My Hawaiian Friends Get Mini Airfare War — Hope It Expands

May 27, 2008 | Posted in: Airfare Sales, Airlines

On Saturday at 5pm, Continental Airlines inexplicably fired out an incredibly cheap airfare from Los Angeles to Honolulu for $257 (including fuel surcharge – plus fees, travel starting August 16th). These tickets have been going for at minimum twice that price lately and in some cases for June and July four times that price. In obvious retaliation on Sunday at 5pm, United – not to be out done — fired out similar price airfare from Continentals hubs in Newark and Houston to Honolulu (travel Mon-Thur Departing after August 20) and the mini battle began — fuel or no fuel. Charlotte, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were added into the mix. Here is the current skirmish cities — take advantage while you can this probably won’t last long: Continental, Charlotte to Honolulu $271 (Fare Code: SRWL21N) United, Newark to Honolulu $245 (Fare Code: SLO213NH) United, Houston to Honolulu $247 (Fare Code: SLO213NH), $291 (Fare Code: WLOE303N) Continental, Los Angeles to Honolulu, $257 (Fare Code: XLWE7N ) $308 (Fare Code: XLOE21N) Continental, Philadelphia to Honolulu, $260 (Fare Code: TLOE21N) Continental, Pittsburgh to Honolulu, $228 (Fare Code: SRWL21N) Let’s hope the “war” extends to other airlines, my buddies in Hawaii need all the help they can get …

6 Responses to “My Hawaiian Friends Get Mini Airfare War — Hope It Expands”

1. karen kay says:

   May 27, 2008 at 6:08 am

   this is a great deal, thanks, rick! i bought two trips from houston on united for myself in 2009 (get a head start on requalifying for 1k for ‘10) and one trip for my parents. the united flights are upgradeable with miles, if you have enough and there’s availability. (continental charges a monetary fee in addition to miles to upgrade, so it’s possible, but both more expensive and trickier.)
2. casey says:

   May 27, 2008 at 9:03 am

   We needed a break out here since inter-island fares are close to $200 now. I booked to Houston for $287 on United. Unheard of!!
3. Sheila says:

   May 27, 2008 at 2:08 pm

   Hi Rick – I just ran across your blog this morning.

   These deals are almost unbelievable, but I’m so happy to see them! I’m an unbiased Hawaii travel blogger who lives on the US East Coast, so I’m hoping to take advantage of them.

   You are right that our Hawaii friends could use this shot in the arm. People seem to be too freaked out over the higher fares. What most people don’t know is that the hotels are offering deals that are more than offsetting the higher airfares. I’m seeing tons of amazing Hawaii hotel deals. I recently crunched some of these numbers for a blog post and determined that a couple would actually save money on a week’s vacation to Hawaii – even with the higher fares. A family of four would break even or possibly have to pay a little bit more – say around $20 more. That’s not bad at all.

   If you can snatch one of these special airfares and take advantage of the excellent hotel rates, you’ll save a bundle!
4. Del says:

   May 28, 2008 at 7:28 pm

   Hmmmm, I wonder why didn’t I receive a farecompare email alert on this.
5. Tamie says:

   January 15, 2009 at 4:14 am

   I would love to catch one of the cheap tickets to Hawaii, why are they not offered leaving from Seattle? Will they offer the low airfares leaving from Seattle soon?
6. Rick Seaney says:

   January 15, 2009 at 8:42 pm

   Hi Tamie,

   We found flights from Seattle to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines for $339 R/T (taxes and fees included). This was for travel in February (20 – 26), and as of this afternoon, that fare was still available. You can perform a flight search to find the lowest filed fares to Hawaii from Seattle. If you have some flexibility with your travel dates, there are deals out there to choose from. Let us know if you have any other questions.