Flights from SFO to HNL - and booking dilemma with DVC

[natty650]

Hi everyone! I'm going through the closing process on an Aulani DVC contract, and I was thinking about how to plan ahead for trips with the 11 month window, while trying to get a good deal on flights. From what I've found, airlines don't have booking availability 11 months in advance. I saw someone mention in another forum that leaving one day earlier on their trip to Florida saved them over $300. We would have 9 people traveling in our party, so a smaller savings per person could amount to a large savings for our entire group.

Do any of you take flight expense into consideration when you plan your DVC vacations to Aulani? If so, have you found any trends with a good time to go to save money on flights?

Another separate question - Which airlines do you prefer to travel with to Oahu? I've always had a good experience with Hawaiian Airlines, but I'm not a fan of United because they have rescheduled our flights, and I've experienced many delays with them. I also don't care for Southwest because we're unable to select our seats in advance. Any other airlines you recommend? Anything else you've noticed regarding baggage fees, etc?

Thanks!

 

[monsterkitty]

Most airlines open their booking windows at 335 days out. There are fare predictor sites that can tell you the best time to book flights such a Kayak and airhint.

We don't have DVC but Marriott VC instead. We know that depending on where and when we travel flights can be expensive. We try to use points/miles for more expensive trips. We purchase seats for cheaper flights so we can pad our mileage so we can get those more expensive flights with points/miles.

As for airlines, we've never had issues with United. My in-laws fly Alaska when they go to Hawaii so that's another airline you can check into.

 

[natty650]

Most airlines open their booking windows at 335 days out. There are fare predictor sites that can tell you the best time to book flights such a Kayak and airhint.

You're completely right. I was looking beyond 11 months, so that's my mistake! So, I should be able to book flights and our DVC reservation at the same time. Thanks!

 

[monsterkitty]

FWIW, I haven't seen a single news story refer to them as "losing" the gold. Everything I see is winning or taking silver.

You're completely right. I was looking beyond 11 months, so that's my mistake! So, I should be able to book flights and our DVC reservation at the same time. Thanks!

You can book at the same time, but I would wait and see what air prices are doing before you book. We've found that if we book at the 335 days out to Hawaii it is actually more expensive than waiting a few months. I would research best prices and trends from SF to Oahu before booking.

 

[natty650]

You can book at the same time, but I would wait and see what air prices are doing before you book. We've found that if we book at the 335 days out to Hawaii it is actually more expensive than waiting a few months. I would research best prices and trends from SF to Oahu before booking.

Thanks for the tips! I really appreciate it!

 

[Budzooka]

One other thing to consider is staying at a cheaper hotel for one or more nights if airfare makes more sense. Know it’s not ideal to move, but could be worth the inconvenience if enough savings.

 

[jimmymc]

There are some general rules with flights: Tuesday and Wednesday are cheapest, the weekend is the most expensive, and holiday weekends will always see an increase.

Most flights will have a standard pricing structure until 3 to 4 months before the flight, when airlines start discounting unsold seats. So the best deals work out for later trips. Booking 11 months in advance you might be stuck with the flights, but you can also cancel DVC bookings up to 31 days out without penalty. So maybe book an extra day on each end if the dates are flexible.

 

[RedVines2001]

I’ve flown Alaska to Oahu and liked it. I would say it’s close to Hawaiian Airlines. Also take a look at flights flying out of Oakland or San Jose. They’re usually cheaper.

 

[CamDisDay]

For a trip I have coming up in September I booked a direct flight from the Bay Area with Alaska and they cancelled the flight three times, switched us from Oakland to SFO (which caused changing our ride to the airport and price increase), then the last time they cancelled said our only option was to have a 5 hour layover in Seattle, Portland, or San Diego. They ended up getting us on a direct flight on Hawaiian out of SFO, funny enough Hawaiian is the airline I prefer but was a little more expensive this time and I went with Alaska because I had miles. Alaska made it right but I couldn't take the constant change.

I get the pandemic has made things crazy and uncertain for everyone but this was my third experience where Alaska did this (two other times were before COVID) I'm probably just unlucky with them, but I'm not flying on them anymore.

 

[Twohsieh]

Yes, we take flight costs into consideration when planning vacations. When to travel to Oahu to stay at Aulani, we usually try to plan for a Friday arrival, as the airfare is usually cheaper than arriving on a Saturday or Sunday. We try to get in two weekends to extend our stay, so Fridays usually work well for us.
We live in Southern California, which has two local city airports nearby, but the flight costs are much higher and the lack of available departure/arrival times has us driving further to LAX for our flights.
We only fly Hawaiian Airlines, so I can't help you with other airline suggestions.
I believe that the prices have come down a lot for Hawaii airfare, especially since there is more airline competition for Hawaii. Our most recent summer airfare from LAX to HNL roundtrip on Hawaiian Airlines in June 2019 was around $800/person. I see that the same route and time period is costing almost $200 cheaper per person.
Good luck finding a good fare.

 

[natty650]

Thanks everyone! All of your suggestions are so helpful!

And it's nice to hear that others consider airfare expense and are able to successfully book their DVC vacations in advance. My mom has health issues, so we typically book flights that offer a credit or refund if we need to cancel.

@Twohsieh I just have to say that you are so brave to fly through LAX. I've had to use that airport for work trips, and I've had the worst experiences - canceled flights, change of terminal right before departure, crowds, and I was there for the Uber/Lyft fiasco in 2019. When we visit DCA and DL, we either drive or fly to John Wayne. On rare occasion we have gone to Long Beach.

