Hawaiian air fare sare on CO and UA

[JJPNYC]

Got this e-mail newsletter this AM. Might be worth pulling the trigger on some tickets to Hawaii if you are thinking about it.

 

May 26, 2008 10:15pm ET

 

Dear JoeSentMe:

I'm writing with news of as weird a fare war as I've seen in years. It involves Continental and United airlines on selected flights to/from Hawaii. Prices have now plummeted as low as $300 roundtrip including fuel surcharges and taxes. Prices seem to top out at around $400 roundtrip.

It seems this fare war began over the weekend when Continental lowered prices on its Los Angeles-Honolulu flights to around $300 roundtrip. LAX-HNL is a big United market, so United chose to respond by matching the $300 roundtrip fare from Newark and Houston, two big Continental markets. Continental has nonstops to Honolulu in both cities, of course, so United made its sale effective on connecting service via its Chicago, Denver, LAX or San Francisco hubs. It even extended the sale to its flights to/from Lihue, Kauai.

Continental responded to United's response, but seemed to target US Airways with its answer. Sometime yesterday, Continental lowered one-stop flights to/from Honolulu, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to around $300 roundtrip.

Confused? So am I. This bears all the hallmarks of one of those old-style, tit-for-tat "signaling" fare battles, but I haven't had a chance to reach anyone at the airlines. I'll try to get more details as we return to work tomorrow.

But for now, here's what you need to know: All-in pricing ranges from $300-$400 roundtrip for travel between August 21 through November 10, December 5-14 and, surprisingly, January 19 to February 15, 2009. You must take the over-water flights on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. There is a three-day minimum stay and a 21-day advance purchase. I do not see an expiration date on the sale, for what that is worth now.

Some thoughts about tactics. Try to use a third-party site like Orbitz.com and its "flexible date" capacity to see the widest spread of fares and availability. Or call a good travel agent. And don't be shocked by what you find; I haven't seen prices this low in years. And if you don't live in any of the cities above, try anyway. This sale may be spreading.

One other thought: United Mileage Plus offers a more flexible mileage-upgrade option than Continental OnePass. And United's fares are upgradable. (The United fare basis is SLO213NH.) So you might actually find yourself flying in first on United for these fares and the appropriate mileage award. If Continental is your carrier of choice, there are limited upgrade options and a hefty co-pay when seats are available. You might be better off just buying two of these coach seats if you're going to book Continental.

I'll update you as more information becomes available.

Joe Brancatelli // joe@joesentme.com

[6rugrats]

Not sure this fare is still available though.