Questions and Answers

WHAT IS THE BEST FIRST CLASS SERVICE FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO HAWAII.

[USER=1144]@RANDITORRR[/USER] welcome, and no need to yell :).

If United is still running their internationally configured 767s with life flat seats I think that’s an easy winner from SFO-HNL. Check the flight schedule and look at the seat maps to see which flight has the life flat seats.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 9686, member: 79″][USER=1144]@RANDITORRR[/USER] welcome, and no need to yell :).

If United is still running their internationally configured 767s with life flat seats I think that’s an easy winner from SFO-HNL. Check the flight schedule and look at the seat maps to see which flight has the life flat seats.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the quick response. I’m not really interested in sleeping on the Hawaii flight, it’s only five hours. It’s my wifes first time flying first class and I would want her to experience it. I’m more interested in roomy comfortable seats, good food and champagne and good service. I heard Hawaiian Air is pretty good. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

Probably Hawaiian or Virgin then.

But no one has champagne on that route (maybe some sparkling wine, maybe), and none of the seats are going to be roomy, really. Just no demand in that market 🙁

[USER=7]@Tiffany[/USER] would you say the UA seats would be roomier/more comfortable? I’ve flown that plane EWR-HNL but haven’t tried Virgin or Hawaiian.

Well, internationally-configured planes are always going to be bigger, and everything else is recliner-style. But the service and food with both be better on Hawaiian and Virgin, and the Virgin planes are brand-new, so those might lead to an overall more “comfortable” experience.

Good to know, thanks!

I’m shocked that no one has told this guy about Delta. They have several flights a day from several locations that use internationally configured A330 and 767 wide body aircraft. The also use the 757(s) All of these planes are equipped with DeltaOne seating. I’m flying to HNL in Feb from BOS on Delta. My flight out to JFK is on a regional jet with typical domestic first class seating, however the rest of the way I am on an A330 in BusinessOne. On my return I am flying HNL to LAX then LAX to JFK then JFK to BOS all of these flights are in DeltaOne with the exception of the JFK to BOS flight. I could have chosen a more direct route home however I wanted BusinessOne. Also the total travel time on the way home is only 30 minutes more due to the extra stop. If you have not flown DeltaOne in the past be prepared for an amazing flight experience. The 757’s and the A330’s all have new BusinessOne cabins with private pod seating in. 1-2-1 configuration. This gives everyone an aisle seat. The 767’s also are 1-2-1 which is great. However the middle seats do not offer the same amount of privacy as those sitting in the middle section of one of the other aircrafts. The seats on the 767 do however turn into a fully flat bed just as the A330, and the 757(s) seats do. In my opinion no one has a superior product flying to Hawaii right now. I flew Hawaiian years ago in First when they had 3 classes of service on their flights, now that I’ve seen their new Business product that only offers recliner style seating with no flat beds I would not fly with them. I would never fly Virgin America over Delta, Virgin doesn’t offer lie flat seating either. The onboard service and comfort You will experience in DeltaOne can not even compared to Virgin America or Hawiian. I’ve flow with all three of them.

hi [USER=1372]@AndrewL1506[/USER] I did think of DL but for some reason I was under the impression that they only flew the One product between ATL and HI. Good to know that’s an option!

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 11553, member: 79″]hi [USER=1372]@AndrewL1506[/USER] I did think of DL but for some reason I was under the impression that they only flew the One product between ATL and HI. Good to know that’s an option![/QUOTE]
Delta offers BusinessOne on all of their planes equipped with the seating. The 757S, 767 Intl version, and finally the best.. The A330. They offer the service from MSP, ATL, and LAX. Flying to Hawaii on equipment outfitted with BusinessOne tends to be much more expensive than say flying on a traditional 757 or on a 737-800. The lowest restricted (non-changeable or refundable) fare I could find 30 days out was from MSP on an A330 and returning also on an A330 to MSP was $2786 RT a fully refundable and changeable ticket on the same flights is $4604 RT. Also plan on adding somewhere around $150 to that if you need to connect to MSP for that flight. If you have the option, even if it’s a bit more money always pick the A330 over the 767 or the 757S. The A330 blows the other two away. Another tip… Try to avoid the 757S at any cost. It is set up with 2-2 seating where the 767 and A330 are 1-2-1. This mean if your on the 757S sitting in a window seat and your seat mate decides to turn his seat into a bed for some shut eye you’re basically trapped. Where on the 767 and A330 every seat is an aisle seat. I hope this information helped.

