Passengers should benefit from Sea-Tac's new international competition

 

Cathay Pacific's announcement that it will restore non-stop flights between Seattle and Hong Kong next year is icing on the cake for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport where airlines added six new international services this year, and have plans for at least another six in 2026.

Cathay Pacific ended its Seattle-Hong Kong service during the Covid pandemic. When it resumes on March 30, 2026, it will fly five times per week on the 250-seat Airbus A350-900, offering another new gateway to mainland China, Southeast Asia and India.

This comes on top of new non-stops to Seoul and Tokyo added by Alaska Airlines this year as well as a new Edelweiss Air flight to Zurich and an SAS flight to Copenhagen.  Delta will add new non-stops to Barcelona and Rome next year while Alaska will also add a non-stop to Rome as well as Reykjavik and London. 

Seattle now has service to 36 international destinations on 30 different airlines, a major advantage given the 750,000 visitors expected for next year's FIFA Men's World Cup. Seattle will host six matches June 11-July 18th, also the height of the Alaska cruise season. 

Anyone who has traveled through the airport recently has experienced the long back-ups at arrivals and departures, long lines for rental car buses and long waits for loved-ones in a cramped international arrivals area.

One might wonder, "Is Sea-Tac up to the job of accommodating all the extra flights and passengers?''

And how about the airlines? Delta and Alaska are the airport's primary carriers. Delta has loads of experience with international flights, but Alaska is just getting started with international expansion plans that have been taking shape since it acquired new long-haul aircraft in its merger with Hawaiian Airlines.

Let's look at the airport first, then talk about how passengers might be affected by the growing competition.

Sea-Tac is undergoing major renovations to improve its baggage claim area and screening equipment; roadways leading into the airport; and amenities in its C concourse. The goal is to complete most of the work by the time FIFA fans arrive. 

With limited ability to expand outward, Sea-Tac is building up, adding three new stories atop the existing C concourse. 

A rendering of new Concourse C

The  main floor will include a shopping area called Marketplace at C.  Dining and retail will frame a tiered, open amphitheater with a stage for live music. The upper level will house new restaurants, and provide views of the airfield and Olympic Mountains via a lookout deck.

The road improvements, with dedicated lanes for rental car buses, should alleviate the long waits for buses that now get stuck in general airport traffic.

Working with the Transportation Security Administration, the Port of Seattle is optimizing the outbound baggage handling system (BHS). A new system will replace the current aging conveyor system, and position the airport for future growth.

With the number of additional international passengers due to arrive this year and next, Sea-Tac would do well to tweak recent changes at the international arrivals waiting area, called the Gina Marie Lindsey Arrivals Hall on the baggage claim level.

Baggage claim level TSA checkpoint

A recently-opened new security checkpoint on that level (the others are upstairs on the ticketing level) is convenient for passengers being dropped off with only carry-ons, but has added to the general congestion in an already packed waiting area furnished with uncomfortable cube furniture resembling concrete blocks and lacking phone chargers. 

International arrivals waiting area

The wait times are long for arriving international travelers due to an experimental system (to be revisited during a one-month trial starting this month) that requires them to pick up their checked bags before going through Customs and Immigration. Those waiting to meet their loved-ones deserve a more comfortable seating area. 

When it comes to flights, passengers can look forward to more competition which should translate into more competitve fares. Delta and Alaska will be going head-to-head on the new Rome flight as well as flights to Tokyo, London and Seoul.

Both airlines are adding to and improving their lounges at Sea-Tac. Delta customers, unhappy with its requirements for elite status, could decide to switch their elite status to Alaska, given a wider selection of international options that can be booked directly with the airline. 

Delta requires a minimum yearly spend of $5,000 to maintain Silver Elite status while Alaska's requirements for MVP Gold center on the number of miles or segments flown, bars easier to reach with the addition of longer, international routes.

Flight amenities and comfort will depend on the specific route. Delta has the superior in-flight seat-back entertainment system while Alaska passengers must stream movies and TV shows on their own devices. Delta seems to have lowered the quality of its food service on international flights in recent years, so it will be interesting to see if Alaska can do better.

To play in the big leagues, Alaska will have to up its game when it comes to the level of customer service and staffing that international flights require. 

Sea-Tac customers often complain of long waits to reach someone on the phone or long lines at its airport service desks when problems occur. 

Alaska's integration with Hawaiian is progressing in stages, causing confusion and frustration among passengers who go to agents at each airline expecting help, only to be referred to the other.

Beat of Hawaii Travel News lays out the problems in a lengthy post.

"Until the airlines are fully integrated, passengers may need to double-check everything from mileage earning, upgrade eligibility, and seat selection rules. This requires extra work at booking and again before departure, especially for those booking through Hawaiian’s platform but ending up on Alaska metal," it advises.

Alaska Airlines vs. Delta: Game on

 

Alaska Airlines purchased Hawaiian Airlines in September

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is hoping its loyal base of Northwest customers will no longer have to look to competing airlines when booking international travel.

"This is our city to serve," said CCO Andrew Harrison, laying down the gauntlet primarily to Delta Airlines which flies 25 percent of international passengers out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport compared to Alaska's 16 percent.

