Eastbay1K

Kicking this one back up - any answers to my previous question?

bennette

I will be connecting from Hawaiian air to the 5:12 Delta flight to ATL. The closest Hawaiian flight time gets me to HNL at (theoretically) 4:04. The latest flight after that gets me there around two p.m.

I've not done a hop in a long time. I'd rather not spend several hours in ITO but if an hour to connect is even mildly risky I'll manage the wait. It's a long trip to SRQ and I need that lay flat seat! But perhaps connections out of HNL are quicker than I recall.

Can't see how it would make a difference in connection time but I am first class everything.

747FC

I’m assuming you meant spending several hours in HNL, not ITO.

Your reward for your plan is little wait. Your risk is missing your lie flat. 90-95% of the time, no problem. But, occasionally there are system-wide delays due to a plane being inoperable. I

I would not leave a one-hour window to make a 10-hour flight, especially when you are changing terminals and being too late might get your seat reassigned even if you make the flight.

What is your risk tolerance?

hawaii-bound

I completely agree that an hour is extremely close for that connection. Since only United has mainland flights into and out of ITO, the reference must be HNL. For the larger aircraft, they usually begin boarding 45 minutes to an hour prior to the flight. I would not risk it.

FlyinHawaiian

Passengers flying up front on the MSP/ATL flights from HNL get free Delta SkyClub access; that's not a bad way to kill some time. Boarding for the ATL flight will be about 45 min before departure and it takes about 10 min to walk from the club to the Delta departure gates so it wouldn't be a horribly long layover.

ZME

LIH HNL DFW
Booked on AA8 HNL to DFW leaving at 5:15PM
Looking at one of these from LIH to HNL on the same day

• HA 264: Arrives HNL 2:00PM
• HA 284: Arrives HNL 2:50PM

Separate PNRs and we will have each have a checked bag. Is 2 hours 25 minutes enough time or is it flight 264 and a 3 hour 15 minute layover?

747FC

Your reward for your later arriving plane is less wait. But, occasionally there are system-wide delays due to a plane being inoperable.

Here is what will happen in Honolulu in a perfect scenario:

1. Wait for baggage. Say 30 minutes.
2. Walk or ride to main terminal. Say 15 minutes.
3. Check in luggage and go through security: Say 15
4. Walk to plane: 10 minutes

Total: 70 minutes. But that is the perfect scenario. Remember that AA may reassign your seats if you don't show up 30 minutes before your flight. Do you really like your seats? What if the luggage takes 45 minutes to show up? What if the check in and security lines are really crowded and it takes 30 minutes? You now have a total of 100 minutes. Still good for your later flight. What happens if there are system-wide delays of HA flights. You could be delayed be hours before you leave LIH.

Just depends on your risk tolerance, but you should be good.

bo94114

The earlier one. HA bags can sometimes be on Island time. If you don't have AA status, you could be in line for a bit to recheck them after the Agriculture line

pucknyc

Hi,

I'm booked on HA for LIH-HNL and then UA for HNL-SFO-EWR, on separate tickets. HA has told me that I would have to reclaim my bags and recheck them with UA at HNL. I have 90 minutes to connect at HNL. Will this be enough time? I am flying first class on HA and business on UA, so I'm hoping my bags would arrive quickly at HNL. I have read older reports that it might be possible to get the agent at LIH to check my bags through even if on separate tickets but not sure if this is still the case or not. There is an earlier flight from LIH-HNL but then I would be at HNL for 4.5 hours.

Thanks,
Jen

747FC

Did you look at post 1057?

SK77X

Need a bit of help understanding the specifics of connecting from international to US-Mainland flight in HNL.

My parents are booked on HA from SYD to SJC via HNL.
HA452 (SYD-HNL) scheduled to arrive into HNL at 10:30AM
HA44 (HNL-SJC) scheduled to depart HNL at 12:15PM

Both flights are booked under one ticket, so I know they'll be tagged to SJC, so that's great. Where my concern is the the less than ideal connection time, especially factoring in the requirement to go through Immigration and Custom. So here are my question:
1) After going through Immigration, Bag Claim and then Custom, I've read there is an area where they can drop-off their luggage so it is transferred over to their next flight. Is that option still available?

