PDX to HNL 6/28/2011 to 7/5/2011 plus airline discussion

[Steiny]

Would appreciate some help. Planning a trip to Honolulu late June to early July. The exact dates are 6/28/2011 to 7/05/2011 with one or two days flexible meaning we could go on 6/29 or 6/30 and come back one or two days later. Leaving from PDX to HNL but can also leave from EUG or MFR. I checked the price from PDX to HNL and the tickets are going for about $660 and up.

My question is how much can I really expect to save by bidding on Priceline? I have used Priceline before for hotels and rental cars and got some stellar deals. Never tried it before on an airline flight. Is 50% off unrealistic? Should I start the bidding at lower than 50% off? Also, there is the potential of 6 people going on this trip and will that pose any problems bidding for all of them for an airline ticket? I know I have to get their names right as appears on the DL but are there any other pitfalls?

I would be very happy getting these tickets for 50% off and happy with 40% off as well. I think I could go down to 30% and still feel ok as I know I will get some hotel and rental car deals as well. Anything less than 30% off on airline and I might have to re-evaluate if everyone goes, including myself.

Would appreciate some thoughts on this.

[lapuravida]

It looks like flights are about 600 for those dates right now, on Hawaiian. I would also check using pleasant holidays and other operators, you can often get a discount if you bundle a car rental. I would start bidding at 300 or lower, since you have time on your side. It's also the middle of summer though, so don't expect too much.

[Romelle]

You might check Alaska Airlines. I can see $622 on them. Not a huge difference, but sometimes every little bit helps.

Regarding your savings, there really aren't any crystal balls for this. On the other hand, there don't seem to be the big savings for airline fares that there can be for hotels and rental cars. As you probably guessed, 50% off is most likely unrealistic.

Like lapuravida, I think I'd jump on and try the $300 and then I'd know for sure it doesn't work. I always have to prove it to myself, and it just takes a few minutes. Then I'd gradually work on up from there, until the savings aren't enough to compensate for not being able to pick the schedule and airline. That point is also different for different people.

Do take note of the screen that shows what you actually will pay if your bid gets accepted. You get it before you finalize your bid. Sometimes the amount of those fees and taxes surprise people. The $300 bid will total quite a bit more with everything in it.

Romelle

[lapuravida]

One other thing I have noticed with the fares to Hawaii this summer is that the one ways can be as cheap as the roundtrip fares. Orbitz handles this kind of search well.

[Steiny]

Ok, so I was asked to give an update to this. Seeing it has been a year since I asked this and do not remember the price, what I do remember is this. I ended up not using Priceline for this air purchase so I have nothing to report. From the year before, I had a $100 or $125 credit for two people so I went directly to the airline website and used that credit and bought the tickets directly. Wish I had more to report but that is what went down.