Alaska, which flies 57 percent of Seattle's domestic passengers, uses partner airlines for international connections. Now with a fleet of wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliners acquired through its purchase of Hawaiian Airlines last September, it has been one-upping the much-larger Delta with a series of announcements aimed at including flights to 12 international cities by 2030. 

 Alaska will be flying non-stop between Seattle and London Heathrow; Rome; and Reykjavik, Iceland (seasonal flights aboard the 737-8 MAX) starting in the spring of 2026. It began non-stops to Tokyo-Narita in May, and will add non-stops for Seoul (using the Airbus A330-200) in September. 

Delta, which flies non-stop to Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai, London, Amsterdam and Paris from Seattle, relies on partners KLM and Air France for onward connections in Europe. It answered Alaska's moves by announcing plans of its own for a new non-stops to Rome and Barcelona next May, cutting out the need to connect through Paris or Amsterdam.

What will all of this mean for passengers? Hopefully some price competition. Alaska will now be competing with its current partner, Iceland Air, on flights to Reykjavik;  British Air on flights to London; and Japan Airlines on flights to Tokyo. 

Delta customers, unhappy with its requirements for elite status, could decide to switch their elite status to Alaska, given a wider selection of international options that can be booked directly with the airline. Delta requires a minimum yearly spend of $5,000 to maintain Silver Elite status while Alaska's requirements for MVP Gold center on the number of miles or segments flown, bars easier to reach with the addition of longer, international routes.

Flight amenities and comfort will depend on the specific route. Delta has the superior in-flight seat-back entertainment system while Alaska passengers must stream movies and TV shows on their own devices. Delta seems to have lowered the quality of its food service on international flights in recent years, so it will be interesting to see if Alaska can do better.

Alaska‘s newest lounge at Sea-Tac Airport

Both airlines have high-end lounges in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a busy airport getting busier with the number of new international routes being added by Alaska, Delta another airlines. 

To play in the big leagues, Alaska will have to up its game when it comes to the level of customer service and staffing that international flights require. Sea-Tac customers often complain of long waits to reach someone on the phone or long lines at its airport service desks when problems occur. 

Had a data center hardware failure that caused a three-hour, system-wide ground stop here recently occurred on a flight originating in Europe, customers would have been entitled to major cash compensation under European laws.

EC Regulation 261 grants passengers the right to seek compensation when they have experienced delays (two to four hours or more), cancelled, or overbooked flights, with few exceptions. Those include weather, strikes, security risks etc. but not technical problems.

All carriers, including U.S.-based airlines, are subject to the rules when flying inside or out of the EU. 

 

Discover new restaurants, shops, galleries in Honolulu's Chinatown

The renovated Hawaii Theater

HONOLULU, HAWAII - Mornings at Manifest, a cafe, lounge and arts venue in Honolulu's Chinatown, start with a latte and breakfast from the toast bar.  Afternoons and evenings morph into laptop time over bacon-wrapped dates and craft cocktails. 

Sharing the block with a Chinese herbal pharmacy, a jade  shop and a tattoo parlor, Manifest occupies an Italianate-style brick building on Hotel Street in a neighborhood once known for its strip clubs and X-rated theaters.Across the street, next door to where patrons at Smith's Union Bar start the morning with $2 beers, is Tchin-Tchin!, a rooftop wine bar serving drinks in a garden patio furnished with white sofas.  

Rooftop bar at Tchin-Tchin!

A block away in the Maunakea Marketplace, a man sits on a box as he hacks stalks of sugar cane with a machete while locals sip coconut juice next to a statue of Confucius. 
Call it the tale of two Chinatowns: Bakeries, lei makers and outdoor markets catering to a large ethnic population do business side-by-side art galleries, hip restaurants, bars and designer boutiques in a historic 12-block area designated as the Chinatown Honolulu Culture and Arts District. 

Tea at Manifest cafe

"This is one of the few places in town where you can still get cheap rent, so it tends to attract people willing to take a chance," says Mark Pei, co-owner of the Hound and Quail, 920 Maunakea St., a vintage shop specializing in medical antiques, old photo equipment and typewriters. 

Just a few miles from the high-rise glitter of Waikiki, Honolulu's Chinatown for years "had a reputation as one of the worst neighborhoods in the Pacific," says Rich Richardson of the Hawaii Academy of Performing Arts headquartered in the ARTS at Marks Garage, a gallery and performance space that serves as an unofficial visitors center. "It was a Red Light district during World War II, then a no-man's land after that." 

Changes began with Chinatown's designation as a historical district in the 1970s, a move that's preserved many of the one and two-story buildings constructed in the early 1900s after a major fire.

Sparked by the restoration of the historic Hawaii Theatre, and later the opening of Indigo restaurant (since closed), art galleries and new shops opened under owners attracted by cheap rents.

 "It was like SoHo in New York," recalls Sandra Pohl, owner of the Louis Pohl Gallery, making a comparison to the  Lower Manhattan neighborhood known for its artists' lofts and galleries. 

