It's been noted that business/first class flights from mainland to HI are much cheaper when bundled with a car and/or hotel via an airline-sponsored vacation package. These packages require that you pay all charges in full (air, car and/or hotel) in advance. Still, the price differences between these packages and the regular airfare rates are so large that, in theory, one can simply pay for a car -- even if it is never used -- and obtain a much better first class airfare than one would get via the sponsoring airline.

This is ideal for those who might take a 5-day vacation, but is problematic for those who might take a 3-4 week trip (the rental car charges approach $3,000 for a 4 week stay on HI!!). One way to make this work for those of us who spend several weeks at a destination might be to book an air+car (no hotel) package for the minimum number of days (say, 5 nights), but then re-schedule the return flight upon arrival. That is, book and pay for a 5 day vacation package, but re-schedule the return flight for 3 weeks later after arrival (and incurring the associated airline change fee). Even though the change fee might be a couple of hundred dollars, and you don't use the rental car for the 5 days) it can still be much cheaper than buying a business/first class ticket outright. Is this feasible? Of course, there is a risk that flights might not be available on the desired return day. But, nonetheless, there doesn't appear to be anything in the rules that prohibit flight changes providing that the sponsoring airline penalties are paid. Thoughts??