Flying to Hawaii

I've made four trips there in the past eight years.

Don't do Seattle. Makes the trip way longer than it needs to be.

SFO or LAX are the best bets -- about five hours of flight time or so.

 

I'm guessing you're probably never going to fly to Europe or Asia.

 

The In-N-Out is less than 5 minutes from LAX on Sepulveda just past the Lincoln turnoff. There's usually a line of cars around the place, but they have a guy out in the parking lot taking orders. You can sit outside and watch the planes coming in to the North runways.
But I'd say SFO has better sour dough bread.

 

Another tip, if you're staying over a day and the cost isn't too much different, try Orange County. If for no other reason, the security check is 15 minutes, instead of the hour-plus at LAX.

 

All the major West Coast cities have flights to the islands. LAX or SFO would probably be my first choices, but even if your connection from the East Coast takes you somewhere such as Phoenix, that works just as well. Portland is good on Delta, but often that's too far out of the way depending on where you're coming from.

Personally, I like ATL or DFW. Not sure what kind of service Delta has from SLC.

 

She wouldn't rather spend an extra three hours on a flight to have an extra DAY in Hawaii??

 

Agreed, consider the shortest flight possible (which is a relative term, I guess, if you're going to Hawaii), most likely out of LAX. Here's another thing to consider - flying into Honolulu or Maui/Kahului.

A friend of mine lives in Honolulu and Mr. Cougar and I are throwing around the idea of going to Hawaii after the new year to visit, and there are direct flights out of Portland (PDX) that are just a shade less than six hours.

I've found that in long-distance flights, it's not just the length of the flight but also the type of plane you're on. The bigger and roomier the aircraft, the more comfortable the flight. (Or you could spend a bundle and fly first class).

Also, for health and sanity reasons, it's much better to break up long flights from the East Coast to Hawaii.

 

I don't think SNA has Hawaii flights anymore, since Aloha tanked.

 

Cougargirl makes a good point.

My last time there last year I went from Minneapolis to Honolulu on NWA. Having done the trip three times previously from Chicago, I knew it was going to suck big-time. But this time we had what seemed like a brand-new A330, complete with those personal TVs in the seatbacks in front of us with little remotes in the armrest.

Best part: it was all free. There were 50-some movies, video games, all kinds of maps and so on. I had packed a ton of magazines and books to keep me entertained, and I wound up playing with that entertainment center for almost the whole 8-plus hours.

 

It's hard to believe Hawaii is one of the most isolated places on earth ... until you look at how long it takes to get there just from the West Coast.

 

Let me make myself very clear when I say this?

THERE IS NO GOOD IN-N-OUT OF LAX!

I'd rather fuck Bea Arthur than fly into or out of LAX.

That is all.

 

It's really weird taking the red-eye back.

Flying five or six hours over the dark ocean makes it seem like you're in outer space or something. You see nothing but black.