FLight Plan

[brittany21]

We just got our flight plan for our feb 25th cruise...

 

We fly from Phila international to San Fran, then to Honolulu, with only a 40 minute layover. The return is Honolulu, to LAX, then Philly with a mighty long layover in between.

[sjbdtz]

Uh huh.... and?

[Lee77]

Are you glad or mad?

[brittany21]

Are you glad or mad?

 

 

im sorry guys... i was just wondering what anyone thought of this.. is it normal to have a crappy flight on the way home? I dont really mind either way, im going to hawaii, so who cares really.. the flight home just might be a lil tiresome.

[MaryAnn261]

Not sure what's normal... but for us... we got direct flights from Indy to Miami both directions. The only down side.. the flight coming home doesn't leave Miami til 6:30 pm.

 

Not a problem for us. We are going to rent a car for the day and go to South Beach. Just kinda extends our vacation for an extra day.

[sjbdtz]

im sorry guys... i was just wondering what anyone thought of this.. is it normal to have a crappy flight on the way home? I dont really mind either way, im going to hawaii, so who cares really.. the flight home just might be a lil tiresome.

 

 

Did you book your own flights? Did you try other airlines? I don't understand this thread at all.

 

I'm wondering whether what you're trying to say is: "We took the NCL flights, and didn't get a choice, and what we got coming home isn't as good as what we got heading to Honolulu"?

[Arwenmark]

Always book your own flights!

Actually you are lucky you don't have six flights criss crossing the country. The only time I would even consider booking through the cruiseline is if the cruise leaves from one port and returns to another. Like a Repo cruise.

[smeyer418]

This may have more to do with when planes leave for the east coast than anything else....How much time is the long layover? when do you land in LAX and then leave for PHL..

[brittany21]

This may have more to do with when planes leave for the east coast than anything else....How much time is the long layover? when do you land in LAX and then leave for PHL..

 

Im sorry, this was more of a rant thread b/c im not happy with the return flight. Yes the cruiseline booked our flight, it was extra to book our own, they called it something, like deviating, or something like that.

 

Anyways... the flight home is...

leave Honolulu at 2:05pm and arrive in LA at 9:25pm, i dont have the departure flight time from LA on me right now, but i know that we do not arrive in Philly until 11:20 AM. So the layover is somewhere between 9:25 pm and 11:20 am. I assume it is about a 3 hr flight, and there is a time change in there. I have no experience with this, so just looking for any input anyone might have. Thanks :) Sorry for any confusion

[smeyer418]

Im sorry, this was more of a rant thread b/c im not happy with the return flight. Yes the cruiseline booked our flight, it was extra to book our own, they called it something, like deviating, or something like that.

 

Anyways... the flight home is...

leave Honolulu at 2:05 and arrive in LA at 9:25, i dont have the departure flight time from LA on me right now, but i know that we do not arrive in Philly until 11:20 AM. So the layover is somewhere between 9:25 pm and 11:20 am. I assume it is about a 3 hr flight, and there is a time change in there. I have no experience with this, so just looking for any input anyone might have. Thanks :) Sorry for any confusion

 

3 hour flight its 3000 miles! Its a six-7 hour flight its 3 hours time change so the flight leaves at 2:20 am? I would bet its not a non-stop....I think you will be stopping somewhere else....on the way...I would suspect that your flight leave around 11 pm....not a really long layover... I hate Hawaii just because its so far away....This is not a really terrible connection. I've seen worse. The other people were asking if you made your own flight reservations which can be cheaper than the cruise lines and more direct. Paying the cruise line extra to get a better flight(called a deviation fee) still can cost even more. Right now http://www.itasoftware.com will show you ALL the flight possibilities and the cost. Good luck.

[brittany21]

3 hour flight its 3000 miles! Its a six-7 hour flight its 3 hours time change so the flight leaves at 2:20 am? I would bet its not a non-stop....I think you will be stopping somewhere else....on the way...I would suspect that your flight leave around 11 pm....not a really long layover...

 

No from Honolulu, there is a stop in LA, im saying 3 hrs from LA to Philly.. and the long layover is in LA..

[smeyer418]

No from Honolulu, there is a stop in LA, im saying 3 hrs from LA to Philly.. and the long layover is in LA..

 

Its 3000 or so Miles Honulul to LAX, about 2740 miles LAX to PHL....If you make it in 3 hours you'll set a record on a commerical plane. This is especially true because when its 3 am in LA its 6 am in Phily.

[brittany21]

Its 3000 or so Miles Honulul to LAX, about 2740 miles LAX to PHL....If you make it in 3 hours you'll set a record on a commerical plane. This is especially true because when its 3 am in LA its 6 am in Phily.

