What To Expect On AA Flight To Hawaii??

 
Old Dec 27, 2002, 3:04 pm
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What To Expect On AA Flight To Hawaii??

Hi,

We leave out for our first Hawaii trip in 8 days. (Yea!!!) We have never been on a flight this long- DFW to HNL. The longest we've ever flown is 2 1/2 hours. This more than exceeds that.

I was wondering what all should we expect on AA Flights To Hawaii (in Coach)? Also, my 16 year old son is coming with us and he is really disliking the loooooong flight. Any suggestions on what to do to keep from getting too bored?

Does AA have some activities going to help pass along the time? I know they have movies, but is there anything else that is offered?

Thanks in Advance.

[This message has been edited by bigeyes1 (edited 12-27-2002).]
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 3:33 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bigeyes1:
Hi,

We leave out for our first Hawaii trip in 8 days. (Yea!!!)

[This message has been edited by bigeyes1 (edited 12-27-2002).]
</font>
You haven't been to Hawaii in 8 days?

Coach service to Hawaii won't be much different than normal coach on AA, except it will be a much longer flight. I recommend playing nice with one of the stewards or stewardesses and then spend the flight at the back of the plane while you are given more Mai Tais than you should probably drink on a plane.
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 3:35 pm
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Didn't we already answer this?http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum71/HTML/013446.html

You can also see my trip report (outbound)

And the return trip report

P.S. It is raining right now in Waikiki, as it did yesterday.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou.

[This message has been edited by CharlesMD (edited 12-27-2002).]
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 3:39 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bigeyes1:
Also, my 16 year old son is coming with us and he is really disliking the loooooong flight. Any suggestions on what to do to keep from getting too bored?
</font>
Run, don't walk to your local travel shop and rent a portable DVD player with standard 12v car-lighter adapter. You can also rent an allotment of DVD's. Then, check your seatmaps on aa.com and make sure you are booked into a coach row that has power outlets. Generally, the first 6 rows of coach, plus every third row thereafter, have power ports in coach.

There is really nothing else that will do, for those not keen on bringing lots to read...

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Old Dec 27, 2002, 3:45 pm
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Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I have read your report, Charles, but it didn't answer all of my questions. I was hoping to get a more detailed description of what to expect on AA Flights. As I've stated before, we have never been on a long flight. I am open for suggestions on what to keep my son being bored out of his mind. Doesn't AA or FA do anything special to keep the flight interesting?

johnep1: You're funny!! LOL. Sooo, what is in a Mai Tais? Does it cost extra for these?

Thanks again.
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 3:48 pm
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Wow!! Another response. Thanks "martin33". We are taking our laptop with us, which fortunately, has a DVD player. We are sitting in row 21CEG. Unless the plane has changed recently and we've been reassigned, I believe this row still has the power outlets.

Happy New Year!!!
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 4:23 pm
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Whatever exercise you can get your kids before the flight will help a whole lot. Let them stay up later and run around that morning, if you wear them out they'll sleep pretty well on the plane. Books are good. Bring water and munchies. I'm in honolulu til Jan 8th if you need advice on anything else.
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 5:33 pm
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BigEyes, sorry about the 8 day comment. I couldn't resist.

The flight to Hawaii is really no different than any other long domestic flight (except you end up in Hawaii at the end). There is nothing special that AA does on these flights just because they are really long.

A Mai Tai (I guessed at the spelling) is a Hawaiian drink and is very good. When I flew HNL-LAX, I got into a conversation with the steward at the back of the plane and we ended up talking for an hour and a half. My girlfriend came back to check on me and found me drinking and having fun with the flight attendants (who were not drinking). My girlfriend was given a Mai Tai as well and we had a good old time until we had to take our seats as we approached LAX.

Anyway, besides a movie and a bit of food, Hawaii flights on AA are not special.
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Old Dec 27, 2002, 10:52 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by benoit:
Whatever exercise you can get your kids before the flight will help a whole lot. Let them stay up later and run around that morning, if you wear them out they'll sleep pretty well on the plane. Books are good. Bring water and munchies. I'm in honolulu til Jan 8th if you need advice on anything else.</font>
if you haven't done a long flight in coach before and want to sleep-- definitely pick up a travel pillow for each person. The inflatable kind is under $10-- these make all the difference in terms of making sleep feasible without getting a cricked neck. If you tend to drop forward when sleeping get a "beanbag" type pillow that wraps all the way round. If you need dark to sleep, bring eyeshades and earplugs...

