A Low Ha! Lockdown Fare Trends Hawaiian Style, From $677 Round-Trip

March 2021
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And how elites can get an even better deal with all the miles and cheap status-qualifying credit earned.

How does Hawaii sound for your next relaxing vacation to get away from it all? Great, I’m sure, but to get to the point, how does it look when comparing airlines across a number of factors? We’ve been watching fare trends as closely as ever thanks to the Lockout, and like other parts of the world, Hawaii is now open to travelers.

In this report, we take a deep dive into the rumbling volcano of Hawaiian travel possibility, comparing the big three airlines on:

  • Fare Perspective: Latest trends (and fares versus this time last year)
  • Elite Perspective: Easy earning power
  • Net Cost Perspective: After miles earned
    • By airline and route
    • By elite status level

This report will arm elites and non-elites with a comprehensive Hawaiian attack plan before you hit the hammock and hula.

Let’s get to it, that luau isn’t going to cook itself.

Business Class Trend Perspective:
Hawaiian Fare Comparison in 2021 vs. 2020

When compared with this time last year (pre-lockdown, no less), the winners are American and United. American had four out of five lower fares to Hawaiian destinations (up to $452 lower) and United had lower fares across all five – up to $384 cheaper. Delta let the team down with three of the five routes showing higher fares. One route, from Delta’s hub Atlanta to Honolulu was a whopping $1,215 increase. You can check out the charts below, but here are some tropical hotties buried in the chart.

American Hawaiian Hottie: The Los Angeles-Honolulu nonstop route is $747 (love that number) in Business Class. Given that coach costs $318, and it’s more than 11 hours round-trip, the upgrade to Business costs just $39 per hour.

What’s more, an AAdvantage Executive Platinum Elite member can get it down to a net of $593, because you earn 7,678 miles, if you value them at just two cents each. That offsets your net cost between $70 and $154, depending on your status level.

Delta Hawaiian Hottie: You can fly from nonstop Los Angeles-Honolulu on Delta for $1,079 but Delta’s Atlanta-Honolulu nonstop route costs a relatively high $3,207 (up from last year as mentioned above). That’s the price YOU pay for Atlanta being Delta’s main hub, where competition is scarce. Delta’s nonstop Atlanta-Honolulu in Economy costs $1,318.

United Hawaiian Hottie: The New York-Honolulu nonstop roundtrip costs $1,898 (last year was $3,000+)  in First Class on United. Coach costs $1,015. So applying the math from above, the upgrade from coach to First Class for this 22+-hour round-trip is just $39 per hour.

MileagePlus Premier 1K members are looking at a net $1,475 as they earn 19,492 miles at two cents each, offsetting between $177 and $390, depending on your status level.

American Airlines Deep Dive

American 2021 vs 2020 Fares

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American Elite Earning Examples

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Examples of American Net Cost by Status Level

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Delta Airlines Deep Dive

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Delta Elite Earning Examples

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United Airlines  Deep Dive

United 2021 vs 2020 Fares

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United Elite Earning Examples

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Example United Net Cost by Status Level