2) If the above option (of baggage re-check at Customs) is still available, once they have dropped their luggage off, where do they go (my parents, not the luggage)? Is there an option to remain airside and simply find the gate for their connecting flight (so no need to go through security again?), or do they need to go landside and then go through security again?

3) Because of the short connecting time, and my parents not being overly experienced flyers, I am thinking of flying over to HNL (from SJC) on a flight that arrives just before theirs.
i) I won't have any luggage since I'm literally just flying and then flying out, so I assume I can remain airside the entire time. Disembark my SJC-HNL flight, and then simply walk over to the HNL-SJC flight gate (after checking-in online to this flight of course). Is my assumption correct?
ii) Is there any way to find out what specific gate my parents international flight will be parking at? (so I can literally meet them as they get off the plane). I imagine the gates get assigned relatively close to the flight arriving, but is there info available on any flight tracking websites?
iii) If my parents can remain airside after dropping off their luggage in Customs, any idea where specifically in the terminal they come out (so I can be there waiting for them)?

I know this is a LOT of thinking, but just trying to be as prepared as possible to make that short connection time, especially with the Immigration and Customs time-killers.

Thanks in advance!

FlyinHawaiian

With very few exceptions, airports in the US do not have a concept of sterile cross-border transfers for international passengers in transit. This basically means all passengers arriving from an international destination must enter the United States and be processed by US Customs and Immigration immediately upon arrival. I know for a while, they were letting passengers on the SYD-HNL-YVR operated by Canadian Pacific and then Air Canada stay in a sterile gate area during the HNL layover, largely because it was very late at night and the connection was relatively short so they didn't want to staff up enough to process a few hundred people. So, I would assume your parents would have to exit the flight in HNL, pick up their luggage from baggage claim, enter the US, and then recheck their luggage with HA and re-clear security to get to their departure gate.

As a US passenger, you wouldn't be able to see your parents until after they've re-cleared security.

SK77X

Oh yeah, definitely not questioning whether they can avoid Immigration and Customs. I know full well they'll need to do that. I was just wondering if there was some special line/walkway after Customs checks your bag (but before you fully exit the Customs area) that is designated for passengers who have a connecting flight and have their bags tagged to their final destination. I ask this because I know HNL has a section within the Customs area where you can drop off your bags if they are already tagged to your final destination, so I was simply wondering if they offer the same convenience for passengers.

My guess is no, and from what I've researched it does like it, but I'd thought I'd just ask wherever I could.



Unless I also exit the terminal after my first flight and meet them as they exit Customs, correct? Then I can at least help them get to Terminal 1 ASAP, through security, and find our gate for the flight to SJC. It may seem silly that I'd travel all this way just to help my parents connect, but with the short connection time, and the variability in the international flight actually arriving on time...or of course Immigration and Customs taking a while if a series of international flights come in at once, any way I can help my parents save time & hassle to ensure they make their connecting flight is worth it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my lengthy post. I appreciate it!

EmpressRouge

I have a very similar situation: my uncle is visiting us from Australia later this year, and I booked him on the same HA flights. HA just emailed me of schedule changes and his connection time in HNL has been reduced by an over an hour:
- HA452 (SYD-HNL) scheduled to arrive into HNL at 10:35 AM
- HA44 (HNL-SJC) originally scheduled to depart HNL at 2:15PM, now scheduled for 1:10 pm.
Is ~2.5 hour connection time enough at HNL for international -> US mainland flights?
Some additional context, the entire itinerary is booked on one ticket, but my uncle is not a US citizen, so he'll have to be in the visitors line at immigration. I had thought about changing his second flight to go to OAK or SFO, but turns out those flights depart even earlier.

mander

Later this month flying IAD-HNL on UA and then HNL-OGG on HA on one ticket. We will be checking bags through. They moved our 2:14 connection to a 1:37 connection. Is that enough time? It has been a while since I connected in HNL but in the past baggage hasn't always made it on tight connections. Should we ask to switch to the next flight, a 2:46 connection?