Thread: KOA Non-Rev

From the Hawaii Visitors Bureau travel to Hawaii in the summer is (actually) heavier than the winter. ODD you think - but not so. School teachers and children & parents summer vacation increases travel. Then there is the factor that is overlooked that more people reside in the southern half of the United States than the northern. The weather as bad as it is in the north in the winter does not hold a candle to the hot humid weather that the south land experiences in the summer. So folks like to escape to air conditioned Hawaii for respite. See the picture here ? But trying to take the once daily nonstop ATLHNL is like putting all the eggs in one basket. Look at all the ways you can get to the point(s) where other flights are. There is a nonstop out of SLC and of course the west coast cities. Check out the possibilities of taking the first flight out in the morning - don't wait til later in the day when all the cancellations; oversales; maintenance delays have compounded against you. Be thankful if you are able to get on in an Economy Comfort seat. First and Business class is a tough nut to crack. All the frequent flyers and award tickets pretty much rule out the front cabin -"BUT" you might get lucky - won't know until you check it out and try. With the Delta TravelNet for assistance you can preview the other non-revs trying to get on your flight. Not an exact science til the day of departure and the Airport Standby List is established. Wished the Non-Rev Standby List provided the Pass Classification with the Seniority Date for better idea of the chances of making a flight. It helps to check who made or did not make the flights from the day previous and see what non-revs were rolled over. You won't get the names only the last name first three letters but the seniority date will be there giving you a clue. There is so much more to offer you clues to the possibilities of making a flight such as checking the seat mask (chart) at the Delta.com website but you may already know that. Now as for travel to Kona best to consider getting to Hawaii (Honolulu, Ohau) first and then if necessary buy a ticket from HNL to KOA. Consider another overlooked round-a-bout way to get to KOA by flying to Hilo and renting a car from that point driving to Kona. So bear in mind that you might have to adjust your schedule shorting or extending your vacation a day or two to get around a travel trouble spot. BEFORE YOU MAKE THE LEAP OF FAITH Please do some checking on how you are going to get back to where you started from. A worst case scenario is to plan on buying a cheap ticket to get you back to the Mainland where travel possibilities are better. Travel to Hawaii in the summer is possible just a bit more difficult although not as bad as the Presidents day weekend or Thanksgiving (impossible !!!!!). Buddy passes S4 and Retirees S3B plan carefully - Active S3 and S2 may have troubles with the popular timed flights. Count your blessings if you can at least make the Mainland; more than half the battle is over at that point. With the exception of the buddy passes there is also the possibility of buying the/a ticket "Fly Confirmed for Less & Even Less"! Good Luck - Break-a-Leg or whatever it takes !