Hot Savings on Flights to Hawaii

Footage from Hawaii of molten lava destroying everything in its path might deter you from planning a vacation in the Aloha State. Travel website Travelzoo said searches for Hawaii were down 21% in May compared with a year earlier. Add a spate of trip cancellations post-eruption and pressure from Southwest Airlines’ recently anounced expansion into the Hawaii market. Result: a slew of airfare bargains this year.

Karen Cooper, a Hawaii specialist with travel agency Connoisseur Travel, has already seen fares for less than $1,000 from the East Coast. Recently, she noticed a round-trip flight from Washington, D.C., to Maui in October for $900. Tracy Stewart, senior editor of travel site Airfarewatchdog.com, says if you’re patient and persistent, you can find flights from the East Coast for less than $400. She recently came across a round-trip flight from Atlanta to Honolulu for $394 on American Airlines, and United and Delta have similarly priced flights. “These fares are unadvertised and seem to reappear every few weeks,” Stewart says. Check airlines’ sites regularly, and sign up for travel alerts through Airfarewatchdog.

West Coasters can find even better deals, says Scott Keyes, of Scott’s Cheap Flights newsletter, who has seen round-trip, nonstop flights from Pacific states for as low as $177.