First Class Flights to Hawaii – Cheap Season and Airlines

Aloha, in common parlance, means greetings or simply a hello in the Hawaiian language. Hawaii is one of the most amazingly beautiful Pacific island paradises on the world map located 2,390 miles from California.

Hawaii is a set of 8 main islands and 124 set of mostly uninhabited islets reefs, and shoals that are considered as the most geographically isolated island chain in the world. Hawaii is known for its stunning black sand and white sand beaches. Surprisingly Hawaii also has beaches with green, red, and yellow sands.

Hawaii is a giant melting pot of different cultures. These visitors are quite eager to witness the Polynesian culture and get a hang of the local food first hand complete with a Sabbath at some of the most serene beaches known to man here in Hawaii, each island of Hawaii is unique and has its own specialty.

The main islands to visit are the Oahu, Maui, Kauai, the Big Island of Hawaii, Molokai, and Lanai.

Cheap First Class Flight Tickets to Hawaii

From To Airline Type Start from
Kailua-Kona, HI (KOA) Honolulu, HI (HNL) Hawaiian Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $161
Las Vegas, NV (LAS) Honolulu, HI (HNL) Hawaiian Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $310
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Honolulu, HI (HNL) Alaska Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $312
Vancouver, CA (YVR) Honolulu, HI (HNL) Multiple Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $338
Montreal, CA (YMQ) Honolulu, HI (HNL) United Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $401
Sydney, AU (SYD) Honolulu, HI (HNL) Hawaiian Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $457
Hong Kong, HK (HKG) Honolulu, HI (HNL) China Eastern Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $477
New York City, NY (NYC) Honolulu, HI (HNL) United Airlines Roundtrip, Economy $478

Cheap seasons to fly from the US to Hawaii

A first-class flight ticket to destinations like Honolulu, Kahului, Kailua, Kauai, Kapalua, lanai, Waimea, or Hilo is on sale in the summer season but airfares go to the rooftop during December and early January. Cheaper seasons are mid-January, February, May, September, and October.

A trip to Hawaii sounds like an exotic proposition although it is expensive as well, it doesn’t have to be like this always. Below is the list of the top 5 airlines that offer affordable rate flight tickets for a trip to Hawaii. Many airlines fly direct from cities in North America however several of these airlines partner with Hawaiian Airlines to provide travel points available on both the partnering airlines.

These airlines fly direct and also provide codeshare flights. Many operate multiple flights on the same day and tickets are priced low, as much as of the same price on a domestic flight around the U.S. and the options keep growing with new services getting inaugurated.

Virgin America, for example,  is shortly launching an inaugural flight from San Francisco to both Oahu and Maui.

Hawaiian Airlines has also launched nonstop flights between New York’s JFK Airport and Honolulu International airport. They offer the best flight to Hawaii providing daily flight services from a large number of airports from the North American cities, more than any other airlines by covering airports like New York City (JFK), Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX), Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), San Jose (SJC), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN), Las Vegas (LAS) and Phoenix (PHX) connecting Big Island into Kona and Hilo.

In total, they offer around 150 total flights to the US and they have partnered with subsidiary airlines like JetBlue to facilitate travel for the east coast travelers.

Alaskan Airlines

This is the best option for people who are traveling to the west coast. The airline offers more than 160 flights a week from 8 west coast cities in America with flights flying out of Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX), Oakland (OAK), San Jose (SJC), San Diego (SAN), and Los Angeles (LAX) connecting 4 Hawaiian destinations – the Big Island, Kauai, Maui, and Oahu.

American Airlines

American airline offers daily flights from a wide selection of airports in the US including the Los Angeles (LAX)  and Phoenix (PHX) airports that connect 5 different Hawaiian cities – Kauai, Honolulu, Kahului, Hilo, and Kona.

They have also partnered with JetBlue whereby flying on a codeshare flight, the customer can get Hawaiian airline flying miles which is a perfect opportunity for the travelers to save on a Hawaiian getaway.

 United Airlines

United brings carries more passengers to Hawaii than any other airline, with a number of destinations to fly from in the US like the Chicago, Denver (DEN), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO) airports connecting to cities in Hawaii like – Kauai, Honolulu, Kahului, and Kona on the Big Island. Passengers can also earn United’s MileagePlus points when they fly inter-island on Hawaiian Airlines in conjunction with a United Airlines flight.

Allegiant

Allegiant airlines serve several states in the western United States serving direct flights to Hawaii from cities like Las Vagas and Fresno to Honolulu and they fly 2-3 times a week. Their flight tickets are cheaper as well as compared to other costly prominent players.