 

[nkereina]

I've always had good experiences with Delta, but especially on our flight to Honolulu. We flew nonstop from Atlanta so I can't speak to what their west coast flights look like, but the plane was newer and had great amenities, they served a full hot meal to all fare classes, the flight attendants wore leis, and they had free seatback TVs at every seat with hundreds of movies, tv shows, games, etc. I would honestly pay a little more to fly them again because the flight was so comfortable.

We had the best luck with flight prices booking shortly after Delta released their schedule (we booked in November for the following September). We traveled mid-late September, left on a Thursday and returned on a Friday. We watched fares slowly creep up after we booked and they never came back down.

 

[monsterkitty]

Thanks everyone! All of your suggestions are so helpful!

And it's nice to hear that others consider airfare expense and are able to successfully book their DVC vacations in advance. My mom has health issues, so we typically book flights that offer a credit or refund if we need to cancel.

@Twohsieh I just have to say that you are so brave to fly through LAX. I've had to use that airport for work trips, and I've had the worst experiences - canceled flights, change of terminal right before departure, crowds, and I was there for the Uber/Lyft fiasco in 2019. When we visit DCA and DL, we either drive or fly to John Wayne. On rare occasion we have gone to Long Beach.

I highly suggest if one member of your party has health issues to look into trip insurance. We learned the hard way when my dad passed away a week before a trip and we didn't have trip insurance. We were told "Sorry, but the rest of you are alive and can still go." Not kidding. Those were the exact words from agent.

Even though it's just DH and I and we're both healthy, we still get trip insurance.

 

[CamDisDay]

We were told "Sorry, but the rest of you are alive and can still go." Not kidding. Those were the exact words from agent.

That is awful!!

 

[natty650]

I highly suggest if one member of your party has health issues to look into trip insurance. We learned the hard way when my dad passed away a week before a trip and we didn't have trip insurance. We were told "Sorry, but the rest of you are alive and can still go." Not kidding. Those were the exact words from agent.

Even though it's just DH and I and we're both healthy, we still get trip insurance.

I'm so sorry about your dad, but thank you for sharing your experience. It was totally unacceptable for them to talk to you that way.

We typically would get travel insurance for something like a cruise, but I've never thought about getting it for our Hawaii vacations. Definitely something I'll look into!

 

[BayGirl22]

We usually fly United to Hawaii and have not had issues. Being in SF you are going to have the most options anywhere with United since this is their hub. Trying to fly another major like American or Delta will just add a bunch of connections and wasted time. I always check other airlines like Hawaiin and try OAK but its usually about the same.
As far as cancellations, if it was recently that is very common for all airlines. None have a100% perfect rate so I wouldn't rule any out based on one issue - pick the best one for your route.

We just closed on our Aulani contract and are planning a November trip, which is well within 7 months. We've got most of nights through playing a bit with reservations, except for the first. It was so much cheaper to fly in on Thursday and stay somewhere else rather than flying in on Friday. So we'll have one night offsite then head to Aulani on Friday morning, not really a big deal.

In terms of flight pricing, unless its a holiday I usually keep an eye on what "good" looks like and book as we get closer. If using points I book as soon as we decide since they are refundable and low point seats go fast. Agree that travel insurance is probably a better deal than buying refundable flights for 9 people, that is a huge premium.

 

[EEGRAM]

Thank you for starting this thread. We are going to Aulani for the first time next June and I was wondering if I should book the flights this far out (just made the reservations at Aulani this week).
Right now airfare from Cleveland to Honolulu is a little over $1k ($900 if you don't want to book your seat). I guess I will keep tracking it to see if it goes down. Hope it doesn't go up!
Anyone else have an idea what a good price from Cleveland to Honolulu would be?

 

[kdonnel]

Anyone else have an idea what a good price from Cleveland to Honolulu would be?

In my experience flying from Atlanta, a great fare is in the $800 range. Typical is $1000-$1100.

Those are for trips in April and July.

Sometimes I found fares as cheep as $600 but those involved two or more connections. In my opinion just not worth the savings.

I imagine Cleveland would be similar.

 

[monsterkitty]

In my experience flying from Atlanta, a great fare is in the $800 range. Typical is $1000-$1100.

Those are for trips in April and July.

Sometimes I found fares as cheep as $600 but those involved two or more connections. In my opinion just not worth the savings.

I imagine Cleveland would be similar.

I think Atlanta would be much cheaper as it is a hub for a few airlines.

Thank you for starting this thread. We are going to Aulani for the first time next June and I was wondering if I should book the flights this far out (just made the reservations at Aulani this week).
Right now airfare from Cleveland to Honolulu is a little over $1k ($900 if you don't want to book your seat). I guess I will keep tracking it to see if it goes down. Hope it doesn't go up!
Anyone else have an idea what a good price from Cleveland to Honolulu would be?

Look on Kayak and other such sites that project the prices and tell you when to purchase. The only other thing I would do right now is reserve a rental car!

 

[kdonnel]

I think Atlanta would be much cheaper as it is a hub for a few airlines.

No such luck, at least during the time frames I listed for the trips I have taken to Hawaii. Most trips it has been much cheaper to fly American connecting through Dallas or Phoenix rather than flying Delta.