best air route to Hawaii?

[miln0039]

Du1point8 said:

United straight through:

Sat 24 Mar 2012
09:30 LHR London Heathrow United UA4455
13:44 LAX Los Angeles International 11h 14
Connect in airport 3h 15
16:59 LAX Los Angeles International United UA935
19:44 HNL Honolulu International 5h 45
Fri 30 Mar 2012
07:00 HNL Honolulu International United UA301
15:27 LAX Los Angeles International 5h 27
Connect in airport 2h 25
17:52 LAX Los Angeles International United UA4454
(+1) 12:15 LHR London Heathrow 10h 23

AA straight through:

Sat 24 Mar 2012
12:00 LHR London Heathrow American Airlines AA137
16:35 LAX Los Angeles International 11h 35
Connect in airport 2h 15
18:50 LAX Los Angeles International American Airlines AA267
21:50 HNL Honolulu International 6h
Fri 30 Mar 2012
07:20 HNL Honolulu International American Airlines AA270
15:45 LAX Los Angeles International 5h 25
Connect in airport 3h 55
19:40 LAX Los Angeles International American Airlines AA136
(+1) 14:15 LHR London Heathrow 10h 35

First one Im not sure of the current codeshare listings.

So esstentially not much difference to the BA flights, the only difference being the service and in flight cabins are better on BA than United or AA (United you have to PAY for beer!!)

[Du1point8]

true but the original one I posted was the quickest for the OP as thats what he was asking rather than if its codeshare, as it mean the least amount of time waiting for the connections.

BA better than virgin?

Im not sure on United and AA, but will take your world on those ones.

[miln0039]

Du1point8 said:

true but the original one I posted was the quickest for the OP as thats what he was asking rather than if its codeshare, as it mean the least amount of time waiting for the connections.

BA better than virgin?

Im not sure on United and AA, but will take your world on those ones.

BA is better than Virgin out of Gatwick due to the old metal they use - discussed earlier.
BA is equal to Virgin out of Heathrow, no denying that.

BA and Virgin are both MUCH better than United / American!! Although the Virgin service on the old 747s out of Gatwick is probably more comparable to United / American in terms of cabin and personal entertainment system, however the Virgin food is great.

Delta have the best economy cabin of any of the American carriers in my opinion.

ETA - yes you are quite right - you did answer the OPs question directly - I got lost in the detail!!

[Blackpuddin]

You guys are amazing, I can't thank you enough for all this.

[Cheib]

Blackpuddin said:

This is fantastically helpful, the best I'd found was Virgin + Hawaiian via Las Vegas, which although it says 'overnight stay required' it's actually just hanging around LAS from 3pm to midnight or so:

Honestly think hard about that....3pm LA time is 11pm our time.....so in reality you will be hanging out at LAX from 11pm until 8am in the morning London time.

It'll be a horrendous journey.

[Deva Link]

miln0039 said:

So esstentially not much difference to the BA flights, the only difference being the service and in flight cabins are better on BA than United or AA (United you have to PAY for beer!!)

If you've got to fly economy then the $100ish Economy Plus extra leg room seats on United are an absolute no-brainer. You have to buy them per flight.

[miln0039]

Blackpuddin said:

You guys are amazing, I can't thank you enough for all this.

No problem sir! Do let us know what you end up booking! Not the most common of business routes one suspects!

Happy Flightings!

[Blackpuddin]

Cheib said:

Blackpuddin said:

This is fantastically helpful, the best I'd found was Virgin + Hawaiian via Las Vegas, which although it says 'overnight stay required' it's actually just hanging around LAS from 3pm to midnight or so:

Honestly think hard about that....3pm LA time is 11pm our time.....so in reality you will be hanging out at LAX from 11pm until 8am in the morning London time.

It'll be a horrendous journey.

Yes, I see what you're saying there. I'm just concerned about leaving enough time between connections so that nothing can go wrong as a result of (say) late arrival from London and/or (perhaps more likely) long processing times at LAX immigration. Am quite uneasy about any gap of less than 4 hours. The Las Vegas option takes away that worry. Means I would have to doss down in the airport but that might be a sacrifice I have to make. Will consider all these very kind PH suggestions and get something decided today. Many thanks again.

[Du1point8]

Blackpuddin said:

Cheib said:

Blackpuddin said:

This is fantastically helpful, the best I'd found was Virgin + Hawaiian via Las Vegas, which although it says 'overnight stay required' it's actually just hanging around LAS from 3pm to midnight or so:

Honestly think hard about that....3pm LA time is 11pm our time.....so in reality you will be hanging out at LAX from 11pm until 8am in the morning London time.

It'll be a horrendous journey.

Yes, I see what you're saying there. I'm just concerned about leaving enough time between connections so that nothing can go wrong as a result of (say) late arrival from London and/or (perhaps more likely) long processing times at LAX immigration. Am quite uneasy about any gap of less than 4 hours. The Las Vegas option takes away that worry. Means I would have to doss down in the airport but that might be a sacrifice I have to make. Will consider all these very kind PH suggestions and get something decided today. Many thanks again.

Can you just not confirm that the bags don't need to go through and just get transferred from one flight to the other and then its just you that needs to get through and should be relatively simple?

Only time I have ever missed a connecting flight was Tampere > Helsinki > London and that was due to the internal flight being delayed by a blizzard and couldn't wait for the only late passenger anymore.

I got refund and was on the next flight out of there at their cost in 30mins.

