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Aloha,everyone!
I am not a big specialist in airline tickets,especially where one-way ticket is concerned.
Did you use one-way or 2-way ticket to relocate to Hawaii?
The price is about the same as 2-way.Not fair,but it's the fare.
In my case it is going to be $833 vs $900.
Is it possible to buy 2-way and somehow get the refund?
(Probably,not...)
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Can you get the return and keep it open for a year? Then buy another 1-way later when/if the prices go down. Then you have a round trip to the mainland and back.
Andrew
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Thanks,Andrew.
I didn't know about this option.
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Hope, as a former Quality Management Sup for America West Airlines I can tell you the unfortunate truth - airlines will do everything they can to encourage a roundtrip purchase from you and it is almost ALWAYS non-refundable.
The only way you get your money refunded is by purchasing a whopping full fare refundable ticket - almost never done 'cause the costs are astronomical.
Those people in first class are 98% frequent flier business people who use their miles or frequent flier awards to get there. RARELY does anyone pay first class full fare for a ticket.
As an aircraft fills up, the price goes up. You could be sitting next to someone who paid $100 more or less than you. They are not all priced the same. If there are only a few seats left on the aircraft, chances are you will be paying more than anyone else on the flight.
I have heard many theories here about the right time to purchase tickets, the truth is that if you are lucky enough to be one of the first people to purchase on a flight, you will probably have a lower fare.
P.S. Oh yeah I forgot - airlines are required to hold 20-25% of the seating until 24 hours prior to departure. So that's why sometimes you purchase a ticket but there's no seat to choose. It's there, but they can't give it to you until then. Also - they are required to hold bulkhead seating open until prior to departure to allow for people with service animals or people to have fused limbs or are disabled and need the space.
Exit aisles are not supposed to be assigned until day of departure, but I have seen that one waived for people who are frequent fliers and their history shows they are physically able to carry out the possible duties that go along with an emergency exit.
Carrie Rojo
"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
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Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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quote:
Originally posted by Chuysmom......
As an aircraft fills up, the price goes up. You could be sitting next to someone who paid $100 more or less than you. They are not all priced the same. If there are only a few seats left on the aircraft, chances are you will be paying more than anyone else on the flight.
I have heard many theories here about the right time to purchase tickets, the truth is that if you are lucky enough to be one of the first people to purchase on a flight, you will probably have a lower fare.
......
Carrie,thank you so much for sharing.
I have a question for you.
I looked for the price (on United website)- all about the same (may be 80 bucks less) in April or September or any other month.
So far any month I pick,the price on LAX- Kona is about the same.
Are there too many people buying 8-10 months in advance?
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The prices will change as the seats are sold...there are so many at (for example) $500, so many at $525 and so on...once those seats are gone at that specific price it will bump. They HAVE to get a specific amount from a flight to make it profitable. Once they fulfill that, the rest is icing. If they send a flight out without a full load in essence, they are losing money...nowadays when flights are not full they will change the routing or drop one flight from that route...they can't afford to allow empty flights anymore.
That's not good for people who are airline employees and fly standby...it gets harder and harder for them to fly standby with all the flights full. Airline employees are notoriously underpaid and so this perk means a lot to them and it's going away faster and faster these days.
At the beginning of a fiscal year they alot so much for jet fuel and supplies, etc. When the cost of fuel goes as high as in the recent past they are in the red for it...so to speak.
tough business.
Carrie Rojo
"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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We had to "buy" RT (actually used AMEX points) tickets on UA forour upcoming trip (leaving on Monday morning from SFO to Kona) and there is no refund if you do not use the second leg. They (UAL) will not book an open ended return and the farthest out we could book it was March. Since Hawaiian does sell one way tickets, if we were to come back to the mainland in March, we could do it for the price of a one way Hawaiian ticket to return. You can also change a United Flight when it gets close to the actual flight time, however, they charge $50 to do that.
quote:
Originally posted by StillHope
Aloha,everyone!
I am not a big specialist in airline tickets,especially where one-way ticket is concerned. Did you use one-way or 2-way ticket to relocate to Hawaii?
The price is about the same as 2-way.Not fair,but it's the fare.
In my case it is going to be $833 vs $900.
Is it possible to buy 2-way and somehow get the refund?
(Probably,not...)
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com
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Thank you,Carrie and Devany!
The more it gets clear the more confusing it gets too (with United).
So to buy a cheaper ticket,I should buy in advance.
April ticket is $900.But I can not buy too much in advance .
The difference is $80,but $50 -to change the ticket.
On the funny note - the computer in my head was working overtime and all of a sudden it dragged out the old song from 70-s(?) and keeps playing it :"One way ticket,one way ticket,one way ticket to the blue!"
I can imagine the Muppet show with United ,singing the song and laughing at us who has to pay twice as much for United!
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you mite want to keep that return ticket just in case you change you mind once you get here
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you might want to check each airlines website sometimes they run specials and it pays to take the time to look. I have gotten better deals by using say Delta instead of expedia. For instance I am coming to Hawaii the end of Jan. Bought my tickets in Oct.when I saw Delta was running a special for travel through Mar. Got a roundtrip ticket from Orlando to Honolulu for $412 I couldnt resist.Also if you can be a little flexible on your dates that helps. Sometimes just a day or two can make a big difference in price.
