Flights to Honolulu and return to Baltimore

[steffysmom]

My daughter and I are traveling on the Pride of America June 2020 and I have been researching the best flights to and from Baltimore MD via southwest airlines.  Has anyone traveled recently via Southwest that can provide any advice ?  In the past, most of our cruises have been out of Ft. Lauderdale or NY so wet coast cruising is new for us.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[princeton123211]

Southwest out to Hawaii will be a hoof-- especially on a narrowbody 737. This isnt really West Coast cruising-- after the 6 hour flight to the west coast you have another 5.5 hour flight to Hawaii. 

 

You are much better off taking the train from Baltimore to Newark Airport station and taking the direct United Airlines flight from Newark to Honolulu on a widebody 767. Alternatively there is a direct flight on Hawaiian Airlines from JFK on an A330-- would be a little more logistics but we go up to NYC the night before from Philly and catch it as we prefer the Hawaiian Airlines product (you feel like you are in Hawaii the second you board the airplane). 

 

Southwest is fine for jumping around the country but for this much time on an airplane I think you would be much more comfortable with a bigger plane with inflight services and meals going nonstop. 

[TwinMamainMN]

5 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Southwest out to Hawaii will be a hoof-- especially on a narrowbody 737. This isnt really West Coast cruising-- after the 6 hour flight to the west coast you have another 5.5 hour flight to Hawaii. 

 

You are much better off taking the train from Baltimore to Newark Airport station and taking the direct United Airlines flight from Newark to Honolulu on a widebody 767. Alternatively there is a direct flight on Hawaiian Airlines from JFK on an A330-- would be a little more logistics but we go up to NYC the night before from Philly and catch it as we prefer the Hawaiian Airlines product (you feel like you are in Hawaii the second you board the airplane). 

 

Southwest is fine for jumping around the country but for this much time on an airplane I think you would be much more comfortable with a bigger plane with inflight services and meals going nonstop. 

 

Thanks for all those great points about Southwest! We had been considering flying with them from MSP, but the flight times are not great and mean arriving around 7:30pm in HNL. We would like to fly Hawaiian Airlines just for the experience of it, but they do not fly to MSP. Flying direct on Delta seems a lot easier.

[princeton123211]

15 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

We would like to fly Hawaiian Airlines just for the experience of it, but they do not fly to MSP. Flying direct on Delta seems a lot easier.

I thought the topic of this post was flying from Baltimore.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

17 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

Thanks for all those great points about Southwest! We had been considering flying with them from MSP, but the flight times are not great and mean arriving around 7:30pm in HNL. We would like to fly Hawaiian Airlines just for the experience of it, but they do not fly to MSP. Flying direct on Delta seems a lot easier.

 

If you've never flown on Hawaiian Airlines before, I'd do whatever I can to get on them. They might be the best U.S. carrier right now.

[cccole]

I fly at least twice a year to Hawaii.  If Hawaiian Air has competitive prices with the other airlines I always take it.  But if you can save $ by flying another airline, why not?  I like flying Hawaiian Airlines but I do not think they are what they were even 2 years ago.  A good airline?  Absolutely.  And I do choose them if they offer the same price as others.  If you fly SW from the east coast and connect to a flight on the west coast you will be fine in a smaller plane.  And, I assume the first 2 checked bags are free.   Hawaiian now has some great prices from Boston to Honolulu if that appeals to you.  When our daughter flies from the east coast she tries to catch a late flight to the west coast (LAX) after work and then takes a morning flight to Hawaii.  Sometimes the rt fares from the east coast to Hawaii are more expensive than booking a rt from the east coast to LAX and then a rt from LAX to Hawaii.  I returned from Hawaii yesterday and was talking to a couple from OKC.  They travel twice a year to Hawaii and never book a rt from OKC because it is always an extra $300 or more per ticket.  They book a ticket to PHX, LAS, LAX, or SEA and a second ticket from there to Hawaii.  It is really very easy and the time saved by not spending two days of your vacation flying is sometimes worth the extra time spent looking for the best route for you.  JMO cherie   

Edited October 9, 2019 by cccole

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, cccole said:

I fly at least twice a year to Hawaii.  If Hawaiian Air has competitive prices with the other airlines I always take it.  But if you can save $ by flying another airline, why not? 