I would broadly agree with the UNITED 767 service in business from San Fran to Kona/Honolulu. There is a fantastic secluded beach, way better than the Waikiki just 10 minutes drive from Mariott King Kamehameha. Fantastic beach. Go for Kona. Honolulu is too plastic for me. Too many Gucci and LV shops around and the hotels are overpriced.

[QUOTE=”AlexGBBAGold, post: 11726, member: 1393″]I would broadly agree with the UNITED 767 service in business from San Fran to Kona/Honolulu. There is a fantastic secluded beach, way better than the Waikiki just 10 minutes drive from Mariott King Kamehameha. Fantastic beach. Go for Kona. Honolulu is too plastic for me. Too many Gucci and LV shops around and the hotels are overpriced.[/QUOTE]
The United 767 can’t even touch the comfort and service of Delta’s A330

Can’t fault a330. Will delta offer the same level of reward availability of the route compared to United though?

No, they won’t even come close. For those not familiar with the you earn Delta miles it’s a bit different than a lot of other carriers, however other seem to be moving in Delta’s direction. You order actual usable Delta SkyMiles based on how much you’ve paid for you ticket. I purchased a round trip First Class ticket from Boston to Hawaii. The ticket was several thousand miles. In this case deltas new way of calculating miles is great. However most people aren’t dropping $3,000 on an airline ticket. Delta’s new way of calculating usable miles really hurts the weekly travelers paying $250 or whatever for a ticket. In that case they are pretty much being screwed out of miles. Back to my First Class flight and you will find that Delta is really relying on paid premium travel. Based on what I spent I am earning 28,320 usable miles for the trip in addition to earning MQM’s and helping the cost of this flight and two other since Jan 1 I should requalify for elite status one month into the year.

I just compared two award tickets on Delta and United departing on June 16th and returning on the 19th. This is what I found:

Delta will cost you 45k miles for a RT from SFO TO HNL plus some some minimal takes and fees. A ticket in the Delta One cabin will set you back 122,500 RT.

Now let’s see what Umitd would cost for the same trip. Right now the have saver space available, so all of the red eyes are are going for 28.5k miles plus a small amount of taxes. There r three flights with one seat eac going for that amount. (Great Deal) however the non saver awards are 45K in First Class is ticket will cost you 96k HOWEVER, United forces you to make a road tri when using an award ticket and those figure are PP EACH WAY.

Delta wins this one.

Hoo boy! If anyone is actually considering redeeming 120,000+ miles for a trip from the [B]West coast[/B] to Hawaii, we need to talk!

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 11756, member: 7″]Hoo boy! If anyone is actually considering redeeming 120,000+ miles for a trip from the [B]West coast[/B] to Hawaii, we need to talk![/QUOTE]
Why do you ask? Do you have miles you want to sell? If so let me know.

[USER=1372]@AndrewL1506[/USER] — Because I make a living helping people get the best value for their miles, and that’s a horrific amount to spend!

A similar number of miles would get you a roundtrip business class ticket to Europe, which is an order of magnitude more expensive than a flight to Hawaii (which, let’s keep in mind SFO > HNL is only a 5 hour flight). Beyond that, if you really wanted those flights on those days, you’d be better off using Citi ThankYou points to buy the ticket (~100k points, and would earn miles), or the proceeds from a cash-back card.

Fundamentally, if your travel goals are such that 120k+ miles for a five hour flight seems like a reasonable proposition, there are probably some strategy adjustments that need to happen.

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 11758, member: 7″][USER=1372]@AndrewL1506[/USER] — Because I make a living helping people get the best value for their miles, and that’s a horrific amount to spend!

A similar number of miles would get you a roundtrip business class ticket to Europe, which is an order of magnitude more expensive than a flight to Hawaii (which, let’s keep in mind SFO > HNL is only a 5 hour flight). Beyond that, if you really wanted those flights on those days, you’d be better off using Citi ThankYou points to buy the ticket (~100k points, and would earn miles), or the proceeds from a cash-back card.

Fundamentally, if your travel goals are such that 120k+ miles for a five hour flight seems like a reasonable proposition, there are probably some strategy adjustments that need to happen.[/QUOTE]
I agree that 120k miles is A LOT for a trip to Hawaii. I paid about $3000 for a round trip ticket in a DeltaOne “pod” on an internationally configured A330 from the east cost. Flying from the east coast to Hawaii is more like 13 hours. So when you look at trips of that length on almost any airline the millage spend for a RT. First Class ticket Is going to coast that much. Also Delta’s Millage program is great for people who spend a lot on tickets. I’m earnin about 28,000 miles for this trip. An economy passenger would probably earn 5.