Originally Posted by hillrider

AA tells us so.

For standard award redemptions, AA wants 45,000 miles roundtrip in economy (35,000 from mid-January to mid-March and end of August through mid-December) for the 2,556 miles of LAX-HNL but 25,000 miles for the longer (2,611 miles) of LAX-BOS .

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.