to "confirm if they've (AQ or WP) accepted it". When one calls back, if one asks "Is it confirmed? Have they accepted it?" the UA agent just says "Yes."

One could then be led to think that it's all set, and hang up: but it's not!!! One must then request to "purchase the reservation." For some nefarious reason, the agent does not volunteer "Would you like to purchase/complete the reservation?".

It's become such second nature to me, on the call back, when they answer the phone and ask "How may I help you?" to say "I want to pay for a reservation that I made yesterday.", and not "I want to confirm a reservation that I made yesterday" that I forget to advise fellow FTers about this kindergarden ploy that UA uses!!!

Sorry you got burned by that one, BiziBB!!!

I checked back and paid the tax (AUD$6 ea) and fees (USD$75ea) this morning.
No sigh of the (e-)ticket yet but will check in two hours then phone back.

Did I mention last night's call took 1.5hrs? :mad:

Based on recent HA tickets when on special, the redemption is still a little less than tickets as the KOA-LIH sector was always around $40ea.

Mahalo, kaukau!

[Edit to add: I have the e-tickets as of 4PM local time, so happy with this]

If you're going to fly interisland, I think Aloha is best, even with these hassles. Go is good too, but United, i've had many issues with. When it comes to miles and points, I like Hawaiian air. Sorry for all your troubles. It still sounds like you'll have fun.

If you want to bypass the flight entirely, you can soon use the Hawaii Superferry (http://www.hawaiiinterislandsuperferry.com) to get from one island to the other. That's what i'm gonna do when it is operational. I think it's a couple months away.

Good luck!

Thank you for your comments, frankyP4lover. When inter-island sales like today's expiring HA $25 fares are available, I'd probably try that.

My case was that because one open-jaw fare allowed me to fly three sectors (HNL-KOA + KOA-HNL-LIH as a HNL-KOA-LIH redemption), this case was better for me than buying 2x 3 fares but 2x 5k miles instead.

So much for counting costs... today's emergency visit to the doctor was almost USD$300 so it's very insignificant as a part of our trip.

We made it, so here's thanks to everyone who has helped. Mahalo!
Welcome to FlyerTalk frankyP4lover; PM me if our paths may cross while we are on Hawaii/Kauai/Oahu between now and May 30.