 

Ok, so how long is the flight from LA to Philly??

[sjbdtz]

Ok, so how long is the flight from LA to Philly??

 

5-6 hours.

 

 

go to expedia, and look at sample flights.

[electricron]

The shortest flight, time wise, from HNL to LAX is 5 hours and 5 minutes.

 

The shortest flight from LAX to PHL is 4 hours and 52 minutes.

 

It'll take approximately 5 hours on each hop, or a total of 10 hours to fly non-stop between HNL to PHL.

 

20 minutes between hops is really too short, considering the fact your arrival flight might disembark in an entirely different terminal than your departing flight embarks.

 

Most travel insurance policies require

a. the scheduled carrier connecting times must meet

airline required legal minimum connect times; and

b. the scheduled time between arrival at the Scheduled

Trip Departure City and the scheduled trip departure

must be 2 hours or longer.

 

With a 20 minute holdover, you wouldn't meet most travel insurance requirements that you'll find in the small print.

 

Always plan on at least a two hour holdover at airports for any connecting flights.

[smeyer418]

Ok, so how long is the flight from LA to Philly??

 

I said 6-7 hours above. It might be a little less. Can you do us a favor and go find the stuff the cruise line sent you and look at it closely...They will have all the times and flight numbers and post them and we can see. All I can tell you is that it is not a 3 hour flight. I have done it many times As I said I don't think the layover will be as bad as you do. They put you on a reasonable flight time out of Hawaii. It gets you to the west coast about 9:30 the redeyes to the East Coast leave at around 11 or so getting in around 8 am if you are getting in at 10:40 it means that it leave around 1 am a 3 hour layover not the worst I have seen by far..They could have put you on the 6 pm flight out of Hawaii and you could have 10 minutes to make the same flight east.

[brittany21]

I said 6-7 hours above. It might be a little less. Can you do us a favor and go find the stuff the cruise line sent you and look at it closely...They will have all the times and flight numbers and post them and we can see. All I can tell you is that it is not a 3 hour flight. I have done it many times As I said I don't think the layover will be as bad as you do. They put you on a reasonable flight time out of Hawaii. It gets you to the west coast about 9:30 the redeyes to the East Coast leave at around 11 or so getting in around 8 am if you are getting in at 10:40 it means that it leave around 1 am a 3 hour layover not the worst I have seen by far..They could have put you on the 6 pm flight out of Hawaii and you could have 10 minutes to make the same flight east.

 

TO HAWAII

United Airlines- Dont have flight numbers yet

2/25 8:40 AM PHL - SAN FRAN (arrive in SAN FRAN at 12:30)

40 minute layover and Arrive In HONOLULU at 4:00 PM

 

FROM HAWAII

Unite Airlines- Again no flight numbers

Leave Honolulu 2:05 PM arrive in LA- 9:25PM

I dont have the departure time from LA, but i do have that we are supposed to arrive in PHILLY at 11:20 AM.

 

The TA told us all of this over the phone.

[garycarla]

Your TA leaves a bit to be desired. Something does not add up here.

 

Assuming all your flights are on United Airlines, go to www.unitedairlines.com and do some checking. Since you did not indicate the exact return date, I had to guess, but here is a flight LAX to PHL.

 

11:20pm to 7:23am Nonstop

 

You must be connecting someplace after leaving LAX.

[brittany21]

Your TA leaves a bit to be desired. Something does not add up here.

 

Assuming all your flights are on United Airlines, go to www.unitedairlines.com and do some checking. Since you did not indicate the exact return date, I had to guess, but here is a flight LAX to PHL.

 

11:20pm to 7:23am Nonstop

 

You must be connecting someplace after leaving LAX.

 

Our return flight is Mar 4th.. she mentioned nothing of a connecting flight after leaving LA

[electricron]

There's a three hour time difference between east coast and west coast. There's a two hour time difference between the west coast and Hawaii.

You gain a total of 5 hours westbound, and lose a total of 5 hours eastbound.

 

So a flight from PHL to LAX appears less than 4 hours, 0840 to 1230, when it's actually closer to 7 hours in the air. Likewise, the flight from LAX to HNL appears less than 3 hours, 1310 to 1600, when it's actually closer to 5 hours in the air.

 

But when traveling east, what appears to be over a 7 hour trip from HNL to LAX is really 1405 to 2125 is really only 5 hours in the air. What appears to be a 14 hour flight ?2125? to 1120 is only 11 hours. If the return flight takes as long as the west bound flight, around 7 hours, you're only waiting on the ground at LAX for about 4 hours.

