stravels

Recommend that you check the status of your Go flight in the morning as they are often delayed. Given that you have the young children, and I'm guessing a lot of stuff to carry because of the children, the connection may be tight if there is a delay. Sorry, don't know what Go's policy is about getting folks on an earlier flight in case of delays.

Also, you may want to inquire about transportation. You will need to go through the interisland terminal from the commuter terminal to get to the main terminal that Delta departs from.

Slippahs, would it be better for them to take the wikiwiki bus from the commuter terminal to the main terminal? Doing so and going through security may be faster than trying to walk two young children from the commuter terminal to the main terminal.

slippahs

go! allows free standby, so if a delayed flight is a concern, then one should consider getting on an earlier flight.

One can also take the Wikiwiki shuttle from the roof of the interisland terminal, to eliminate a lot of the walk. Though remember that they're not entirely "wikiwiki" or the most reliable when you're in a crunch.

My concern are the lines. Last time I was there, for both the checkpoints nearest the CO/UA and DL, there were NOS being used, which meant the lines were looong. Also, the Wikiwiki shuttle outside the terminals has the same problems as the one inside--slow and infrequent.

yogimh49

Just to let you know how it went:

- we were able to get on the earlier flight due to go!'s free standby policy
- we were able to check our bags through to LAX
- we did not have a problem staying airside in HNL -- there is something like a canvassed tunnel from the commuter terminal to the interisland terminal (not sure if this is new?) from where we used the airside wiki wiki shuttle with no problems

We would also have made it with the later LIHHNL flight, however, having the extra time in HNL did make the whole thing a bit more relaxing, especially with the kids.

Regards
Johannes

slippahs

Good to hear! The tunnel hsa been around for quite a few years now.

Early Starts

I booked an award flight on Delta:
MSP to HNL arriving 6:51 PM on Dec 25th (delta claims 77% on time)
HNL to MSP departing 8:20 AM on Jan 9th

We plan to spend the bulk of our time on the big island but want at least one full day to visit the Arizona Memorial. The full day in HNL can be at the beginning or end of my trip but it looks tough to get in HNL early enough on the 9th.

If I head to the big island on Dec 25th, the last flights out are:
Go to KOA at 7:30 PM (the place we are staying is closer to KOA)
Go to ITO at 7:55 PM
HA to ITO at 7:36 PM

Do any of these work for transit times? I think we can have no checked bags if it would help. The Go! to ITO leaves latest but looks further away.

slippahs

If I were staying on the Kohala Coast or in Captain Cook/Keahou, I'd avoid flying into ITO. Similarly, if I were staying at Volcano side, avoid flying into KOA. The 2+ hour drives to get to your destination and the fatigue from flying isn't worth it. So seeing as you're staying near KOA, I'd plan on flying into KOA.

go! operates out of the commuter terminal. As these are last flights of the day, I'd make sure to leave ample time in case the flight in from LAX arrives late. Looks like you're taking one stops each from to/from MSP (LAX on the inbound to HNL and LAX also on the outbound). The 30-40 minute connection to go! seems rather tight. But it's doable--just depends on how much of a risk taker you are.

I'd probably just overnight in HNL on the 25th and avoid the stress of a possible misconnect on Christmas day, then see the USS Arizona on the 26th.

mbreuer

Ditto. Also, you'll want to get to the Arizona early to avoid potentially long lines. Overnight in HNL also gives you a place to leave your bags for the day.

Ben Linus

Hi,

I have booked travel on AA from DFW to HNL on Nov 19th. Our final destination is OGG - I have not booked the HNL to OGG leg yet.

I can buy tickets on Hawaiianair.com for $63 or the same flight on AA.com for $73.

Couple questions about getting my luggage to OGG...
1. Would it make interlining my luggage easier if I pay the extra $10 and book on AA.com or does that not matter?
2. It says it on the first page of this thread but do I really need a 75 minute or greater connection to help ensure my bags arrive at OGG?
3. Would booking through AA.com instead of HA's website reduce the connection time required to help get my bags to OGG?

Thanks
Ben

ILuvParis

Unless there has been a recent change, I believe you can buy the ticket on HA and when you check in at AA, ask them to check your bag all the way through (since AA and HA are partners). I can't tell you about connection times for the luggage because I NEVER check a bag to Hawaii (I send stuff ahead if I need to), but I've made the connection with me and my carry-on with only 30 minutes to spare.

