Incidentally, did you all ready give money for your buddy passes? If you don't use those passes, you don't get charged. Also, if you gave your credit card number, and you don't fly, they don't charge your credit card number. If you gave your buddy cash for those passes, get it back, they haven't charged him a dime. I think the rules have something to do also with employees in HNL that can send a buddy stateside without travelling with them because the states is really the only place they can go to from HNL, they are after all, in an isolated island. Here in the states, we can go all over and so can our buddies including Alaska. Maybe they think it would clog the system up if buddies could go to HNL unescorted, plus being such a rotten NON REV station to go, it wouldn't be fair to the non rev getting stuck in HNL day after day since they would be absolutely at the bottom of the list.
HYPNOPOOPER. Without a doubt, you did the right thing getting a positive space fare. Don't know whom you went with but check out some of the other flyers to HNL from California. I'd a hated for you to have had to go through the reamer so to speak, and as an employee at CO, I personally do not even like to do the BUDDY PASS thing for those very reasons. Buddy passes can work good if the buddy is going to a destination that is not a very popular resort run and during low peak moments. It's a roll of the dice, sometimes it works great, other times it's nearly impossible to make a flight. Just depends on time and place. Good luck and for sure, you have a nice trip with no headaches about being bumped or anything like that. Just enjoy yourself.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by chet imes:
Seems like a goofy rule making the employee travel to and from HNL with a buddy. That means another seat to try and get? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>