Hawaiian Air and Korean Air interlining
May 16, 2016, 1:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 19
Hawaiian Air and Korean Air interlining
I'm planning to book HNL-ICN-RGN on two separate tickets - HNL-ICN on Hawaiian Air and ICN-RGN on Korean Air with a 22.5 hrs forced layover in ICN. Would Hawaiian Air allow baggage through-check to my final destination? Are there any risks in buying two separate tickets instead of a single itinerary (particularly HA and KE)? Would appreciate any insights. Thanks in advance.
May 16, 2016, 6:32 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2014
Programs: AS MVPG, HA Plat 75k, CA Phoenix Gold
Posts: 134
HA and KAL have an interline agreement (http://hawaiianair.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1975/~/interline-baggage-statement). Otherwise, I did not notice any particularly strong relationship between both airlines. Asiana handles HA flights at ICN, not KAL. HA itself does not have a customer facing presence at ICN itself that you could easily access in case of any problems. (I found out about this accidentially last week when trying to get a seat upgrade without exiting the ICN transit area for my ICN / HNL flight after arriving on KAL from Shanghai.) It does not really matter whether you buy the ticket separately.
Forced layover? Consider yourself lucky. You have more than 22 hours, so I would definitely spend time in Seoul city rather than at ICN. (Even though ICN is a REALLY nice airport with many interesting shops and high quality foods.) Simply catch either limousine bus 6703 or 6009 right outside the arrival area. The ride takes one hour during off peak hours, 15-20 minutes longer between 7:30-10am, and it costs about 10,000 KRW (about 7 USD) one way. Buses have comfortable recliner seats and are a great place to catch some sleep after red eyes. I do not recommend taking a taxi from ICN to Seoul -- traffic can be terrible and Korean taxis tend to be a bit erratic and can drive VERY unsafely. Seoul is a fantastic, fantastic city with great restaurants, palaces, markets, ..., people watching.
ICN is also one of the few airports in the region that have an outlet that will hold your bags for you for a small charge. The service is at the far right end of the ICN arrival hall (facing back at arrival doors) and I've used it 5 times during the last six months with no issues at all.
Forced layover? Consider yourself lucky. You have more than 22 hours, so I would definitely spend time in Seoul city rather than at ICN. (Even though ICN is a REALLY nice airport with many interesting shops and high quality foods.) Simply catch either limousine bus 6703 or 6009 right outside the arrival area. The ride takes one hour during off peak hours, 15-20 minutes longer between 7:30-10am, and it costs about 10,000 KRW (about 7 USD) one way. Buses have comfortable recliner seats and are a great place to catch some sleep after red eyes. I do not recommend taking a taxi from ICN to Seoul -- traffic can be terrible and Korean taxis tend to be a bit erratic and can drive VERY unsafely. Seoul is a fantastic, fantastic city with great restaurants, palaces, markets, ..., people watching.
ICN is also one of the few airports in the region that have an outlet that will hold your bags for you for a small charge. The service is at the far right end of the ICN arrival hall (facing back at arrival doors) and I've used it 5 times during the last six months with no issues at all.
Last edited by Alex909; May 16, 2016 at 6:55 pm
May 16, 2016, 6:38 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2014
Location: CMH, HNL
Programs: UA, HA
Posts: 583
...Simply catch either limousine bus 6703 or 6009 right outside the arrival area. The ride takes one hour during off peak hours, 15-20 minutes longer between 7:30-10am, and it costs about 10,000 KRW (about 7 USD) one way....ICN is also one of the few airports in the region that have an outlet that will hold your bags for you for a small charge. The service is at the far right end of the ICN arrival hall, (facing arrival doors) and I've used it 5 times during the last six months with no issues at all.
May 17, 2016, 2:05 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,576
HA recently changed ground handling vendors from KE to OZ. There are station managers that work for HA, that's about it. I think your time on the ground is too long to check a bag all the way through. Absolutely take advantage of your time in Seoul! Eat eat eat!