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Hawaii: Last-minute flights with Airtech

The state of flux with Hawaii airfares has been frustrating me lately. Don’t get me wrong: I love that I can fly between the islands for less than $100 round trip, and that major airlines are increasing services to Hawaii from the mainland, especially to the neighbor islands. But I never know for sure that what I’m paying for a flight today won’t be trumped by a better deal tomorrow. It’s good to know that Airtech still offers bargain-basement prices on last-minute flights between the West Coast and Hawaii.

Deal: Airtech sells space-available flight passes for trips between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii. You can fly from LAX to Honolulu (Oahu), Kahului (Maui), Kona (Big island) or Lihue (Kauai). Once you purchase a space-available flight pass (costing $179-$269 per one-way flight, depending on when you fly and what island you’re going to), you’ll have to fill out a request form specifying your ideal travel window (i.e., four or five days when you can fly). Four days before your requested travel dates, Airtech searches for available seats and finalizes your flight reservations, then sends you a confirmation e-mail. This puts you ahead of any standby passengers, whose flights typically won’t be confirmed until they’re at the airport.

Have you flown with Airtech before? Tell us about your experience by posting in the Comments section below.

More…details: For more information about the space-available flight pass, as well as Airtech’s cancellation and refund policies and any applicable fees for flight changes, consult the Airtech FAQ.

When: For a snapshot of seats available for upcoming dates this summer, click here. Flights to Kona and Lihue are only available through September 30th, 2007. Flights to Honolulu and Maui depart year-round, although the cheaper fares are only available from August 20th through December 13th, 2007.

Caveat: There is no guarantee that you’ll be able to fly on your preferred dates, or even during your travel window. If the latter happens, you can extend your travel window, put your space-available flight pass on hold for one year or get a refund (minus a $25 processing fee). Airlines names are only disclosed after your flight is booked.

Why: If you have a lot of flexibility in your schedule, you could save money on your next flight to Hawaii.

Why Not: As their motto says, “If you can beat these prices, start your own damn airline.”

Critique: You could be stranded on either side of the Pacific and not be able to fly at all during your travel window. That said, when I’ve flown with Airtech during the off-season to Hawaii, I’ve only been delayed by a day or two.

Contact: Airtech, (212) 219-7000

– Sara Benson, L.A. Times Travel Deal Detective

[Photo credit: Courtesy of Airtech]

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 at 12:24 pm by Sara Benson and is filed under Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Kauai, Maui, Oahu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

7 Comments on “Hawaii: Last-minute flights with Airtech”

Keith Kessler Says:
July 31st, 2007 at 12:47 am
I bought several Air-Tech space available West Coast-Hawai’i vouchers in 2002. At the time Air-Rech’s website said the vouchers would be good indefinitely and that I would never have to pay a fare increase.

Not so. I recently tried to book with them, and they demanded extra monies before booking me, stating they had discontinued the space available flight voucher proigram!

When I pressed them on the pount that these vouchers were supposed to be payment in full, good indefinitely they said they had to “investigate my claim” as they “had been victims of fraud”

Do not trust this company!!!!
mike esterson Says:
July 31st, 2007 at 4:55 pm
In 2002 we ran a standby service with paper passes, this is no longer the case, We now offer fully reserved seats, this is no longer a standby service with paper passes. we offered Mr Kessler a full refund which he has declined. Our offer to refund his passes in full still stands.
Mindy S Says:
March 13th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I have been using Airtech for the last 3 years, and I am writing to say they are the greatest. When there was a storm in Hawaii and I had to postpone my flight, they were very accommodating. Steve, who handles the Hawaii flights, is very helpful and always tries to please his customers. I have almost always gotten the date that I wanted to fly out, and, except for the holiday periods, it is usually possible to fly out on the day you want, or within 1-2 days of the day you request. Their prices can’t be beat, and I will continue to use their services in the future. (I also had a ticket that expired a few years ago, and upon my request, they issued a refund) They are very ethical and I hope this review will bring them more customers, as their prices and service are fabulous!
k Says:
June 10th, 2008 at 4:21 am
i have been an irregular but loyal airtech customer for about 10 years now and i, too, can only say good things about the company. they have been around longer than a lot of people in the industry and have managed to stay afloat when airline policies have put most wholesalers, consolidators, and travel agents out of business.

they are committed to providing low-cost flight options for the cost-conscious traveler and i’ll fly them again and again when i can afford the time and flexibility more than i can afford to pay more for “discount” sites like travelocity!

yay air tech.
lastminuterate Says:
May 26th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I always fly with Airtech and I have nothing to complain about. Still, everyone may have his own opinion, right?
Keith Kessler Says:
June 11th, 2009 at 3:54 am
I still have the vouchers which were supposed to be good forever and Air-Tech has still refused to fly me without payment of additional monies.

I don’t want a refund. I want AirTech to honor its original committment.

If they no longer use the paper voucher system, fine. Book me using your currentsystem, but don’t charge me any additional monies.
g.winterssen Says:
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:09 am
They do not honor their vouchers. The voucher I purchased had the condition of NO EXPIRATION. Now they will not redeem it.

They send form responses and ignore complaints. This company is a scam.