Flying to Hawaii

[Mahoney]

Mrs. Mahoney and I are going to be making a journey to Hawaii in two months. We're east coasters and she doesn't want to be in the air for eight hours on a non stop from Atlanta or Chicago, so we're going to fly to the west coast, stay a day and then complete the journey.

I need suggestions - what's the best western city to fly round trip to Honolulu from - Vegas, LA, San Fran? Other possibility I've missed? Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[BYH]

Flew to Hawaii when I was 10 years old. My dad ran the Honolulu Marathon. We left at like 10 am EST and got to Hawaii about 10 pm...what's the abbreviation for Hawaii time? HST? Anyway, I nearly yakked on the flight over thanks to some awful food (haven't eaten an airplane meal since) and was a complete mess from the time change when we landed. A crying, babbling mess, even.

On the red-eye back, my dad and I were the only people on board watching Staying Alive. Man oh man, I might have been just 10 years old, but even I knew that movie sucked. Sometime during the filght my sister decided she was a terrible flyer and started yakking. She puked all over O'Hare Airport. We got home, ordered Pizza Hut and slept for 18 hours.

So to answer your question, no, I have no idea which western city you should fly into.

 

[Shaggy]

I've been to Hawaii twice, both times through LA. Seems to be a fine option.

 

[Iron_chet]

Your best bet for time and money is to go thru LAX.

 

[dixiehack]

So to answer your question, no, I have no idea which western city you should fly into.

But if you need a map of Hawaii, he's your man.

 

[vonnegutnaked2]

We are going in two months for the honeymoon....going through L.A.

Coming back through Houston, though I think we're going to make an extra night of that by catching an Astros game.

 

[MileHigh]

If you go through LAX, you can hit up In-N-Out, among other places.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

If you go through LAX, you can hit up In-N-Out, among other places.

Is there an In-N-Out in LAX? I didn't see one when I was there three years ago on the way to Kona.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Seattle the other prime possibility.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

When we went overseas all those years ago, we flew out of San Francisco and back through Los Angeles. I'd take the former without thinking.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

We went through Sky Harbor (Phoenix) when we went. It was fine. Not hard to find your way around. I think the flight from there to Honolulu was about 6 hours.

 

[MileHigh]

If you go through LAX, you can hit up In-N-Out, among other places.

Is there an In-N-Out in LAX? I didn't see one when I was there three years ago on the way to Kona.

No. But they're staying for a day and there's one near LAX.

 

[Norman Stansfield]

I've made four trips there in the past eight years.

Don't do Seattle. Makes the trip way longer than it needs to be.

SFO or LAX are the best bets -- about five hours of flight time or so.

 

[Lyman_Bostock]

Mrs. Mahoney and I are going to be making a journey to Hawaii in two months. We're east coasters and she doesn't want to be in the air for eight hours on a non stop from Atlanta or Chicago, so we're going to fly to the west coast, stay a day and then complete the journey.

I need suggestions - what's the best western city to fly round trip to Honolulu from - Vegas, LA, San Fran? Other possibility I've missed? Any help would be most appreciated.

I'm guessing you're probably never going to fly to Europe or Asia.

 

[SoCalDude]

The In-N-Out is less than 5 minutes from LAX on Sepulveda just past the Lincoln turnoff. There's usually a line of cars around the place, but they have a guy out in the parking lot taking orders. You can sit outside and watch the planes coming in to the North runways.
But I'd say SFO has better sour dough bread.

 

[SoCalDude]

Another tip, if you're staying over a day and the cost isn't too much different, try Orange County. If for no other reason, the security check is 15 minutes, instead of the hour-plus at LAX.

 

[trifectarich]

All the major West Coast cities have flights to the islands. LAX or SFO would probably be my first choices, but even if your connection from the East Coast takes you somewhere such as Phoenix, that works just as well. Portland is good on Delta, but often that's too far out of the way depending on where you're coming from.

Personally, I like ATL or DFW. Not sure what kind of service Delta has from SLC.

 

[bigpern23]

She wouldn't rather spend an extra three hours on a flight to have an extra DAY in Hawaii??

 

[cougargirl]

Agreed, consider the shortest flight possible (which is a relative term, I guess, if you're going to Hawaii), most likely out of LAX. Here's another thing to consider - flying into Honolulu or Maui/Kahului.

A friend of mine lives in Honolulu and Mr. Cougar and I are throwing around the idea of going to Hawaii after the new year to visit, and there are direct flights out of Portland (PDX) that are just a shade less than six hours.

I've found that in long-distance flights, it's not just the length of the flight but also the type of plane you're on. The bigger and roomier the aircraft, the more comfortable the flight. (Or you could spend a bundle and fly first class).

Also, for health and sanity reasons, it's much better to break up long flights from the East Coast to Hawaii.

 

[OTD]

Another tip, if you're staying over a day and the cost isn't too much different, try Orange County. If for no other reason, the security check is 15 minutes, instead of the hour-plus at LAX.

I don't think SNA has Hawaii flights anymore, since Aloha tanked.