HNL Connection Question
 

I am taking a trip to HNL in Nov. (was just able to book 2 BF rewards EWR-HNL :) ). I've never been to HNL before so I had a question about a potential tight connection I may have to book.

My ultimate destination is LIH (Kauai) and CO does not have any mileage seats available on the HNL-LIH segment. So I'm trying to buy the seats for this segment and the last flight from HNL to LIH leaves at 8:00pm. My CO flight lands at 7:20pm. I assume the answer is no but do you think there is anyway I can make this 40 minute connection? I realize if my flight is late at all I'm screwed, but it looks like otherwise I'll be forced to spend a night in HNL.

As always, any help is appreciated and thank you in advance!


-Jonathan

Did you try Go/Mesa Air? They typically have a 9:30pm flight from HNL to LIH. Last flight on Aloha/Hawaiian is 8pm.

You shouldn't have a problem at all. I was on that flight last week and had a 60 min connection and had half an hour to spare. Hnl is a very easy airport to get around. Plus your in biz first so you will be one of the first off the plane.

Have a great trip

Thanks for the reply. That flight actually existed on the schedule like a week ago but now it's gone for some reason. Doesn't even seem to exist. The latest flight currently leaves @ 7:35pm.

Have done this many times, however, to KOA not to LIH. If things run smoothly, then 40 minutes is ok. However, if your flight is just 15 minutes late arriving in HNL...might not give you enough time. Further, don't know if I would be comfortable with CO transferring my luggage within 40 minutes if arrival into HNL.

If you missed your scheduled interisland flight b/c of a late CO arrival, HA or AQ are not obligated to do anything (They probably wouldn't leave you stranded, but they would not be required to do something).

I always book a 90 minute layover and try to find an agent who will let me fly standby on an earlier flight for no charge. Chances are my luggage made the earlier flight as well...

Would CO allow me to check the bag all the way to LIH even if I'm flying another airline? I've never tried this before.


Thanks!

I'm not a CO flyer:), UA all the way...But I'm 99% sure they would to HA or AQ, not sure about GO. You would just need to have a copy of your E-Itin when checking in @ CO and ask them to check your bags thru on (insert carrier here) to LIH.

You CAN check your luggage thru to LIH at the CO desk in EWR if you fly on Hawaiian (HA) and poss Aloha, but not sure about GO or others. Works fine on HA, I've done it 3 times over the past 2 years.

But be warned: ground staff at HNL isn't the quickest. last year, I flew into HNL on CO, and on to LIH via HA, but my bags didn't make it on my flight into LIH. Waited for the next flight's luggage to arrive, and ours wasn't in that batch, so I filed a lost luggage report in LIH. The guy there said the bags could arrive on ANY airline's flight, not just HA, and then he promptly closed down the luggage office and left for the night. ( :eek: ). And just as my wife was starting to cry (last flight of the night had just arrived, and the pax were collecting their bags from the carousel) our bags popped out of the carousel.

So, I now take enough stuff in my carryon to get me thru to the next day if the bags don't xfer on time. But even if you can't do that, there's a Long's Drug just a couple mins outside the airport, and a WalMart up the road a few more mins, where you can buy any necessities.

Enjoy Hawai'i!

FWIW, this type of question has been frequently asked on the Hawaii forum (linked below). ;)

And, 40 minutes is a rather tight connection, but it's doable. If you do a little searching, you'll find a thread called "Connecting in HNL". It's got everything you wanted to know about connecting in HNL and perhaps more. Just remember that you do not have to exit the secured area if you check your luggage all the way through to LIH. Just follow the instructions listed on that thread for more info.

Okay, I went ahead and found the thread for you:
Your Guide to Flying to Hawai‘i/Connecting in HNL (Updated 7/20/06)

Also, FWIW, I'm not a big fan of go! having flown them a few months before. I took pictures of my flight experience and posted here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587343

Take the WikiWiki
 

I've been able to make connections as tight as that, although I've learned that the bags have a 50/50 shot of making it. (I've had a lot of problems with interline bags onto HA from CO -they usually arrive onto my final island a flight after my flown flight.)

