<p>I’ve been looking at flights from Boston to Hawaii for just after Christmas. Does anyone have experience with flying this far across the US? When I look at travel sites like Orbitz and Expedia, they usually take approx 24 hours, with 2-3 stops along the way and cost over $1000 one way. There has to be a better way to do this. For example, I fly from Boston to California or Oregon, and then from there to Honolulu. What’s the best airport to stop over?</p>
<p>It looks like your fastest route (about 12-13 hours, depending on the direction) is flying United with one stop in San Francisco.</p>
<p>The best stopover airports are the ones with the fewest delays, unless you have a long stopover (where you may be able to do something in the stopover areas beyond touring the airport), in which case a stopover with an interesting place to visit would be good.</p>
<p>Chicago O’Hare, Dallas / Fort Worth, New York LaGuardia, Newark, and San Francisco are generally regarded as high risk airports for delays. Denver did not seem to do too well last December. More information here: <a href=“System Currently Unavailable | US Department of Transportation”>System Currently Unavailable | US Department of Transportation;
<p>The minimal scheduled time westbound appears to be about 13 hours with one stop, while the minimal scheduled time eastbound appears to be about 12 hours with one stop. The eastbound leg generally involves a redeye segment.</p>
<p>You may want to try [KAYAK</a> - Cheap Flights, Hotels, Airline Tickets, Cheap Tickets, Cheap Travel Deals - Compare Hundreds of Travel Sites At Once](<a href=“http://www.kayak.com%5DKAYAK”>http://www.kayak.com) to search flights.</p>
<p>I Would avoid SF at all costs. Delays there are constant. When there’s significant fog, they often have only one runway open. I’d fly Boson to LA, then LA to Honolulu.</p>
<p>One of the ways I judge airports by the food. I often need to grab a bite during layovers. Based on that, SF is a great airport but just not worth the delays.</p>
<p>Go through LAX if you can. Delays are rare there and it’s the shortest of the mainland to Hawaii flights.</p>
<p>After Christmas is a horrendously expensive time to go to Hawaii. Consider going on Christmas Day. Make sure you check the Hawaiian airlines website for packages; they’re often less than the airfare alone, strangely.</p>
<p>Flight out of LAX non stop to Kona in Nov (2011) cost $638; so adding the Boston to LA part as an additional $400 sounds right (and I literally bought my D’s plane ticket before I logged in here; NYC to LAX $365).</p>
<p>Airfare is out of sight right now. Crazy prices.</p>
<p>I saw a flight from San Diego to HNL for $400. That would be pretty good then?</p>
<p>Agree with above. Do not fly through SFO. Would go BOS to LAX to Hawaii</p>
<p>“I saw a flight from San Diego to HNL for $400. That would be pretty good then?”</p>
<p>You did! Snatch it!</p>
<p>5 years ago we flew into Dallas and then into Honolulu from New England. It was such a long day we vowed to definitely stop somewhere for an overnight the next time we go back.</p>
<p>If you get a good flight from San Diego, then go from Boston to San Diego and maybe stay over one night if timing allows?</p>
<p>If you go by either schedule or distance, SFO is closer to Honolulu than LAX is, by an average of about 30 minutes flying time. Of course this doesn’t incorporate the possibility of delays, which may be greater in SFO than LAX.</p>
<p>I’ve changed planes coming and going to Hawaii from JFK in NY both in LAX and in SFO, had no problems making the connections going. Had problem on the return with delay in Hawaii and literally making the red-eye connection in SFO by running through the airport. Another couple on our convention changed planes in Phoenix instead, another option to consider. It is a long haul anyway you look at it… .but once you get there, you are in Hawaii, one of my favorite places in the world.</p>
<p>I’ve been searching for cheap air fares from LAX to Hawaii. What I’ve found out is it cheaper(almost by half) to fly from San Jose to Hawaii then LAX to Hawaii. Alaska Air has direct route from Sanjose to Maui, Big Island and Honolulu.</p>
<p>Sometimes it makes sense to buy your flights separately even if you are flying the same airline. I recently traveled internationally to a fairly remote airport. Single itinerary SEA-my destination with an intermediate stop was $5,000 :eek: However, the same flights as 2 separate itineraries were only $1600 total. Go figure!</p>
<p>SJC, PDX and OAK usually have the cheapest flights to Hawaii from the west coast. Sometimes you can luck out with SEA, but given the unpredictable weather in December, I’d avoid SEA and maybe even PDX.</p>
<p>However, two separate itineraries means that if you miss the connection, the airline operating the missed flight won’t rebook you for free, adding potentially large costs (change fee plus fare difference to a short notice fare) to the hassle of a missed connection.</p>
<p>But it may be a reasonable option if you want to spend a few days in the intermediate location. It may also be an option if the second segment is a frequently operated short haul flight that is inexpensive even at short notice.</p>
<p>Well, the flight is for my son, actually, who will be meeting up with friends in HNL. So, I’m not too worried about a longer flight (he’s young and healthy) but I’d like to avoid extended periods of time in the airport and many connectons.</p>
<p>I looked into the new Hawaii Airlines nonstop flight from JFK. It is $585 and leaves NY @9:00 am. He can catch a quick flight from Boston on Jetblue for $100. The thing is, it is scheduled to arrive at JFK @ 7:15 am. </p>
<p>1) Do you think this is enough of a layover, as to not have him scrambling to get to the second flight?</p>
<p>2) Is this the best price you think I’ll be able to obtain? $685 total (plus additional baggage fees) from Boston to Honolulu?</p>
<p>I really appreciate all the help everyone has given me here already. :)</p>
<p>1:45 should be enough of a layover if the flights are on time, he has no checked baggage, and he has checked in on-line to both flights the night before. But a delay in the Jet Blue flight could cause him to miss the Hawaiian flight.</p>
<p>If he does have checked baggage, then he should ask Jet Blue and Hawaiian if they have an interline baggage agreement so that he can check his baggage at Jet Blue and they will hand it off to Hawaiian without him having to collect it and recheck it at JFK. Having to collect it and recheck it at JFK risks not getting it in time from Jet Blue to get it to the Hawaiian baggage check desk in enough time before the flight (and that will also require going through security again after checking the baggage).</p>
<p>If he does miss the connection, the airlines have no obligation to rebook at no charge like they would a single ticket connecting flight. (Not sure if it is possible for a travel agent to book a single ticket connecting flight on these two particular airlines.)</p>
<p>Note that The Bus (public transit on Oahu) lines 19 and 20 do serve the Honolulu airport and go to the usual tourist hotel areas, but you cannot bring more than a carry-on size bag on The Bus.</p>
<p>^^ Thank you for that info. I wasn’t even thinking about the luggage, uggh. I’m wondering if he could get by with a carry-on. He is male, after all, and will likely spend the majority of the time in a bathing suit.</p>
<p>[Leisure</a> / Business Travel Packing List - Travel Light (One Bag)!](<a href=“http://www.onebag.com/]Leisure”>http://www.onebag.com/) can give tips on packing lightly. Hawaii is probably one of the easier places to pack lightly for, since bulky/heavy clothing for cold weather or dressing up daily is typically not needed.</p>