Tips for cheaper tickets to Hawaii

Try to fly mid-week and consider flying from the west coast as flights less expensive than from other cities.

First Class flights to Hawaii – Rate comparison

Several top airlines operate out of America to Hawaii.  An economy class ticket from Hawaii to Honolulu is priced at $ 800- 1000 a round trip while the first-class flight to Hawaii may fetch around $3,400. It may cost 45,000 award points on an economy flight and 80,000 miles for a first-class but saver award space is hard to find on these flights unless you plan in advance.

Here a quick view of the first-class deals with the top airlines flying from the US to Hawaii

A trip on the United 767-400ER First class Newark to Honolulu

A first-class one-way fare from Honolulu to Newark would cost around 972.44 as checked on some aggregator sites and if the same is booked with mile points you may need to redeem 90,000-mile points.

Alaskan 737 in a First-class from Maui to San Jose

One way economy can start from $ 200 and head upwards at $ 400.

A one-way ticket from OGG-SJC in first class has a base fair of $475.81and taxes extra of $23.19 totaling to $ 449.00

American airline 757 First Class – LAX to Maui

A one-way ticket from JFK to Maui cost $785.00+ $64.22 taxes totaling $849.22

Hawaiian A330-200 from LAX to Maui

A one-way flight from New York JFK connecting Angeles (LAX) to Maui costs $779.50 with a $100 optional upgrade for an even more extra leg space

Hawaii facts and do’s and don’ts

  • Hawaii has the world’s most active Kilauea volcano on the Big Island which has been erupting for the last 30 years. This lava adds 42 acres of land each year to the southeastern coast of the island.
  • Hawaii’s Big Island is known to have the lowest and the highest temperatures in the world – the highest being 100 degrees and the lowest at 12 degrees.
  • Maui has 33 miles of swimming beaches
  • Hawaii supplies more than one-third of the world’s commercial pineapple trade and the Dole plantation in Oahu is the largest pineapple maze in the world.

Tips for tourists

  • Hawaii doesn’t allow casinos, nor any gambling onboard on a ship. If you are looking for some betting at a casino during your vacation then you have come to the wrong place.
  • Wintertime is more popular as well as more expensive from a tourist’s perspective but the weather is less settled too. Summertime gives you more daylight time on the beach and there are usually lower accommodation rates available during the summers.
  • Hawaii has its own time zone and doesn’t follow daylight savings.
  • People let others in and out of traffic, honking is considered very rude unless you are in a marriage procession.
  • It’s a custom to take your shoes off when entering someone’s home.
  • Beach caution

Hawaii has some of the best beaches in the world, so get away from the hotel and visit these islands. Hawaii is infamous for a high number of deaths when people swim alone due to a shark attack and drowning. It’s best to swim in a protected lifeguard beach or in a company of a licensed snorkel or a scuba diving tour company.

  • Hawaii is an expensive place and locals who work in hotels and eateries survive on tips to make ends meet. It’s customary to tip bellboy, valet staff, and guides.
  • Hawaii has one of the toughest laws against smoking that prohibits smoking in all public and government buildings and facilities. There is no smoking in restaurants, bars, or nightclubs as well. Most B&Bs prohibit smoking indoors, hotels and resorts are becoming completely smoke-free. Even some beaches are smoke-free.

Top International Airports in Hawaii

Airport Name Airport Code The city served, Island
Hilo International Airport ITO Hilo, Hawaii
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport HNL Honolulu, Oahu
Kahului Airport OGG Kahului, Maui
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole KOA Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Molokai Airport MKK Kaunakakai, Molokai
Lanai Airport LNY Lanai City, Lanai
Lihue Airport LIH Lihue, Kauai

Weather in Hawaii

Hawaii has a diverse environment signified by extreme altitudes, a typical tropical climate, and an arid shoreline. The temperatures tend to stay humidity, however, less extreme because of near-constant trade winds from the east. Summer highs usually reach 31 °C and Winter temperatures fall slightly to 28 °C on an average due to a typical tropical climate.

Hawaii has 10 of the world’s 14 climate zones that range from tropical and continuously wet,  to extremes like the hot desert and per glacial ice climate, one can experience pretty much everything possible on the earth on a single island.

Months High °C Low °C
Jan 26 20
Feb 26 20
Mar 26 21
Apr 26 21
May 27 22
Jun 28 23
Jul 28 24
Aug 29 24
Sep 29 24
Oct 29 24
Nov 27 23
Dec 26 21