I even had a zurich flight wait for me, as one flight I had from Cairo to London was a little late, but due to the booking of the complete route in one go with the same company I was fine.

When I say company I generally mean airline though.

[Blackpuddin]

Du1point8 said:

Can you just not confirm that the bags don't need to go through and just get transferred from one flight to the other and then its just you that needs to get through and should be relatively simple?

To be honest it's the 'me getting through' bit that I'm worried about! My luggage isn't that important in the general scheme of things but it's LAX immigration that spooks me because of the time it always seems to take. I remember the first time I went to the States over 30 years ago when the immigration process was done in big black ledgers. The last time I went, computerisation didn't seem to have speeded things up at all. AFAIK you don't get any concessions from the airlines for any immigration delays, though I'd love to be told I'm wrong on that.

[miln0039]

Blackpuddin said:

To be honest it's the 'me getting through' bit that I'm worried about! My luggage isn't that important in the general scheme of things but it's LAX immigration that spooks me because of the time it always seems to take. I remember the first time I went to the States over 30 years ago when the immigration process was done in big black ledgers. The last time I went, computerisation didn't seem to have speeded things up at all. AFAIK you don't get any concessions from the airlines for any immigration delays, though I'd love to be told I'm wrong on that.

If you're om a whole route ticket then you will be fine with any airline who will bump you to the next flight if necessary without issue. Airlines will allow you to book with 2 hours to get through and one of the suggestions I made offered around 3.5 hours. You'll be through in that time without any issue. US Immigration gets a really bad rep on PH, but I'd be comfortable if the layover was around 2 hours.

I really think you'll be fine with 3 hours

[Blackpuddin]

miln0039 said:

If you're om a whole route ticket then you will be fine with any airline who will bump you to the next flight if necessary without issue. Airlines will allow you to book with 2 hours to get through and one of the suggestions I made offered around 3.5 hours. You'll be through in that time without any issue. US Immigration gets a really bad rep on PH, but I'd be comfortable if the layover was around 2 hours.

I really think you'll be fine with 3 hours

That'll be your Option (2) Alex:
Leg 1 - Depart LHR: 12:00 Arrive LAX: 15:05
leg 2 - Depart LAX: 18:50 Arrive HNL: 21:50
Total travel time 20 hours 50 mins.

This feels like the best option to me, not just because of the comfortable 3hr 45min connection gap but also because it lets me flop straight into bed in Honolulu! The Virgin/Hawaiian route from LHR sounds good too but I'm just not comfy with a 2hr connection gap, my tum would be churning all the way over the Atlantic.
Thanks again to you, Du1point8, Chelb, Nobby Diesel and Deva Link for all the advice, this really is massively appreciated.

Edited by Blackpuddin on Wednesday 14th March 14:15

[Deva Link]

Du1point8 said:

Can you just not confirm that the bags don't need to go through and just get transferred from one flight to the other and then its just you that needs to get through and should be relatively simple?

The bags will have to be collected and cleared through Customs before being handed back in. Coming back they should go straight through.

As others have said, if you're on a through ticket you'll be OK even if you do miss the connection. It's years since I've used LAX (usually go to SFO) but it was bad there every time I used it. Three hours is a lot of time though.

[Blackpuddin]

Deva Link said:

Three hours is a lot of time

Amazing how quickly three hours disappears when you're stood in Immigration looking at your watch though Two hours feels like no time at all in there. I've put both options up to the admin folk. I suspect the decision will be made on a financial basis.

[miln0039]

Blackpuddin said:

I suspect the decision will be made on a financial basis.

Boooo...kick up a fuss until they send you business class minimum!

[Blackpuddin]

miln0039 said:

Boooo...kick up a fuss until they send you business class minimum!

Ha ha, if only, it'll never happen, I'm hoping they'll take pity on my advanced years and spring for an extra-legroom seat.

[miln0039]

Blackpuddin said:

Ha ha, if only, it'll never happen, I'm hoping they'll take pity on my advanced years and spring for an extra-legroom seat.

That's a long way to go out back - especially if they expect productivity at the other end! I bullied my bosses into getting business class on my last flight - although I think I arrived drunk rather than refreshed!

Don't forget (and forgive me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs here) to get yourself on the frequent flier reward scheme of whatever airline you take. At this late date you'll be buying a non-discounted fare so that'll be a LOT of airmiles!

[Deva Link]

Blackpuddin said:

Amazing how quickly three hours disappears when you're stood in Immigration looking at your watch though Two hours feels like no time at all in there.

Not sure two or three hours in a queue would ever go quickly, but I know what you mean.

Not sure about LAX but most airports now use a single line and then towards the end have people putting you into short lines for each immigration booth.

If you get chance at any point in the queue then try to go for a line which is being served by two Officers in booths opposite each other, rather than one served by a single officer. Also head for the booths next to the US booths if you can as you'll get pulled across if there are no Americans waiting. And don't go for a bio-metric passport line if you haven't got one!

[Blackpuddin]

More great advice here, I am properly blessed.
I have a bio passport. Do the US scanners work then? I understand the British ones are mainly used as teacup rests by UK immigration staff.

[Deva Link]

Blackpuddin said:

Ha ha, if only, it'll never happen, I'm hoping they'll take pity on my advanced years and spring for an extra-legroom seat.

I don't know if other airlines do this, but with United you can buy the Economy Plus upgrade online yourself - I did that and claimed the $200 (for the transatlantic return flights) back as incidentals.