Tickets to Hawaii are so Expensive

[ev1lchris]

I use SkyScanner to keep track of flights from Bangkok to Hilo. I'm looking to only go one way but I see that the price ranges from $800 - $1000 USD. This is for a one way ticket!

By contrast a rount trip ticket going to Los Angeles starts around $650 to $800 USD.

What gives?

Does anyone here travel back and forth between the Hawaiian Islands and Thailand? Is there a high and low season for the tickets?

[Diplomatico]

Two main reasons for the pricing situation you describe:

a. More airlines fly to the LAX market than the HNL market. Greater competition = lower prices.

b. One way tickets are usually proportionally more expensive than buying a round trip ticket. (You can google that to find out why, if you're interested.)

[gk10002000]

I think the current prices are high due to summer vacations. Late late summer, early fall the prices get pretty reasonable. Not quite sure why but here in San Diego I can get round trip flights in the $350 range. My co worker who is originally from HI does that. Maybe HI is rainy in the fall and not the prime High season? Prices get higher towards Thanksgiving and XMas for obvious holiday reasons and probably because the CONUS weather gets cold

[villagefarang]

I used to fly to Hawaii once each year to visit my parents and yes prices were higher than to the mainland. It is a luxury market with less competition than you have on the west coast. You can Google for low season rates but I found by avoiding holidays and traveling during the Fall, that the prices were slightly more reasonable.

[KhunBENQ]

Basically all said.

LAX is an international mega hub (Asia to West Coast race track).

Hawaii is a "just" a high price tourist destination and very few non-stops from Asia to Hawaii (from Japan as far as I remember).

I was in Hawaii three times in the early 90s (single).

Nice memories but nowadays I simply can not account for such an expense from here (and with my wife of course).

---------------

Just checked some schedules:

many more nonstop flights from Tokyo to Honolulu than I expected. 13 per day or so.

Four flights from Seoul (not all daily).

One flight from Beijing three times a week.

Three flights from Osaka (Delta only once a week).

But you are lucky to get it for 800 USD.

Edited June 24, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[CNXBKKMAN]

The cheap one way flight to HNL is with Jetstar from Melbourne or Sydney. Air Asia , Jestar, Scoot? Can get you to Australia cheap too from BKK, HKT, KUL, SIN. Doable if you are flexible with your dates and book ahead.

[ev1lchris]

I used to fly to Hawaii once each year to visit my parents and yes prices were higher than to the mainland. It is a luxury market with less competition than you have on the west coast. You can Google for low season rates but I found by avoiding holidays and traveling during the Fall, that the prices were slightly more reasonable.

When is the low season?

[villagefarang]

I used to fly to Hawaii once each year to visit my parents and yes prices were higher than to the mainland. It is a luxury market with less competition than you have on the west coast. You can Google for low season rates but I found by avoiding holidays and traveling during the Fall, that the prices were slightly more reasonable.

When is the low season?

I used to like September and October but Auntie Google suggests the last two weeks of January and the month of February. If you would like, I could introduce you to my Aunt Google.

[KhunBENQ]

My last visit to Hawaii was in February (was it 1993 or 1994?).

Kauai, terrible weather, rain, flooding, seawater spoilt by mudslides, fog over the canyon not a glimpse to see.

Yes that felt like off season

Edited June 28, 2016 by KhunBENQ