But some of the worst TSA lines in the US are in Hawaii. Be sure to take the WikiWiki shuttle that keeps you within the secured side of the airport and do -not- leave the secured mainland terminal that you arrive in on and do -not- walk over to the interisland terminal. The shuttle runs quickly and frequently and is located upstairs/outside over the mainland terminal.

Wow... I didn't know that (my bad for not reading slippahs post).

Walking takes you out of the secured area?

I have a 90 minute connection and was going to ask CO to interline the bags to Hawaiian. Are you saying they might not make it on the same flight as I'm on?

No, you can walk to the HA gates airside - at least you could when I did so last year.

I too had issues with getting my bag that I interlined to KOA. We had a two hour layover and it it didnt make it (though it did make it later that night, so no big deal).

Thanks... but if it doesn't make it on my flight, will they deliver it or will/should I hang around the airport for it?

After flying in from EWR with a planned LIH arrival of around 6pm, well, I just may be cranky by then and don't want to deal with it. :) ;)

They delivered it to me later that evening, though I was already in bed and asked that the hotel keep it until the next morning.

As others said it is possible but I always plan a night in HNL. If you get the timing wrong on the shuttle to the interisland reminal you cna have a long wait, at least 20 minutes if not more. Walking over to the terminal is feasible, but it is a bit of a trek and if burdened with luggage not so nice.

I don't agree with this statement. The WikiWiki shuttle is widely known for not being too "Wiki"...

If you have a tight connection and you're arriving anywhere from the central concourse to the Ewa concourse (gates 15 and higher), I think you can do much better by walking rather than taking the WikiWiki shuttle. (This is the very reason why they're getting rid of these WikiWiki shuttles in the near future.) A leisurely walk from gate 25 will take roughly 10-15 minutes. The WikiWiki shuttle's rotation (there's probably only one running during non-international arrival times) can take 10-15 minutes.

However, if you're arriving off of UA's gates, the walk is long, so you should take the WikiWiki shuttle.

And, by walking and following the directions listed in the thread above, you will not leave the secured area. You can walk between any gate at HNL without leaving the secured area (including the commuter terminal). :)

Bags
 

Unfortunately, I don't think any of my bags ever made it with me to any flight to LIH. I connected fine to my HA flight, which was the last of the night, but the folks at CO (or HA) shipped my bags on Aloha which had the latest flight of the night. In each case, bags were always delivered to my hotel ...and then the hotel got them to my room. I guess I have a 60% chance of not getting my bags there.

On KOA, I've had similar experiences. Although by the time I get my rental car squared away (even with all my car rental elite perks), enough time passes where the next flight in from HNL arrives... with my bag. On KOA, I have a 70% chance of my bags not arriving with me.

On OGG, I've had the same happened to me although far less frequently than the other islands. I'd guestimate odds of losing my bags there at only 25% chance.

So as you can see, I have bad luck with inter-island interline luggage. (However, I must say that 100% of all bags checked-in in OGG/LIH/HNL do travel back home with me.) I don't mind too much though... I'm so relaxed once the pineapple scented air hits my face that all worries leave... and if anything, it's a perk: I don't have to worry about carting bags from the airport to my room.

I'm going to OGG and KOA again in a few weeks and hope to have better luck :)

I guess I better have some stuff in the carry-ons to wear when I get there judging from everyone's experience. :p

Yeah, the pineapple/floral air does wonders upon arrival, it's just that as soon as I hit the hotel room, I'm ready to crash - and my jammies are an important part of that crashing :D.

I'm glad I'm forewarned enough to be prepared with extra stuff AND to tell the hotel not to bother me with the luggage until the morning.

Thanks!

I hear ya sister - given that most of us are catching a flight at the butt crack of dawn to connect to our Hawaii flights, it is very difficult to stay up once you arrive at your hotel at your destination. I wouldnt fret over your bags, but pack wisely.

Walking to the Interisland Terminal from the CO gate is generally faster than waiting for the Wiki-Wiki shuttle - and you never leave the secure area. Just follow the signs to the Interisland gates (roughly 40-64) Takes about 10-15 minutes tops. You can also now get to the commuter terminal without having to leave the secure area. Just go to the last Interisland gate (I believe 64), go down the escalator and a GA will escort you over to the terminal for Go or Island Air flights.

Thank you very much. I'm sure the walk will be welcome after sitting for so long!

