Lori

Trying to plan our family vacation to Maui for Christmas of '03. What is the price we can expect to pay during that time for airfare? We'll be flying out of Minneapolis. Right now for the dates we want it is priced at $1200.00 which I would rather not pay.
Thanks for any help.

scigirl

Lori - It is too early to book tickets or find good fares for next December. Airlines typically have some of the highest ticket prices this far out. Try starting to search for prices maybe 4-5 months out, at the most. From MSP I'd guess you might be able to find something in the range of $500-$800 per person. Also, you can use the fare watcher function on travelocity.com to notify you when specific flights (MSP-> HNL) fall below a price you set (e.g. $700). I've flown to MSP/DTW from HNL for as little as $400 and as high as $750 at various times of the year.

John

You can only book 330 days ahead, so wait a few days before trying to book Christmas '03 travel.

There is a big range in fares depending on your precise origin and destination. For a trip last month (which we ended up not taking due to family emergency) I found out that a route from Burbank airport to Honolulu (via San Francisco) was almost $200 cheaper than a nonstop from LAX. From MSP, check out "odd" routings, especially via Calgary or Vancouver. Start working on it later this month or in February.

x

You should be aware that the days around Christmas are super prime time in Hawaii. Usually the most in demand and, consequently, the most expensive for rooms, cars and planes. I'm not a travel agent but I'd bet that cheap airfares during that time frame do not exist or are scarcer than honest politicians.

lori

I guess I just need to be a little more patient. We went to Oahu and Kauai for about 10 days over the last President's holiday. For that trip we used a travel agent and somehow ended up paying $900.00 for our tickets (booking 8 months in advance) which now I realize was probably a bit too high. I think at the time she said we probably wouldn't
see the prices go any lower or if we waited we wouldn't get the hotel we wanted.

So, thanks Scigirl and John for calming me down. I was really hoping to stay at the Kaanapali Alii but I don't dare book until I know what we will be paying for airfare. It probably will make a difference if we atay there or the Sheraton.

Flamer

Lori
There are thousands of families that use Christmas on Maui for their annual get together.Actually all of Hawaii.They have been doing this for years.They book early,very early.It might cost a bit more but they are certain of getting there.This year the airlines are predicting another 10-12Billion dollar loss.Do yo think they will add MORE cheap seats?No.they wont.IMHO, I would not wait past say March,April at the latest.The trend is and the gurus agree that the airlines will be scaling back,not adding to.Aircraft sizes as well.