Executrip

They will not shut the door 20 mins prior to Departure....but there is a chance that folks that are not present in the boarding area or onboard could have their seats given up to "standby " passengers.

stravels

If the Continental flight is boarding from the United gates (sorry, can't seem to find a map that lists CO gates at HNL) the gate is the farthest away from the inter island terminal. Plan on a 20-minute walk to be safe and be sure that you stay inside the terminal so that you don't have to clear security again. You will need to have your carry ons screened by the agricultural inspectors (run through a machine) as it is not permissible to take certain fruits, lei, etc. to the mainland. I've never seen a line at this screening but . . .

sylvas808

There is also the wikiwiki shuttle, up the stairs in the interisland terminal and it'll take you to the other side of the airport real quick.

Executrip

I am not certain that I would rely on the WikiWiki shuttle to take you anywhere fast...throughout HNL. They are in the process of phasing these notoriously slow/(Miss your flight) shuttles out of commission.
Walk it if at all possible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Wiki_Shuttle

cblaisd

I'd demur. You can do it in 10 minutes but it will be a very fast, and very sweaty, walk.

I'd plan for 20.

slippahs

Wirelessly posted (iPhone-ETOPS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Agreed. I once waited 20 minutes for a shuttle.

stravels

Will change my post (I'd probably do it in 10 because I'm usually rushing). . .My cousin arrived at one of the gates at the end the other day, and she said it took her about 15 min to reach baggage claim. We didn't realize Hawaiian was using that gate.

Richard1148

I read back about 10 pages and only saw one post regarding how long to allow between arriving on an international flight and connecting to an interisland flight. It said that 2 hours is fine. Is that still true? I am a US citizen and will have carry on bags only. My flight arrives at 7:50 AM, which apparently is the same time frame for other flights coming in from Asia, so should I allow more than 2 hours?

nishimark

I'm an American who has often arrived in HNL from Asia (Japan). The quickest time from plane touchdown to on the sidewalk without luggage is about 15 minutes and maybe 20 minutes with luggage. Those were with optimal conditions, but I've never had any problems at HNL. The American citizen line at passport control (to the far right) is much shorter than the visitors line. After passport, go downstairs to the customs area and walk out the exit on the left side, then keep going to the interisland terminal. If your flight is anywhere close to on time, you should have no problem. One hint, do your best to get off the plane quickly. If they put you on the wiki wiki shuttle buses to take you to immigration, ride near the door so you can get off first. Doing so puts you ahead of a lot of others going to immigration.

Penguinmoon

Isn't that the only way to immigration? I have gone thru at HNL many times and I am always bussed. However, I always arrive on United.

slippahs

Wirelessly posted (iPhone-ETOPS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

There is now an upper level with a moving walkway to immigration on the Ewa concourse.

nishimark

Last year, I used the walkway for the first time. Last month, back to the Wiki Wiki. Both times Delta from Osaka.

Richard1148

Thanks for the info. Although it sounds like 2 hrs may be longer than necessary, I went ahead and booked the connection with a 2 hr layover but for the few dollars more, got Coach Plus tickets so I can standby for an earlier flight if I get through immigration quickly.

in_27D

Hello

I'm travelling with the family to Maui in a month or so (very exciting! first time!). We'll have two small children, so I want to make sure everything is as smooth as possible on the way back. I've read a good portion of this thread and want to make sure that my understanding is correct.

Our return flight is JHM->HNL on Island Air 5:23-5:55, followed by HNL->ORD on United departing at 7:15 PM. The ticked was booked entirely through United.

I had a few questions and thoughts, and I was hoping that someone here could help fill in the blanks.

1) I want to check our bags all the way through to ORD. Since the agricultural inspection station at JHM closes at 3:00 or 3:30 according to Island Air, am I right in assuming that the best bet would be to show up prior to 3:00 and check in / check our bags? Ideally I'd like to do that and then go do something else for an hour before clearing security so the kids don't have to sit around any more than needed.

2) When we get to HNL, I assume we'll have to clear ag inspection with our carry-ons. My understanding is that we can stay inside security for this and don't have to go through the entire TSA process again. Is this right?

3) Will we be subject to Island Air bag fees as they are our first carrier?

Anything else I missed?

Thanks in advance

mkenwayx

As for 1...I'm not sure. Someone else will have to answer. I've always done the 1530ish flight out of JHM and never had a problem. The WP website says their ticket counter is open til 1730. Perhaps there's been a schedule change? Found this on the JHM website...I'd give them a call. Telephone:
(808) 872-3830. Email: [email protected]

2. As posted much more eloquently earlier in this forum by people with much more experience than me (though I've done it many times)...you do not have to clear security to connect from inter-island terminal to mainland flights. DO NOT leave security at the inter-island terminal when you arrive. Let one of the ground agents by the plane that you need to connect, and they will get you to the right place (walking a little bit on the tarmac to a different door to get you to a "tunnel" that will bring you up by the HA gates. If you stay inside security here...you'll hit the ag screening, which is simple and quick. Check out the pictures and better details on where to go...but it's easy.

3. Yes, sadly even if you would have free bags on your mainland flight, you have to pay WP. But they will interline it for you, so only pay once. If you connect to WP in the other direction, and have your bags interlined, then you save the fees. FYI I've had many agents have trouble with interlining to WP because they look under Island Air and find a different airline...tell them the code WP and it should help.

Have a great trip!!! Looking forward to mine in April