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Kona is calling.
[["Route","2020 Fares","2021 Fares","Difference"],["Los Angeles - Honolulu","$1,199","$747","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$452<\/span><\/strong>"],["Chicago - Honolulu","$1,919","$1,867","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$52<\/span><\/strong>"],["Dallas - Maui","$1,973","$2,072","<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">+$99<\/span>"],["Phoenix - Kona","$1,506","$1,079","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$427<\/span><\/strong>"],["Los Angeles - Lihue","$1,206","$1,091","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$115<\/span><\/strong>"]]
[["Route","EQDs","EQSs","EQMs"],["Los Angeles - Honolulu","$698","2","10,224"],["Chicago - Honolulu","$1,761","2","16,972"],["Dallas - Maui","$1,978","2","14,844"],["Phoenix - Kona","$1,024","2","11,444"],["Los Angeles - Lihue","$1,044","2","10,460"]]
[["Level","Route","Spendable Miles Earned*","Value of Spendable Miles Earned @ 2 Cents Each","NET Cost"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com\/i18n\/aadvantage-program\/aadvantage-program-updates.jsp\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAdvantage Member<\/a>","Los Angeles-Honolulu \/ \nPublished Fare $747","3,490","$70","$677"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com\/i18n\/aadvantage-program\/aadvantage-program-updates.jsp\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAdvantage Gold Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","4,886","$98","$649"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com\/i18n\/aadvantage-program\/aadvantage-program-updates.jsp\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAdvantage Platinum Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","5,584","$112","$635"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com\/i18n\/aadvantage-program\/aadvantage-program-updates.jsp\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAdvantage Platinum Pro Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","6,282","$126","$621"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com\/i18n\/aadvantage-program\/aadvantage-program-updates.jsp\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAdvantage Executive Platinum Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","7,678","$154","$593"]]
<small>*Based on <a href="https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/aadvantage-program-updates.jsp" rel="noopener" target="_blank">AAdvantage</a> non-elite member at 5 award miles per dollar spent; Gold members earn 7 miles/U.S. dollar (40% bonus); Platinum members earn –8 miles/U.S. dollar (60% bonus); Platinum Pro members earn –9 miles/U.S. dollar (80% bonus); Executive Platinum members earn –11 miles/U.S. dollar (110% bonus).</small>
[["Route","2020 Fares","2021 Fares","Difference"],["Atlanta - Honolulu","$1,992","$3,207","<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">+$1,215<\/span>"],["Minneapolis - Honolulu","$1,622","$1,965","<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">+$343<\/span>"],["Salt Lake City - Maui","$1,233","$1,730","<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">+$497<\/span>"],["Seattle - Kona","$1,289","$1,006","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$283<\/span><\/strong>"],["Los Angeles - Lihue","$1,088","$1,068","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$20<\/span><\/strong>"]]
[["Route","MQDs","MQMs"],["Atlanta - Honolulu","$3,062","13,506"],["Minneapolis - Honolulu","$1,861","11,916"],["Salt Lake City - Maui","$1,647","8,808"],["Seattle - Kona","$956","8,076"],["Los Angeles - Lihue","$1,020","7,846"]]
[["Route","2020 Fares","2021 Fares","Difference"],["Newark - Honolulu","$2,247","$1,898","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$349<\/span><\/strong>"],["Chicago - Honolulu","$2,029","$1,912","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$117<\/span><\/strong>"],["Los Angeles - Kona","$1,319","$1,102","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$217<\/span><\/strong>"],["Denver - Maui","$1,774","$1,728","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$46<\/span><\/strong>"],["San Francisco - Lihue","$1,241","$1,058","<strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">-$183<\/span><\/strong>"]]
[["Route","PQPs","PQFs"],["Newark - Honolulu","1,748","2"],["Chicago - Honolulu","1,806","2"],["Los Angeles - Kona","1,054","2"],["Denver - Maui","1,646","2"],["San Francisco - Lihue","1,010","2"]]
[["Status Level","Route","Spendable Miles Earned*","Value of Spendable Miles Earned @ 2 Cents Each","NET Cost"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/ual\/en\/us\/fly\/mileageplus\/premier\/qualify.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MileagePlus Member<\/a>","Newark-Honolulu \/ \nPublished Fare $1,898","8,860","$177","$1,688"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/ual\/en\/us\/fly\/mileageplus\/premier\/qualify.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MileagePlus Silver Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","12,404","$248","$1,617"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/ual\/en\/us\/fly\/mileageplus\/premier\/qualify.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MileagePlus Gold Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","14,176","$284","$1,581"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/ual\/en\/us\/fly\/mileageplus\/premier\/qualify.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MileagePlus Platinum Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","15,948","$319","$1,546"],["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/ual\/en\/us\/fly\/mileageplus\/premier\/qualify.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MileagePlus 1K Member<\/a>","#rowspan#","19,492","$390","$1,475"]]
<small>*Based on <a href="https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/premier/qualify.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MileagePlus</a> member at 5 award miles per dollar spend; Premier Silver members earn –7 miles/U.S. dollar (40% bonus); Premier Gold members earn 8 miles/U.S. dollar (60% bonus); Premier Platinum members earn 9 miles/U.S. dollar (80% bonus); Premier 1K members earn 11 miles/U.S. dollar (110% bonus).</small>