Originally Posted by
copyman
Don't know about connect time in CVG, but if you want to get your checked luggage in OGG, you need a 2 hr connect time in HNL. From the 14 trips I've made HA cannot get luggage from the central terminal to the interisland in less than 2 hr. Anything less and you will be waiting for the next hour's flight to get your bags.
Assuming an early morning departure , I would think you would be OK w/ a 30 minute connection. Probably departing on ERJ?
As for HNL, 2 hours is plenty of time to be safe for bag transfer, but most of my connections (6-10 a year there) are less than that and I've never had to wait for a bag. In fact, often the bags are waiting in OGG. HA has HNL-OGG flights about every half hour (not hourly) in the afternoon to Kahului when the CO flights arrive, so it's usually not worth tacking extra time on in HNL if you can make a shorter connection . HA puts the bag on the 1st available flight (not the necessarily the one you're booked on), so you could be sitting in Honolulu thinking you're smart and your bag's on Maui. What's the point in hanging around in HNL to "make sure your bags connect" when you have no control over it anyway? Gives you time on Maui to p/u car and swing back around to pick up bags/fellow traveler(s).
Making a shorter connection gives you the chance of getting away from airport earlier if baggage handling goes well. The longer connection means you're locked into the worst case and chances are you'll spend more time at the airport. Flight frequencies is the key here.