Interisland Hawaiian Airlines

[amym2]

We booked our October ORD-HNL and back using frequent flyer miles (woohoo!) so will book our flights from HNL to Kauai separately. From what I can tell, our choices are Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, and Go Airlines. Is that correct, and which one is best? Do they all charge for luggage?

 

[Anal Annie]

I think of those mentioned that Hawaiian Airlines is the best. They get VERY GOOD ratings actually. I am also looking to book our inter-island flight from Oahu to Maui and have found better times & pricing available directly on their website. HA charges $17 / bag for checked bags on the inter-island flights.

They also have a size & weight limit for your carry-on bags that they often enforce so make sure you bring your luggage scale and that you also weigh your carry-ons!! Now. Ask me how I know this one! Last time we used them we had 3 carry-ons (1 each) and 1 was a very lightweight duffle that I had packed with very light stuff (so DS could handle it easily). It had snacks, cushy neck pillows etc. Another bag we had was a traditional style suitcase carry-on. It was older & well made (read: heavy). It was packed with a lot of heavier items. When we went thru the line they weighed not only our checked bags but also our carry-ons. The duffle was like 16 Lbs and the other bag was like 32 Lbs & the limit was like 26 Lbs or something. So they literally made me empty them both out and rearrange all the contents right there in the line so that the heavier bag was under the limit. It really cracked me up tho because IT WAS ALL THE SAME STUFF and it all WEIGHED THE SAME IN THE END. It was just rearranged. So now I have a mental note for next time to make sure we're in compliance.

 

[amym2]

I think of those mentioned that Hawaiian Airlines is the best. They get VERY GOOD ratings actually. I am also looking to book our inter-island flight from Oahu to Maui and have found better times & pricing available directly on their website. HA charges $17 / bag for checked bags on the inter-island flights.

They also have a size & weight limit for your carry-on bags that they often enforce so make sure you bring your luggage scale and that you also weigh your carry-ons!! Now. Ask me how I know this one! Last time we used them we had 3 carry-ons (1 each) and 1 was a very lightweight duffle that I had packed with very light stuff (so DS could handle it easily). It had snacks, cushy neck pillows etc. Another bag we had was a traditional style suitcase carry-on. It was older & well made (read: heavy). It was packed with a lot of heavier items. When we went thru the line they weighed not only our checked bags but also our carry-ons. The duffle was like 16 Lbs and the other bag was like 32 Lbs & the limit was like 26 Lbs or something. So they literally made me empty them both out and rearrange all the contents right there in the line so that the heavier bag was under the limit. It really cracked me up tho because IT WAS ALL THE SAME STUFF and it all WEIGHED THE SAME IN THE END. It was just rearranged. So now I have a mental note for next time to make sure we're in compliance.

How crazy!!

We managed with just carry-ons to WDW last October, but I don't think I can make that work for Hawaii!

 

[amym2]

Anyone happen to know if Island Air waives baggage fees for United Premier members? DH gets 3 free checked bags on our United flights, and I know Island Air partners with United.

 

[Anal Annie]

How crazy!!

We managed with just carry-ons to WDW last October, but I don't think I can make that work for Hawaii!

Yes, I can also do about 6 nights or so in carry-ons for WDW but this trip is 2 weeks so I KNOW I can't do that. I MAY try tho to get the 3 of us into just 2 checked bags each. If I do it right I could maybe pack a lightweight fold-flat duffle to have as a spare in case we need extra space on the way back. But it would save some bag fees if I don't over-pack. We're only staying in studios - the one we have at the Westin on Maui for our last 3 nights has a washer & dryer in the studio so I MAY plan to do a quick couple of loads the first day we get to Maui. We'll see.