 

The cheapest nonstop flight on United, flight 196 on most nights, departs LAX at 2320 and arriving at PHL around 0723. Almost 4 hours before what your TA states, and that's with about a 2 hour layover at LAX. Note: a total of 8 hours by time, means approximately a 5 hour flight.

 

Expedia doesn't show many flights after 0030 or before 0600 leaving LAX. So the extra hours means your return flight is not non-stop. You either have a one stop, possibly a two stop return flight between LAX and PHL.

[Marmarjudy]

Sounds to me like you need a better travel agent that would have helped you find affordable air on your own with a decent schedule. Many times the travel agents will push the cruise line air for commission or upping their volume with that cruise line.

[brittany21]

I am not the one paying for this trip, my mother is, so i can only give my inpt i do not ahve the final decision. I do t otally agree with you about the mediocrity of our TA, i have been unhappy with her from day one. My mom has a hard time even getting a hold of her when she has questions, but when payment was due, she was sure calling us... so i agree that she would push for commission. She sold us on staying with the cruise lines airfare b/c for 1. you would have to pay deviation fees 2. the cruise line picks u up at the airport 3. if there is a delay with ur flight the ship will wait for you.

 

Next time around we will know better..... tomorrow i will call the Travel agency myself to confirm this flight plan, as i said this is what i was given over the phone. They should have flight numbers by now as well..

[smeyer418]

Frankly I think you relax about this already. No matter what the flight back is a pain. You are going to the beautiful Hawain Islands for a cruise. the planes will get you there and home. So you can sleep in the airport for a few hours. You may still have a direct flight(no plane changes) even if there are stops you can just stay on the plane. Have a great time. Get over the fact that there may be a wait just think you are going 25% around the world each way. I just did some checking. I don't think you will have a long layover in LAX but in Washington DC where you will change planes....

[beachchick]

Just a couple of thoughts. Time changes can be confusing, so it would be a good idea when you have the exact flight info to go to the airline site and check the actual flight times (length of flight vs local time). Also, 40 minutes in SFO is pretty tight. Hopefully, you'll be departing out of the same terminal you come into, but if you are not--RUN. Also, if this was cruise line air, the schedule is not the fault of the TA, and in fact the TA may not have all the information from the cruise line yet. I would, however, see if your TA can ask the cruise line to make an adjustment if possible. They would probably want the deviation fee to select specific flights, that's what that fee is for.

 

For the return, if you get into LAX at 9:25 pm pst, you would need to depart LAX for PHL about 2:30 am pst (5:30 am Philly time) for the approximately 6 hour flight. That would get you into PHL about 11:20 local time (8:20 am pst)--or about a 6 hour flight. Still, it's a pretty long layover--I wouldn't like 5 hours in LAX. And it's not long enough to go do anything. But that's what happens when you use the cruise lines' air packages. It's almost like booking a guarantee cabin; you hope for the best, but expect the worst.

 

Also, be aware that even though you are using the cruise line's air, the ship will NOT necessarily wait for you if your flight is delayed. Often they will wait a specific amount of time, especially when there are many pax coming in on the same flight. They will not and cannot just wait interminably if a flight is delayed. Your TA is not quite right on that score. I do think a good TA would have tried to find you air independent of the cruise line. It's often cheaper and almost always more convenient. I think it sounds like your TA wanted the ease of putting everything on the cruise line without the TA doing the extra work of finding you flights (JMHO, of course).

 

Last question for brittany21: What do you mean that the TA sold you on using the cruise line's air "because you would have to pay the deviation fee"? What deviation fee? If you are getting whatever flights the cruise line assigns, you should NOT be paying a deviation fee; if you HAVE paid a deviation fee (if for example you are staying several days before or after the cruise), then it should cover choosing specific flights too. Get on the TA about this--it's just not sounding right to me.

 

beachchick

[sjbdtz]

FROM HAWAII

Unite Airlines- Again no flight numbers

Leave Honolulu 2:05 PM arrive in LA- 9:25PM

I dont have the departure time from LA, but i do have that we are supposed to arrive in PHILLY at 11:20 AM.

 

The TA told us all of this over the phone.

 

I think I've solved the mystery.

 

It must be more than a coincidence that you think you're arriving in Philly at 11:20a.m., and there is a departure from LAX at 11:20p.m.

 

 

It sounds as though you arrive in LAX at 9:25, leave 2 hours later at 11:20, and arrive in PHL at 7:23 a.m.

 

This isn't a bad connection at all. It just sounds as though your mother missed the ARRIVAL time, not the departure time when she was jotting everything down over the phone.