Executrip

Well the whole issue of Interlining bags and connection times can make for some interesting situations.
We just recently(last weekend)...flew MSP-HNL on Delta with an intended connection to KOA (2 checked bags). Tickets were purchased on 2 separate itineraries....1st portion with Delta...2nd one at hawaiian.com. The folks at Delta were just fine checking the bags right through to KOA in our case.(Show both itineraries at check-in)
The important part is to make sure you have plenty of time to connect and for your bags to make it (You can make it faster) Does not matter whom you booked it with.
However, seeing as how your trip is a good number of months out Oct/11...there is a fairly good chance the itinerary will change and maybe change again.
In our case we had originally booked the connecting flight 90 mins later....only to have the 1 st flight change to a 45 min later departure...Yikes...we now only had 45 mind to connect...then the Hawaiian flight changed to 6 mins later....etc...a little better.
So what transpired the day of??? the Mainland flight encountered headwinds(not unusual) and was 30 mins late arriving..making it a mad dash off the plane in HNL. We made the flight(barely) Gates were close....but lo' and behold the bags did not (No surprise)
So we took our time getting the vehicle and waiting for the next Hawaiian flight(hour later) The bags were on that one thankfully.
So what to do ...what to do?? You have no control (sadly) over the Airlines schedule changes.... so make sure you book enough connecting time. Some folks wait a couple of months after booking their Mainland flights to see if any changes happen and then go a ahead and book the Inter-Island. It can be a gamble ...with prices only going up as the seats book up. However if you are travelling during a low/shoulder season...this method may work for you.
Another option is to book Hawaiian's "Coach Plus" category which I believe allows for a "No fee" standby if the need arises. Otherwise you pay a $30 ticket change fee plus the fare difference on the day of the change. This can add up.The catch is you must book "coach plus" for both legs.
Good Luck.

mbreuer

If they check it through the manner in which you booked does not affect the connection time. If you don't, then you have to allow time to claim, recheck and reclear security.

Depending on where you're going to on Maui, consider JHM vs. OGG.

cmdsea

Hi All

We will be arriving HA456 from Manila at 11.15AM and continuing to Seattle on HA22 at 1.45PM so a 2Hr:30min transit, both flights first class.

Firstly I assume HA will have a lounge in the international terminal. Does anyone know if this has showers..?

Secondly I assume we will do USA immigration in Hawaii and the onward flight to Seattle will then be domestic. How tedious would this immigration be and are we likely to still have time for showers (should they exist.!)..

Any advice appreciated..

slippahs

There is no true international terminal at HNL. There is a domestic terminal, where all US-Mainland and International flights are, the interisland terminal, where HA operates, and the commuter terminal, where WP/YV operate. Hawaiian's two lounges are both located in the interisland terminal, and neither one have a shower. Nothing to get your hopes up on the HA lounge--free Wifi, private bathrooms, a soft drink machine, and a few snacks are what you can expect.

Immigration will be in Honolulu, and the only thing tedious may be the lines, depending on how many flights arrive right around the actual time of your arrival.

cmdsea

Thanks for the prompt reply and will moderate expectations accordingly... ;-(

JenGal

I have read alot of this thread (great information ^) and tried a search re: my question. I found another post asking about the same, but didn't see an answer. I apologize if it's out there ... anyway:

Two of us will be doing a HNL-OGG-HNL trip on HA separate from our IAD(via LAX)-HNL-IAD itinerary on UA. We do the OGG-HNL on the day of our HNL-IAD flight. So, I understand that we should be able to interline our bags all the way to IAD. We will each have 1 checked bag, so we will each pay $10 to HA.

My question is this: I would not have to pay a UA checked bag fee, but my friend would as she is GM. For UA I can just check them both under my name for no cost, but if I do that with HA, the second bag is $17 instead of $10 that friend would pay if it was her first bag.

$7 is no big deal, but it made me think ... how do airlines that interline bags for flights on separate airlines and pnr's, charge for baggage fees on the other airlines? Seems UA would want to get its bag fee for HNL-IAD even if checked all the way in from OGG.