 

Life is too short for bad airlines, even if they are cheap :)

 

6 hours ago, cccole said:

If you fly SW from the east coast and connect to a flight on the west coast you will be fine in a smaller plane.

 

Back to back 5+ hour flights on 737's? I don't think so.

[cccole]

There are a couple low cost airlines that I will never fly, but there are also airlines that are comparable to Hawaiian, in my opinion.  We are fortunate to have several options to choose from so that everyone can be happy!!  Cherie

[princeton123211]

45 minutes ago, cccole said:

but there are also airlines that are comparable to Hawaiian, in my opinion.

I honestly don't think there is a domestic US airline that is as good as Hawaiian from an onboard product standpoint. Free meals, built in entertainment systems in every seat, not to mention the ability to upgrade to premium economy (quite reasonably priced) or First Class lie flat seats on longer flights (expensive to purchase but not crazy to use points to upgrade to). Southwest doesn't offer any of this. 

[cccole]

By "built in entertainment systems in every seat" do you mean the Hawaiian app that needs to be downloaded on your personal device BEFORE take off?  As I said in my first post, I fly Hawaiian when it is price competitive.  I have never flown SW but some people love it.  I also think that Jet Blue and Alaska are two very good domestic airlines for those of us who fly in steerage.  I totally understand your opinion and respect it.  cherie    

Edited October 10, 2019 by cccole

[princeton123211]

1 minute ago, cccole said:

By "built in entertainment systems in every seat" do you mean the Hawaiian app that needs to be downloaded on your personal device before take off?    

No-- the app is how Southwest handles it on the cheap. Hawaiian has flatscreen TVs in every seat with movies, tv shows, games, etc like an international airline. 

[cccole]

56 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

No-- the app is how Southwest handles it on the cheap. Hawaiian has flatscreen TVs in every seat with movies, tv shows, games, etc like an international airline. 

Actually on my 4 flights on Hawaiian in the last 6 months I received emails prior to my flight and announcements were made prior to departure to make sure everyone knew that the app needed to be downloaded to a personal device prior to departure.  There is a place to hold your personal device in the seat back in front of you where a personal screen might be on other planes.  On my flight Tuesday a Hawaiian flight attendant had to explain to a passenger that, since the flight had already departed, downloading the app was no longer an option.  I don't know if this is the case on all Hawaiian Airline flights but it has been my most recent experience in the economy section of the aircraft.  It doesn't matter to me because I like to read on flights, I just wanted to make sure I understood what you meant.  Cherie

Edited October 10, 2019 by cccole

[princeton123211]

14 minutes ago, cccole said:

There is a place to hold your personal device in the seat back in front of you where a personal screen might be on other planes.

Thats just on the Airbus A321s they use for shorter flights from the west coast-- the rest of the fleet for longer haul flights have entertainment systems in the seats. 

[cccole]

Yes, I know the use of the A321 used for flights from Portland and California to the Hawaiian Islands.  I am also familiar with entertainment systems offered on other flights and/or airlines.  It's not a big deal to me whether there is no longer a screen in the seat back in front of me, and it doesn't matter that Ha now serves a celophane wrapped sandwich and chips as their "meal".  HA has made changes in the last year and I fly Hawaiian Airlines when the schedule and cost works for me.  You may not agree with me and that is o.k., I respect your opinion.   I just wanted to let OP know that there are options available, there are comparable airlines, and I hope that they find a schedule that works best for them, even if it is not HA.  Safe and happy travels to Hawaii,  Cherie    

Edited October 11, 2019 by cccole