toolate

Wow! Not one post in 3 years!
Anything for Kamaaina based flyers to be aware of these days?
Alaska Merger will be of some use I suspect when it comes to fruition..

For me, while the schedules on Alaska and Hawaiian sort of suck to most destinations compared to UA, the service more than makes up for it so for now that is where I concentrate my efforts.
Add that to mileage programs that are good deals compared to the competition...

reverted

As much as I love flying Hawaiian, their mileage program leaves much to be desired imo so I've strayed away years ago and put my eggs into the UA basket. Yes, I always have to stop in LAX/SFO for trips to and from Vegas but their international network/awards are more valuable to me currently.

finlandia

Hasn't really changed that much. UA still goes everywhere and HA is steadily growing. AS is my choice thanks to the companion fares and HA's bad mileage program. As you say, though, the flight schedules can be irritating, particularly when connecting through SEA.

One bummer is that I'll lose access to the DL HNL-ATL nonstop via AS miles once the two airlines finally break up for good.

eplusk

I live in Honolulu and am wondering what airlines other frequent fliers out of Honolulu choose? Why'd you choose it?

To me, there doesn't seem to be a clear cut winner.

United:
-Good network
-Good frequent flier program
-Good prices
-Poor customer service
-Very old planes

Hawaiian + JetBlue:
-Good customer service
-New planes
-Mediocre FF program
-Mediocre network
-Mediocre prices

Delta/American:
-Medicore networks

Finkface

Alaska/Virgin

Excellent customer service - second to none
Excellent frequent flyer program - the only one (?) not revenue based
Easy to get status as distance based
Good to great partner awards due to not being in an alliance
Good prices, especially if you use a companion pass
Route network - can be mediocre to ok to bad depending on where you go.
Mediocre planes
VX F is excellent but is changing in the next couple of years to AS's mediocre F

tom911

A major factor is what fares you buy. If you're a leisure traveler and want to rack up miles based on distance, Alaska/Virgin America would be hard to overlook. I'm flying Alaska OAK-HNL this week. They don't have the route network some of the majors have within the domestic 48, so make sure they fly where you want to go, as that could make the decision for you.

eplusk

Thanks for the suggestion and I agree AS/VA would be ideal if I can swing it. I hate to say it but unfortunately my work takes me all over the country, so think a broad network is important and would need to go with a more national carrier versus super regional.

Regarding fares, I typically buy the cheapest available due to my company's travel policy.

slippahs

This is not going to be a one size fits all situation, as I think you've come to realize. Connecting on Hawaiian to Jetblue to get to your final destination gets old very fast, and even if you are a top tier elite on HA, you will very rarely see upgrades on the CONUS routes. Not to mention, there are some bad apples at HA, just like there are bad apples elsewhere, so customer service can be hit or miss. Not to mention having to deal with an off shore call center even if you are an elite. But if you are primarily flying to/from the West Coast or Vegas or to JFK, maybe this makes sense for you, particularly if you won't be a high tier elite clearing upgrades on the major carriers any way.

My travel patterns are not limited to the West Coast/LAS/JFK, and I am finding myself happy with COdbaUA. At the end of the day, a non stop or a short connecting flight to most of the places I need to travel wins, as that's more time at either the destination or home and redeeming miles on premium travel on StarAlliance partners is ideal. If you find yourself flying to the West Coast on 737s, those aircraft are actually only a several years old, so not sure where the "old planes" comment is coming from. The biggest downside is the high density 777, where if you haven't cleared the upgrade (likely), you'll find yourself in a jammed in a 3-4-3 configuration in the back.

The one area where DL is the clear winner is Japan. You've got a bunch of flights from HNL to Japan. I was a NW/DL guy for over a decade and found Skyteam to be lackluster unless you are headed to Korea.

I've heard many Hawaii residents talk about how you earn on Hawaiian based on miles traveled as opposed to dollars spent as you would earn miles on UA/DL/AA. But outside of travel to the CONUS, if you compare the earnings chart, you may find yourself needing quite a bit more HA miles to get anywhere you want to go. Just one example: it takes 40k UA miles o/w to get to Japan in business, but 40k HA miles for the same o/w trip in economy, 65k for first.

747FC

HA seems to rarely offer Saver J awards anymore. UA had cut back some, bu they are still available. I just returned from an European vacation compliments of Mileage Plus, and flew Saver International First to/from SFO on a combined Domestic First to/from Hawaii. Try doing that on the HA FF program...simply not possible under any circumstances.

RealHJ

DL has strongest network by far. HNL to FUK, KIX, NGO, NRT (used to be 4x daily, now down to only 2x daily though), ATL, LAX, SEA, JFK (seasonal), etc.
Other than US48 UA only has one daily flight to NRT. AA has pretty much nothing other than LAX, DFW, ORD. HA has a horrible FF. Then again DL has it also pretty bad.. UA is strongest in terms of FFP.