zishan03

Hi Guys,

I will soon be booking my honeymoon and Hawaii has come out as our clear favorite thanks to the mix of relaxation coupled with the shopping on the west coast USA.

I have enough miles to book into Premium Economy and upgrade to Club World for the LHR-LAX flight.

My ideal itenary would be LHR-LAX-(somewhere in Hawaii, airport depends on the hotel we pick, recommendations welcome)-SFO --- drive to LAX-LHR.

Is this possible on one booking with BA? Also, is it then possible to use miles to upgrade each flight? What would be the mileage cost for something like this?


Thanks in advance guys, I am looking forward to the replies.


Kind Regards,
Zishan

Abstract1

I did this recently and took UA from SFO to OGG. I like that one they operate a 777 on that route which in fact is very nice. ^ and as its a 777 the flight time is quicker!

barobson

Just came back from Maui yesterday, it was very very nice, rented houses in Lahaina and Hana. Hana especially was fantastic. We flew BA First to LAX and then Delta economy to OGG. The Delta flights were not too bad although both were extremely full. I believe you can do the whole thing for 100,000 miles per person using BA/AA but we couldn't get the AA flights for the time we wanted (not really surprising over Christmas).

KenJohn

You cannot MFU on an AA leg. If can this on one booking if you use a full BA Miles award flight - its a combination flight with BA and AA. I think you may have to phone to arrange this but you need enough miles for the full CW ticket.

zishan03

Thanks for the clarification KenJohn, unfortunately I dont have the 100k required so will go the way of barobson and book the upgrade flight to LAX and a seperate connection onwards.

polar_b

Have you done this before? It's a LONG trip.

I did this trip 6 months ago, LHR-LAX-HNL-LIH and learnt a few things:

- If doing AA from the US west coast, keep in mind these routes are often very crowded. Avoid the 757 like the plague - some AA routes use this - the standard in F is quite good but the seats do not recline much so you can't get much sleep.

- Consider breaking the journey with flights of roughly equal duration, i.e. going from LHR to somewhere in the middle of the US and then onto Hawai'i. That way you get on the plane before the jetlag really sets in. I found LHR-LAX (in J) was great but the 5.5 hour LAX-HNL was really hard beacuse of the jetlag and having travelled for so long already.

If breaking your journey midway, consider one of the AA routes which offer a lie-flat bed in domestic F. These are extremely popular - the obvious benefit is that you can sleep all the way to Hawai'i.

- Try and get a direct flight from the US mainland to your final destination, instead of going via the main HNL hub and then taking and inter-island flight.

- There are pros and cons of making the whole booking through BA, or on a separate PNR (possibly with another carrier). If you book with BA, on the same PNR all the way to Hawai'i then BA will check your luggage all the way through, which I think is a great benefit. The downside is upgrades: If the booking is maked via BA it will be difficult to upgrade the AA leg. It can be done, as I discovered, but it's really cumbersome and certainly not guaranteed.

In terms of a (paid) upgrade with AA, I found that the best option is to book a separate return from the mainland. When you book you can either book their instant upgrade fare which books you straight into F, or you can book full-fare (Y, B) and then request an upgrade at the time of booking. If requesting an upgrade you will need stickers in your account, this is at the point where things start getting complicated (and we should now move over to the AA forum!).

Seated in First

Consider going via DFW. Very easy airport to transfer through and you'll get 767s on the DFW-Hawaii legs which are lot better (in F) than the 757s you'd get from LAX. In Y I doubt whether the differences are that great and obviously you'd want to maximise your time in Club World.

paulmasterton

We are doing something similar going out via SFO with a one-night stop due to timings, and then coming back via 3 nights in Vegas.

The one thing we learnt is not to just go with BA/AA because you get miles or it seems easier - the hawaii routes are long and competitive. There are fantastic deals out there, and unless you are going to Oahu or Lanai, avoid a transfer in HNL like the plague. Penty of airlines fly direct to Maui from across the west, and you can fly to Kauai direct from LAX too.

We are just doing BA for the transatlantic, and then picking up fares in the sales from Hawaiian/Delta for the onward flights.

henkybaby

All true, but who wants to be in Dallas?

Fly to LAX, drive to SFO, fly to Maui (avoid HNL), drive the Hana Highway about 10 times in a convertible (it will be fun every time), chill in a nice resort (look at the hotel forum for nice deals on the Fairmont) and don't worry too much about the flight to/fro Hawaii. Just get the cheapest you can find but do only day time flights. It is not that long and you will appreciate the BA flights even more.

cornishsimon

why not try outward via LAX and then return to LHR from SFO instead of driving from San Francisco down to LA to return ?

SFO also see's a 744 twice daily

cs

Abstract1

If you are doing F on the domestic then take the 777 from UA..FLight time around 4h15. Also if you have any miles with BMI etc then buy a business ticket on UA which is fantastic value as it books into F cabin.

Also Air Canada does use nice plane if travelling J but obviously journey is much longer.

polar_b

Plenty of good suggestions here, I particularly like the idea of going via DFW.

There is something to be said though for having the whole trip on the same PNR. I mentioned luggage but I forgot that a major benefit is that it becomes the responsibility of the airline to take care of you all the way to your final destination, so if you miss your connecting flight they will put you up in a hotel etc.

I see though that you may want to drive from LA up to SFO, probably along Highway 1? Good idea - you could rent a car airport to airport - and there are fewer people going to Hawai'i from SFO than LAX. You could also break your journey along the way, i.e. stay in a hotel somewhere along highway one. That way when you do the SFO to Hawai'i sector it won't feel as tiring, I think if you have had some sleep and feel rested it is doable in Y.

There are plenty of deals out there, the consensus seems to be that Hawaiian offer the best service and product out to the islands. I have only been with them inter-island but did get a god impression. If going on Hawaiian you can collect miles on your AAdvantage account, if you have that - but not BAEC.

Another creative option is to look at Alaska Airlines. Apparently they often have good deals, and good service to the islands.

ade99

From previous experience if you can get to the west coast with miles etc I would spend the extra and travel with HA first. We have flown UA, AA, CO from LAX and SFO and HA beat them hands down for service, comfort and general experience. Plus you could be on the new a330.

chucko

You might be able to book with BA mileage on AS out of SEA---they're partners, and AS runs flights to several destinations in Hawaii, albeit on single-aisle 737s. Might involve an overnight in SEA, as most of the flights leave in the morning, or very shortly after the BA flight docks in SEA.

mkjr

if you go to SEA you can get some very very cheap fares to OGG/HNL non-stop on HA or AS depending on time of year and day of week so use of miles may not be a great idea IMO if you have to do two bookings. also, flying to YVR could net you decent fares on AC out of YVR or you could go out of Bellingham to HNL on AS...another option as i recall is PDX on AS to OGG or HNL.