Originally Posted by
hillrider
If you're paying, the 2,556 miles of LAX-HNL starts at $609 roundtrip vs. the 2,611 miles of LAX-BOS has plenty of availability for $337 roundtrip.
In economy class (which is what the OP flew), Hawaii flights are indeed priced at a hefty premium. People's perception is accurate.
Key words there being "starts at." The difference is that LAX-HNL is nearly all leisure travelers who book well in advance and pay the same $609 (and are very price sensitive). Compare that to LAX-BOS, where last minute business travelers pay $1000+ for coach and therefore subsidize all the leisure travelers who scored a $337 fare by booking early.
It's entirely possible that the average coach fare on an LAX-BOS flight is actually higher than an LAX-HNL one. The lesson is only that as a leisure traveler you benefit from price discrimination, not that LAX-HNL is a "premium" route.