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Hawaii AirfareAirfare is a moving target - you can be paying top dollar while the person in the seat next to you is on a bargain Hawaii ticket. Now there are two additional pressures increasing Hawaii airfare - inceased jet fuel costs and fewer flights to Hawaii after ATA and Aloha Airlines shut down. What can you do to lower your Hawaii airfare?
Travel Mid-Week to Hawaii
If you are like most travelers, it's more convenient for you to either travel on the weekend, or on the two days that surround weekends - Friday and Monday. This allows you to minimize your work vacation time by sandwiching five workdays in between two weekends - nine days in Hawaii for five days away from work. Demand for airline seats to Hawaii is lower during the middle of the week, which results in cheaper Hawaii airfare prices as well as interisland flights.
Travel during Hawaii Low SeasonHawaii low season is from mid January to May and from September to early December. You can save up to 20% on Hawaii airfare by taking your vacation during this low season. Airfare is most expensive during the Hawaii high season when school is out for the summer June, through August. Most of December is also busy due to cold weather visitors during Christmas and New Years.
Package Discounts with Hawaii AirfareReceive a package discount by combining your airfare reservation with a car rental reservation and/or lodging reservation. View some Maui Package DiscountsReserve Hawaii Airfare - How Far in Advance?How far in advance should you make reservations to get the cheapest Hawaii airfare?A standard rule has been that the further in advance you reserve your flight, the bigger airfare discount. But volatility in projected fuel costs has changed this rule. While the trend is to get a bigger discount the earlier you book, there is now movement up and down the cost curve along with projected fuel costs. So if you have the time, check for price changes for a month or so before you pay for a reservation.
Hawaii First Class Fares?Want to go first class to Hawaii? You will spend more money for first class tickets, but you can still save some money.Check with Hawaiian Air - their first class fares can be as low as $200 over coach, while other carriers can have a $1000 difference. Even though you may not fly Hawaiian Air on the U.S. mainland, they are a dominant carrier to Hawaii - they have more mainland departure cities (9) than any other airline to Hawaii:
Avoid Major HolidaysAvoid major holidays -• New Year's - January 1 • Valentine's Day - February 14 • Easter • Spring Break • Labor Day • Thanksgiving • Christmas - December 25 Use of the New Airfare Search EnginesWe saved $500 per ticket (that's $2000 for a family of four) for our March 2008 Maui airfare by moving our departure date to Tuesday from Thursday. Okay, we took our youngest daughter out of school a day early for spring break, but we figured the $2000 savings offset a note from the teacher. See the chart below from Kayak.com to see how we got a cheap Hawaii airfare ticket by slightly changing our flight dates.
One of us watches movies on a portable DVD player, while another listens to her iPod. This has reduced the popularity of in-flight movies - we had two movies on our last trip, but hardly anyone watched them. And for a lot of adult passengers, sleeping is still a popular option on the flight to Hawaii. And, by bringing your kids' favorite snacks, you ensure that they will eat something on the long flight to Hawaii.
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Our family reflects the changes that have occurred the last few years on the flight to Hawaii for our Maui family vacation. Technology has opened up a whole new group of activities among younger flyers.
