Originally Posted by
browan04
Yes it is much longer distance-wise but generally the flights through Asia are more pleasant despite the distance, I live in HI so I’m somewhat used to the routes but it seems that SkyMiles requires far fewer miles to fly through Asia because DL charges insane miles requirements from the mainland to Europe during the summer. But perhaps I’m not searching properly.
That's exactly it.
You can get almost reasonable pricing of 70,000 one-way J HNL to EU over US48, if you happen to find flights at normal availability. When you do don't wait and book it. A day, or even an hour, later it is likely to be quadrupled, quintupled or more in price, as DL does the moment they see you searching.
Make sure to always search while LOGGED OUT, and preferably from a different browser and even better computer, than you normally use to access delta.com, and always do so in private/incognito mode. May help if you do it over a VPN also. That way, DL is less likely to track you and to show you your "customized" (i.e. several fold jacked up) pricing. Only log in once you have it in you cart and are going to check out.
It is also worthwhile searching via the DL app (that means that you are logged in, yes). Sometimes that may yield results when the site does not.
Key though is to just be lucky and happen to find something that is available at the normal pricing...which means searching every day for weeks and possibly months until you see that, if ever. It is possible, but a large part of it really is luck. There are times (rare) that there is good availability on many (most if not all) days at normal price, but then Rev Mgmnt catches it and quadruples or quintuples the pricing throughout.