I JUST finished booking all of our airfare. I booked Hawaiian Air for the inter-island flight because I think they're more reliable. Overall it was higher than what I wanted to pay but it was giving me a stroke watching it go up every day and I'm not sure if it will EVER be less at this point. Now I'll probably develop a twitch if it goes back down. From what I could tell from our area BWI and Dulles had both gone up but National had not yet so they were still several hundred less than what using the other 2 airports were now running. I booked 3 flights on Alaska Airline and while booking I noticed that their 1st class fare back from Maui to DC was less than the economy fares on United & American coming into either of the other 2 airports!! I was like WOW! That's incredible!! Too bad we're on such a budget.

 

[amym2]

Yes, I can also do about 6 nights or so in carry-ons for WDW but this trip is 2 weeks so I KNOW I can't do that. I MAY try tho to get the 3 of us into just 2 checked bags each. If I do it right I could maybe pack a lightweight fold-flat duffle to have as a spare in case we need extra space on the way back. But it would save some bag fees if I don't over-pack. We're only staying in studios - the one we have at the Westin on Maui for our last 3 nights has a washer & dryer in the studio so I MAY plan to do a quick couple of loads the first day we get to Maui. We'll see.

I JUST finished booking all of our airfare. I booked Hawaiian Air for the inter-island flight because I think they're more reliable. Overall it was higher than what I wanted to pay but it was giving me a stroke watching it go up every day and I'm not sure if it will EVER be less at this point. Now I'll probably develop a twitch if it goes back down. From what I could tell from our area BWI and Dulles had both gone up but National had not yet so they were still several hundred less than what using the other 2 airports were now running. I booked 3 flights on Alaska Airline and while booking I noticed that their 1st class fare back from Maui to DC was less than the economy fares on United & American coming into either of the other 2 airports!! I was like WOW! That's incredible!! Too bad we're on such a budget.

Choosing airfare is stressful! We live near Indianapolis, so we don't have multiple airports. Last summer we flew to Vancouver, and we ended up driving 4 hours to Chicago so we could get a direct flight. I swear we will never do that again, after sitting in traffic for an hour, stressing about possibly missing our flight, and then realizing we had an extra hour with the time difference... Duh! Anyway, for our Hawaii flights, many went through Dulles. Fly from HNL to IAD to Indy... No thanks! We ended up getting our outbound flight through Chicago and return flight through Denver. I realized recently that for the same miles, we could have bypassed the Lihue to HNL flight and flown directly from Kauai. Still would have been 3 flights, but would have saved us the $ we'll have to pay from Lihue to HNL. Oh well, live and learn. Glad you got your flights taken care of. Take a deep breath!

 

[Anal Annie]

Choosing airfare is stressful! We live near Indianapolis, so we don't have multiple airports. Last summer we flew to Vancouver, and we ended up driving 4 hours to Chicago so we could get a direct flight. I swear we will never do that again, after sitting in traffic for an hour, stressing about possibly missing our flight, and then realizing we had an extra hour with the time difference... Duh! Anyway, for our Hawaii flights, many went through Dulles. Fly from HNL to IAD to Indy... No thanks! We ended up getting our outbound flight through Chicago and return flight through Denver. I realized recently that for the same miles, we could have bypassed the Lihue to HNL flight and flown directly from Kauai. Still would have been 3 flights, but would have saved us the $ we'll have to pay from Lihue to HNL. Oh well, live and learn. Glad you got your flights taken care of. Take a deep breath!

Isn't it crazy how they try to route them? I priced out a cheap flight from Maui to Las Vegas but then there wasn't anything cheap back to DC that didn't go thru LAX!! I had WANTED to use Dulles but they were more $$$ so ended up booking thru National airport. I AM glad that I am done tho...but you know I can't resist continuing to watch it just to see if I made the right move or not!! (Where is that train wreck smiley?!)

 

[downontheBW]

Anyone happen to know if Island Air waives baggage fees for United Premier members? DH gets 3 free checked bags on our United flights, and I know Island Air partners with United.

I don't know about the baggage fees, I didn't see anything on their website, you should probably call them. You can use United miles to book Island Air. It's only 5K miles per flight. We just did this for our trip to HI in April. It took 10K United miles for 2 one way tickets from Maui to Kona.