No, the airlines don't do anything special to keep long flights moving. they used to over-feed you, but nowadays that's gone...

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Old Dec 28, 2002, 9:07 am
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If you check the search function - there was a thread about travel kits - what to take on the plane.

I've found these help me on long flights
1) Bottled water - you are not at the whim of the FA's... keep drinking it to. Airplane air is dry and for 8 hrs it's worse.
2) lip balm / lotion for skin -
3) A couple of good books -- of different types - don't take 2 mysteries since you may get bored of one for whatever reason.
4) Laptops are good - I like to write on the plan - games - movies - all good.
5) Get son to write a report - it keeps his mind off the length of the flight
6) If you can - when you book allow an extra seat between you so you can stretch out.
7) small bottle of mouthwash - toothbrush - after all that time - it will help perk you up.
8) Don't forget adapter for power plug.
9) tell son for every time he complains you will take $5 off his spending money on the trip. (I've got three kids- this works)

Live it up.

------------------
TANSTAAFL - but if you work it right, FF miles comes pretty close.
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Old Dec 28, 2002, 9:50 am
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Well, in coach, you can expect your AA flight to be more comfortable than any other airline's flight to Hawaii (in coach), thanks to MRTC.

This may not be an issue for you, but have you tested your laptop out with a DVD already? Mine says it will play DVD's, but it won't play them *well*. The video is very choppy... A friend of mine has a Pentium III laptop with a much better video card, so his works a lot better, but it still isn't perfect...

I always like books on the plane.

And don't forget: AA will show a couple of bad movies on the flight. For whatever reason, they only stock the real stinkers.
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Old Dec 28, 2002, 5:05 pm
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Boy, I have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks all for your posts. I really appreciate it.

benoit: My son is a night owl. So, I'm hoping he'll be so tired on the plane, he'll try to recoup some of his "lost sleep" on the plane.

I have a cooler on wheels that we are planning on taking aboard the plane. It isn't a real big cooler, but it's big enough to have our snacks and drinks (water and cokes) in it. I'm sure this will tide us over until we arrive at our final destination- Kauai.

johnep1: I don't mind you joking around. Thankfully, I can take a joke. Well, most of the time, anyway. So, no apologies are needed.

I don't know if I would feel comfortable moving around a lot on planes. Of course, I've never been on a flight this long, either. Do people get up a lot on a flight this long? I know, shorter flights people tend to stay seated. Am I to expect a lot of foot traffic?

martin33: As a matter of fact, I have already bought a travel pillow/blanket. It's a really nice one, too. Unfortunately, I only bought one of these. I'm know I'm not the one who is going to be using it, since I don't sleep on "moving objects". I'm sure my son will appreciate the pillow/blanket very much. I haven't thought about the eyeshades and earplugs, though. Very good idea. Thanks..

CFM3RD: I will take your advice and see if I can find anything on travel kits.

I am definitely taking two books for to read. I'm the reader in the family. We are taking our laptop (with a DVD player). The guys will be watching this while I read.

Question: How are the AA movies shown? Are the screens on the back of the seats or are they in the middle of the aisle?

I wish I could get an extra seat between us, but our flight in coach is sold out completely. It has been booked solid for the last two weeks.

I absolutely LOVE the idea of knocking off $5 everytime my son complains. Now, that's a good one. I can just see it. Thanks for the tip. I like that.

pinniped: We have taken our laptop and played DVD movies on the plane before. It seemed to work fine. Would different type of aircrafts affect the laptop (DVD movies) differently? I would hate to be on a flight this long and not have any back up movies.

I have just checked AA movies for these flights. They aren't too bad. One is "The Tuxedo" with Jackie Chan and City by the Sea with Robert DeNiro- which we all like. So, hopefully these movies will be pretty entertaining.

Again, thank you all very much!! Only one more week and we're off to Hawaii!!!! YIPPEE!!

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