Hawkeyefan

Its been 10 years since my wife and I have been to the Hawaiian Islands, and we are thinking of possibly taking our family of 4 (incl. 2 kids ages 2 and 5) back in 2015 late winter or early spring. At that time we flew direct MSP to HNL but I see that route is gone now. What flight plans now available would give us the best options, in terms of shortest flight times, best connecting airports, etc?

Thx!

Crandall

try
MSP-ORD-HNL UA or AA

MSP-DEN-HNL UA

JVPonKauai

Is your destination HNL, or one of the other islands? There are now many choices from the west coast that fly direct to the outer islands.

Hawkeyefan

Well...good question. As we have small kids, probably not looking to do multiple islands on one trip (minimize stress). Focus on one. Was thinking Oahu but could be swayed. Willing to consider any itinerary.

cblaisd

Take a look at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...olidated+which

beckoa

With AS, you get a one stop solution to the main islands ex-MSP. So if going to somewhere aside from HNL it can work out well (or even including HNL).

Hawkeyefan

Thanks everyone for the thoughts....

I can see the routing from MSP to Hawaii is now far less desirable than when we went 10 yrs ago. No direct flights, and even connections are on old narrowbody metal.
Eh.

Has anyone booked RT's from MSP to LAX or SEA on Delta/Alaska, then caught a RT from there on Hawaiian? Hawaiian's seems to offer 330's for their flights......

jerry a. laska

You would have to look at the OTA's to see if you can construct a ticket to make it worthwhile as HA does not offer a fare from MSP that I can see. If you want a wider body then consider flying through ORD with AA.

Lavarock7

There are a few things I would mention to help you decide.

Oahu, as you probably know, is a lot like a large mainland city with lots to do, but lots of traffic.

Maui, Kauai and the Big Island are also great locations with lots of beauty but some cautions are needed. They all have some drop offs beside the highways and roads that can be dangerous. In one case, a family stopped along side the road to Hana and a teen boy jumped out and ran to the edge to look and fell to his death. http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...157018735.html

Please keep all children under direct supervision.

At present, there are restrictions getting too close to flowing lava on the Big Island and small children cannot go up to the Mauna Kea summit. Still there are lots to do on the Big Island for younger kids. Even if not staying at a resort, you can still swim in front of them. There can be LOTS of driving on the Big Island so if the kids don't ride well, perhaps another island might be a better choice.

Hawkeyefan

Sorry for the elementary question, but...

Is it ok to 'construct' a ticket using different airlines? Say I fly MSP to SEA on Delta, then pick up a Hawaiian Flight to the islands (same day). Flip around for the return trip. Will Hawaiian red flag me since I will have not passed through security in SEA, but rather arrived via Delta? I don't want to do an oops.....

slippahs

Nope, this is all good. However, with some big caveats:

-You will need to interline your checked luggage between DL and HA. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...-6-1-12-a.html . Accordingly, you may need to claim your bag and re-check it in SEA.

-Airlines only have an obligation to protect you on another flight if your first flight is delayed/gone mechanical/canceled if you are booked on a single ticket. (And even some airlines no longer do this unless it's all the same metal). So if your flight on DL is delayed due to whatever reason going to SEA and you miss that HA flight, neither DL nor HA have any obligation to get you to your final destination.

If we ever need to book two separate tickets, it's always with an overnight connection. Or, with the understanding that I'm risking it.

Of course, a very nice agent may be willing to override these rules. But YMMV.

I do miss that MSP-HNL non-stop. Took it countless times on NW.

Merlin666

Very often Hawaiian codeshares with other airlines, so you will get the connection anyway and don't have to worry about checking in again and retrieving luggage. Though if you do it yourself you may have more flexibility with your schedule. Though now that I read your question again I'm not sure if I gave the right answer ...

Hawkeyefan

All good things to think about, thanks! Now maybe not so keen on doing this, I am not a big risk taker when it comes to flights.

Hawkeyefan

May as well ask...

Can I do a one stop from MSP to Kona? Is that possible?

slippahs

Yep. You could do it on DL, UA, AA, and AS, looking to connect somewhere on the West Coast.