12-16-2010, 09:10 AM
The schedule is great for those traveling beyond California. Our vacation rental guests can spend most of their day puttering around Puna and Hilo, and still make their red-eye flight to the mainland. And those coming from the East Coast can catch mid-morning flights, connect in LA and get to Hilo at a reasonable hour. Cutting out the HNL layover or the drive from Kona should cut a couple of hours off travel time to and from the East Coast. I agree with Rob that once a week from SFO isn't enough...but it's a start!
As for the pricing, before we moved here we frequently found that the round-trip fare from DC to KOA or HNL wasn't significantly higher than the round-trip fare from LAX/SFO to HNL/KOA, so at the initial rates, the new Continental flights will probably draw more folks connecting from other mainland cities than those coming just from LA or San Fran. It will be interesting to see if Hawaiian makes any counter moves...
As for the pricing, before we moved here we frequently found that the round-trip fare from DC to KOA or HNL wasn't significantly higher than the round-trip fare from LAX/SFO to HNL/KOA, so at the initial rates, the new Continental flights will probably draw more folks connecting from other mainland cities than those coming just from LA or San Fran. It will be interesting to see if Hawaiian makes any counter moves...