In The News: Five ways to keep your Hawaii vacation affordable

With Aloha Airlines and ATA no longer in the air, the price of flying to Hawaii is going up. Is this the end of affordable island vacations? Not necessarily. Before your trip, you can save money by buying vacation packages that include lodging and a rental car, by flying off-peak, or by using your frequent flier points for those increasingly rare free seats. And it’s even easier to save money once you’re actually in the islands.

Read about the strategies here.

In the News: Wedding Guests Scrambling After Airline Bankruptcy

SAN DIEGO — A long to-do list is nothing out of the ordinary for a bride-to-be.

But Mariana Luevano is adding more things on to her list instead of crossing items off.”We thought we had our plane tickets paid for and done and something off of our to-do list for our wedding, and it turns out the agency went bankrupt,” said Luevano.

Read the entire story here.

LIVE MAUI WEBCAST will offer a 10% discount to any wedding couple who is affected by the Aloha and ATA airline bankruptcies and whose friends and family cannot make it out to Maui.

In The News: Plan ahead for no-hassle nuptials

April 6, 2008

By KYLE WAGNER
The Denver Post

The only hitch that should be happening at a destination wedding is the one that involves the bride and groom — and to keep things running as smoothly as possible, the professionals agree with those who have successfully married at distant locales: Plan, plan, plan as far in advance as you can.

Here are some ideas for making your dream nuptials a well-organized reality:

Send out save-the-date cards.

Andy Schiff of Denver, who married his girlfriend, Melanie Ufema, in Hawaii, says his cards were mailed about nine months in advance, giving people plenty of time to decide, make arrangements and find airfare deals. “The earlier people know it’s happening, the more able they are to find a way to attend,” says travel agent Margi Arnold.

Read the entire article here.

ATA Closes Down

ATA Airlines entered bankruptcy again and shut down all operations on Thursday April 3rd leaving thousands of travelers stranded.

Among them were Hawaii-bound passengers, who were met with the shocking news at the check-in ticket counters. These Hawaii passengers were helped out by Northwest Airlines and flown to and from Hawaii, no doubt though with delays.

The bankruptcy was immediately announced after the defunct airline lost a key contract with FedEx corp, which in combination with rising fuel prices was too high a blow to overcome. That makes two airlines with Hawaii routed to have bit the dust in just one week, although there is talk of ALOHA AIRLINES still pursuing a buyer that might bring the airline back into operation.

What are some travel tips to help get you to Hawaii, especially if you are coming for your Maui Wedding?

• Purchase early— Airlines tend to offer the lowest prices on 21-day advance tickets. Sometimes that window is also 14 or 7 days before your travel date. It is unlikely that you will get a good deal within 7 days of your travel date.
• But not too early – it’s understandable that you want to lock in your flight months in advance. Airfares, however, fluctuate greatly and you might very well not find a price worthy fare that far before your travel date. Be patient and check in weekly with such sites as Sidestep.com and Farechase.com.
• Compare fares – check sidestep.com or even the airline’s websites. Many tout the lowest fares. Airline website usually have less restrictive policies that allow you to reschedule with less penalties.
• Choose a Major Carrier - although we didn’t see it coming in the case of Aloha or ATA, typically large airlines will not suddenly cease operations. If such were the case, we would see warning signs. Which brings me to the next point.
• Read the News – Live Maui Webcasts has it’s eyes and ears open, but also subscribing to google alerts and newspaper RSS feeds is a good practice to stay on top of the state of the airline industry.