Walk / Don't Walk
 

You can walk to Aloha/Haw'n interisland terminal from mainland arrivals w/o leaving secure area. It is usually faster (75% of the time?) than wiki-wiki shuttle, which runs erratically.

However, if you're connecting to Pacific Wings, Island Air, or Go! (Mesa's island entity), you must go to the commuter terminal, in which case you must go through a security checkpoint.

Oops - Slippahs sez one can get to commuter terminal w/o exiting mainland terminal. The only time I used commuter teminal was a HNL origination (ie non-connect from mainland), and there didn't seem to be an obvious walkway from the interisland terminal. Is it from the far end (Pearl City side) of the Hawn' gates?

I actually learned this recently... :) Yes. The walkway is on the Mauka side of the Hawaiian gates:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...light=commuter
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...light=commuter (post 5)

Hi dmbfan222, the answer is yes, as long as you're on a legal connection (minimum connect times are met), and are connecting to an airline with whom Continental has an interline baggage agreement. For connections within Hawaii, we do have interline agreements with Hawaiian Air, Aloha, Island Air and Pacific Wings. We do not, however, have an interline agreement with "Go" (operated by Mesa).

Scott, thanks for letting us know that CO does not have interline agreements with Go!. That'll help clarify things in the future over on the Hawaii forum.

BTW, a legal connection also means within 4 hours of your scheduled flight. The ramp workers at HNL will send your bags to bag claim if you have a connection longer than 4 hours.

Thank you for the reply Scott. Would a connection time of 40 minutes on Hawaiian Air meet the minimum?

It would meet the minimum. However, you should allow at least 60-75 minutes to connect with bags in HNL. As widely practiced in HNL, just because you make the minimum connection, does not mean that your bags will. Your bags may very well take a later flight. See the Hawaii-based Airlines forum/the Guide linked below for more info.

Thank you, I know it's cutting it close. I will be arriving at 7:20 on the non-stop from EWR and the last flight to LIH is at 8:00. I know it's going to be cutting it close but I think I'm going to go for it. I guess I'll carry a bag with some clothes just in case the bags don't make it to the LIH flight.

Good idea. And, seeing how it's the last flight, HA would make their best effort to get your bags from the domestic terminal to your interisland flight, but I have heard numerous stories of bags arriving in on the first flight of the next day for those with tight connections. This may very well happen to you if CO15 is delayed.

This is exactly why we're flying through IAH on the outbound. We don't want to risk the non-stop running late & being stuck in HNL (not that it's a bad thing). :)

Yeah, I was looking into that as well actually. It's one more stop and there are no BF seats available with that routing so I'm kind of stuck with the EWR flight.

Any idea why the EWR flight gets in so late and doesn't leave earlier from EWR?

It used to. I think it left between 10 & 11am. I think they changed it about 3 years ago because the plane goes on to Guam. It was a lot nicer arriving in HNL at around 4-5pm rather than 7:30. If you're delayed, well, unless you're staying in HNL (& often I do), your outta luck getting to other islands.

It used to be almost impossible to get a BF seat on that flight, and now I see it all the time. The IAH flight is always sold out.

Thanks for the info. That makes sense. Too bad they moved it, would be really nice if it left a few hours earlier.

IIRC, the flight in from EWR goes back to EWR. CO1 from IAH continues on to GUM (as CO1), timed perfectly for the GUM departure from HNL in the mid-afternoon.

I would swear that was the reason given for moving CO 14 ahead over 2 hours for the EWR departure.

It can't be the same plane that comes in (co15) because one leaves just as the other arrives.

The HNL-GUM flight leaves HNL at 2 p.m. So the aircraft coming in on CO15 can't be used for the continuing GUM flight.

The aircraft might also be used for HNL-LAX...

My flight arrives @ 7:20 pm and then going back non-stop to EWR it leaves @ 10:45 I believe. I guess it is the same plane :confused:

My flight arrives @ 7:20 pm and then going back non-stop to EWR it leaves @ 10:45pm I believe. I guess it is the same plane :confused:

We're nervous about the whole interline thing and plan to retrieve our bags and then check in with Hawaiian. Is that stupid? Connection time is 2 hrs and 5 mins.