How early can I check bags at HNL (for mainland)
 

I'm flying HNL-IAD later this week (3:45p departure). Was thinking of dropping bags as early as possible and then continuing some touring (Pearl Harbor comes to mind). How early can I check the bags?

(And bonus points for telling me whether that's early enough to leave time for Pearl Harbor and then get back to airport).

Although I am not aware of UA's formal policy on how early you can check in bags prior to departure, I've checked my bags numerous times in HNL 5 hours prior to departure.

In your case, that's plenty of time to head over to Pearl Harbor which is only about a 15 minute drive from the airport.

Don't forget you have to screen your check-in bags through the agricultural inspection x-ray machine located just inside of the departure curb prior to checking your bags at the UA counter.

It's been a long while since I've done this--pre-merger I did it for 8 or 10 hours but that was possibly pre 9/11. You can pre-buy your Pearl Harbor tickets online, but be forewarned the boats out to the Arizona Memorial are often cancelled due to winds. In my limited sample size they've been closed as often as they are open.

If you're driving to Pearl Harbor anyways leave the bags in the car. If taking the bus the 5 hours is probably tight just based on bus schedules but there is a kiosk just off the parking lot where they'll hold the bags for a couple bucks.

Which is all to say that I'd skip trying the early drop and just go to Pearl if that's the goal.

I've checked bags in 10 hours or so before on UA and never got any pushback. Perhaps at the hubs, UA doesn't care, maybe at an outstation, they care more.

I would've thought they care more / can't at a hub because they have so many flights and bags to deal with. At an outstation, they only have to keep track of one flight at a time almost and a bag sitting for a few extra hours doesn't matter?

Be sure to book your Pearl Harbor visit in advance. When we went last year, the tickets ran out every day within 30 minutes of the museum's opening, because the big bus companies grab them all for their package customers.

Just a couple months ago my friends dropped their bags around 7am for their evening flight. Not an issue at all in HNL.

I agree you likely won't have any resistance checking bags quite early, and even if the counter won't take them, I bet the curbside porters will.

Although Arizona Memorial tickets can be reserved online in advance, those are likely sold out by this point. However, they open up a couple hundred additional tickets for online purchase every morning at 700am for the next following day. We've have never had a problem procuring tickets this way. See here.

That stopped. Big press scandal here recently, now the tickets are direct to customer only as was always intended. The day matters - the Memorial is much more crowded on Weekends. The note about the barges being closed half the time for wind is a stray round -they run like clockwork.

But the only advantage to not keeping your bags with you is if you don't have a car in the first place... Policy if you ask is 4 hours, but I haven't had trouble earlier here.

Wow - thanks everyone for the info and recommendations. This is what makes FT so great.

Yes, we have a car. Only reason I was thinking of dropping bags is I just drove Road to Hana, where every stop reminds you to take all valuables (not that dirty underwear and wet swimsuits count as that).

You wont have any trouble at the Pearl Harbor memorial - crowded busy space. I work across the street. 5 min drive to the airport.

Brother-in-law and wife did this exact thing yesterday. They flew OGG-HNL and arrived on HA at 7;45am, went to the United desk and checked their bags for the 8:10pm HNL-EWR flight then came and spent the day with us in HNL all day.

Yep - no issue for us. Checked bags about 4.5 hours before flight, and off to Pearl Harbor.

Any recent experiences with extra-early check in of bags @HNL? We're going to be on the 10 pm red-eye to SFO and were hoping to check in around 11 am - as we'd have to leave our rental accommodation @10 am on Windward Oahu.

I see there's luggage storage as a fallback, but it's going to be $15-$20 per bag.