HNL-BUD one-way 2pax United saver coach or AA saver coach or biz

[kristian]

Hey Board,
I'm trying to book by in-law's to Budapest from Honolulu on Aug 27 give or take a day. I see a big gap in the AA calendar around that date. Not sure about viable options to nearby cities where they could easily get to Budapest. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Daniel]

Why not HNL to west coast of US and then from US to Budapest?

 

[Mountain Trader]

I have not looked at either the routing or the planes. However, as a rule, neither AA nor UA offer great hard product to Hawaii from the mainland USA.

Would either airline allow an Eastbound trip from BUD?

 

[KennyBSAT]

It don't look like fun, but it's possible in lots of different ways. I will donate UA club passes if someone is actually going to fly one of these.

8/26 UA218 HNL-ORD 3:55 PM-5:00 AM+1
8/27 UA432 ORD-CLT 1:40 PM-4:21 PM
8/27 LH429 CLT-MUC 6:45 PM-9:15 AM+1
two more flights after a long layover, this one sucks and probably has too many connections to be legal...

8/26 UA252 HNL-IAH 7:20 PM-7:56 AM+1
8/27 LH441 IAH-FRA 3:50 PM-8:40 AM+1
8/28 LH1348 FRA-WAW 11:35 AM-1:10 PM
8/28 LO537 WAW-BUD 2:55 PM-4:10 PM

From what I could find this is what I would book, and hope for a schedule change that allows you to tighten up connections.

8/25 UA252 HNL-IAH 7:20 PM-7:56 AM+1
8/26 UA1403 IAH-ORD 10:20 AM-12:53 PM
8/26 LO4 ORD-WAW 9:25 PM-1:25 PM+1
8/27 LO537 WAW-BUD 2:25 PM-4:10 PM

P.S. better flights may be available if these miles are coming from an account that has status or a UA credit card attached to it.

 

[kristian]

Ha ha, these people are gluttons for punishment so if I can route them, they will take it. I do have the CC so that should help. I'm just wondering what I'm doing wrong. Is LOT not bookable via united.com? And actually, they would be happy about one long connection to have a break. Probably not two if I can help it or shorten it later. They are in their 70s. I hope I'm as adventurous at that age as they are So do these require calling to book?

Oh, by the way, Thank You! -K

 

[kristian]

I have not looked at either the routing or the planes. However, as a rule, neither AA nor UA offer great hard product to Hawaii from the mainland USA.

Would either airline allow an Eastbound trip from BUD?

Well, they have the miles to get the return and as it is after the summer busy season, saver awards are plentiful.

 

[KennyBSAT]

You are flying from a secondary airport to a secondary airport, with literally thousands of possible routings. This confuses UA.com and it gives up. I didn't see anything better at first glance when logged in, but go ahead and log in and check.
Search HNL-ORD, NYC and LAX and record all of the available flights leaving Hawaii. Then search for flights to BUD from *A hubs, and finally for flights to connect the two.
The additional availability for having the credit card can (generally) only be booked online, so click all the way through to see if the fare class is XN rather than X. If it is you must book that flight (and go ahead and book as much as you can) and then call in to add additional segments. Cancel within 24 hours of your online booking if you are unable to get the correct ticket booked for any reason.

 

[kristian]

You are flying from a secondary airport to a secondary airport, with literally thousands of possible routings. This confuses UA.com and it gives up.

Aha, the missing piece, for me at least. I should be able to make it happen for them. It seems like no matter what the itinerary will be less than fabulous. But hey, they would have a shitty itin if the were buying the cheapest coach fare too, which is the alternative. I'll update with what I end up booking. Thanks again!

 

[kristian]

Booked the following for 35k miles and $40 per person.

Wed. Aug. 26, 2015 Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Chicago, IL (ORD - O'Hare)
Thu. Aug. 27, 2015 Chicago, IL (ORD - O'Hare) to Warsaw, Poland (WAW) Connecting in Dusseldorf, Germany (DUS)
Fri. Aug. 28, 2015 Warsaw, Poland (WAW) to Budapest, Hungary (BUD)

Thank you for your invaluable assistance