We've used Island Air 5 times in the past for inter-island flights; we haven't tried any other airline so can't comment on them. Island Air flies the small twin engine propeller planes. It's almost like taking an air tour of the islands because they don't fly as fast and high as jets.

 

[wiigirl]

Anyone happen to know if Island Air waives baggage fees for United Premier members? DH gets 3 free checked bags on our United flights, and I know Island Air partners with United.

I don't think its waived if memory serves.

 

[Happy99]

avoid Go airlines. they have been known to cancel flights last minute without any other options. I like Hawaiian air as they code share with my preferred airline and I still get frequent flyer miles with them. I also prefer jet airplanes which hawaiian air has. The others are propeller planes

 

[robinb]

I think of those mentioned that Hawaiian Airlines is the best. They get VERY GOOD ratings actually. I am also looking to book our inter-island flight from Oahu to Maui and have found better times & pricing available directly on their website. HA charges $17 / bag for checked bags on the inter-island flights.

They also have a size & weight limit for your carry-on bags that they often enforce so make sure you bring your luggage scale and that you also weigh your carry-ons!! Now. Ask me how I know this one! Last time we used them we had 3 carry-ons (1 each) and 1 was a very lightweight duffle that I had packed with very light stuff (so DS could handle it easily). It had snacks, cushy neck pillows etc. Another bag we had was a traditional style suitcase carry-on. It was older & well made (read: heavy). It was packed with a lot of heavier items. When we went thru the line they weighed not only our checked bags but also our carry-ons. The duffle was like 16 Lbs and the other bag was like 32 Lbs & the limit was like 26 Lbs or something. So they literally made me empty them both out and rearrange all the contents right there in the line so that the heavier bag was under the limit. It really cracked me up tho because IT WAS ALL THE SAME STUFF and it all WEIGHED THE SAME IN THE END. It was just rearranged. So now I have a mental note for next time to make sure we're in compliance.

How big of a plane were you on? They have to be very careful with weights and balances on small planes. We flew from the Big Island to Maui on a tiny little plane (maybe 8 seats) and not only did they weigh every bag (and us!) but they seated us where we balanced the plane the best and stowed our carryons where they wanted. I believe that was with Go Airlines. It was one of the best flights ever! I felt like we were on a tour instead of a commuter flight.

 

[Anal Annie]

How big of a plane were you on? They have to be very careful with weights and balances on small planes. We flew from the Big Island to Maui on a tiny little plane (maybe 8 seats) and not only did they weigh every bag (and us!) but they seated us where we balanced the plane the best and stowed our carryons where they wanted. I believe that was with Go Airlines. It was one of the best flights ever! I felt like we were on a tour instead of a commuter flight.

I've been on those prop planes before too when visiting smaller islands in the Caribbean & Mexico. But this was a regular jet. If you read on their website about their baggage limits they have a 25 or 26 Lb weight limit for carry-ons. And on this particular hop they enforced it. A lot of European airlines are like that too. Weight limits for everything. It's a way for them to get extra fees if you ignore the rules. We flew Air France for our Med cruise in 2011 and they have a 26 Lb limit that includes both your "personal article" that goes under the seat AND your overhead bin bag combined!! I made sure to use the smaller "international size" carry-ons so we were in compliance and wouldn't stand out. They never weighed them but I knew from our experience on Hawaiian that they COULD and I didn't want to have to pay an extra $75 to check them. That's why I now always fly with a luggage scale!

 

[downontheBW]

I had mentioned small planes on my previous post but I was comparing to "normal" commercial planes. Island Air flies planes that seat 37 people so they're small but not tiny.

When on Maui, we stay near Lahaina so we like to use the Kapalua (JHM) airport. It's super convenient to the area but it's small and can't accommodate large planes.

 

[epgirl]

I've flown both Hawaiian Airlines and Island Air......I prefer Hawaiian Airlines. You can find out baggage information on each of their websites.