She and others got together and launched First Friday art walks which drew crowds of newcomers until the economy sputtered in 2008 and many of the galleries closed.

"It's much more quiet now," says Pohl who sells the work of her late husband, Louis Pohl, known for his paintings of Hawaiian volcanos. But First Fridays continue, with shops, galleries and restaurants inviting visitors to linger over cocktails and late-night happy hours. Aimed at attracting more families are new Second Saturday "DiscoverArt'' events with artist demonstrations, ukulele jams, craft displays and improv performances. 

Browsing to bluegrass tunes

One of the liveliest venues is the Hawai'i State Art Museum, 250 S. Hotel St. First Fridays always feature music - bluegrass on the night I visited - but also slack key guitar, harp and piano. Housed in a Spanish-Mission style building on the edge of Chinatown, the museum focuses on the work of contemporary artists who are either Hawaiian or have a connection to the islands.  

The Hawai'i State Art Museum's sculpture garden

Pohl calls the outdoor sculpture garden "magical at night," when lights transform what was a swimming pool into a shimmering blue surface resembling a skating rink . One of the reasons to come other times is to see the museum's collection of welded copper and brass wheels by Hawaiian sculptor Satoru Abe, now in his 90s. Another is to eat breakfast or lunch in the downstairs Artizen Cafe which makes its own Spam - a pork and sausage spread fed to the U.S. military stationed in Hawaii after World War II. 

A few blocks away from the museum is the Hawaii Theatre Center, 130 Bethel S., a historic Vaudeville theatre and cinema with a large neon, marque. First opened in 1922, and reopened in 1996 after a $20 million restoration, it's a popular venue for stage shows and concerts. At last check the theater no longer offered public tours, but visitors can usually peak inside when the box office is open.

Around the corner is the recently-expanded ARTS at Marks Garage,1159 Nu'uanu Ave., a community arts center and performance space on the ground floor of a parking garage owned by an arts patron. 

The ARTs at Marks Garage

First Friday nights bring a youthful vibe to Chinatown, says Melanie Yang, assistant at the Pegge Hopper Gallery,  1164 Nu'uanu Ave., open since 1983 in a building that once housed a Chinese herbal shop and barbershop.  "It's a different energy."

In4mation, 1154 Nu'uanu, a shop selling skater gear, tees and hoodies, used a fog machine, techno music and an offer of "beers flowing like wine"  to set the stage for a recent exhibit called "Overmind."  

Jewelry designer Cindy Yokohama  owner of Ginger13, 22 S. Pauahi St., hired a henna artist to apply free tattoos while customers sipped orange cocktails and tried on chunky necklaces and sets of mismatched earrings.  

Jewelry designer Cindy Yokohama

Clothing designer Roberta Oaks poured gin and tonics made with green cucumber soda for customers browsing through racks of the mens' shirts she sells at Aloha, her retail shop at 19th N. Pauahi St.. Next door, Phuong Tran, owner of Art Treasures Gallery, wore his signature straw hat as he guided visitors through his shop stocked like a mini-museum of Asian-inspired jewelry, antiques and artifacts. 

Phuong Tran at Art Treasures Gallery

Tea and chocolate

"Chinatown is mostly a locals spot," says Oaks, but drawing more tourists are new foodie destinations specializing coffee, tea and chocolate and restaurants featuring French, Latin, Moroccan, Italian and pan-Asian cuisines.

Barely visible from the street except for a small neon sign in the shape of a pig is the Pig and the Lady, recently named Oahu's best restaurant by Honolulu magazine.
Creating a menu filled with seafood and speciality noodle dishes, owner and chef, Andrew Le - the pig - took inspiration from recipes created by his mother Loan  - the lady - to go from pop-up restaurant, to farmer's market stand selling Vietnamese sandwiches  to his current bricks-and-mortar outpost at 83 N. King St. 

The Pig & the Lady

Morphing into a nightclub on First Fridays, with live music and samples of spiced hot chocolate, is Madre a bean-to-bar chocolate maker tucked into a storefront at 8 N. Pauahi St.Dr. Nat Bletter, CQ a researcher at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, drew on his expertise in ethnobotany to start making chocolate from scratch for friends 10 years ago. The hobby turned into a business, with a factory and shop in suburban Kailua, and later a store in Chinatown.

Bletter invites visitors to stop in for samples made from locally-grown cacao spiced with coffee, cinnamon, ginger and coconut, or sign up for "make your own chocolate bar" class. If he's around, he will show you around his urban garden where he experiments with growing cacao, sugar cane, lemon grass, figs and passion fruit.   

Chocolate from scratch at Madre

A two-minute walk from Madre is Tea at 1024, and English-style tea salon on Nu'uanu decorated with glass tables and chairs wrapped in pink bows. Owner Michele Sorensen  grew up in Tacoma, opened a design shop in Chinatown in 1997 and the tea shop in 1999.

"Years ago," she recalls, "there was nobody here...Now it's above amazing what's happening."

Despite the changes, she doesn't sugarcoat the lingering problems that come with a neighborhood in transition.

Extra police patrol the bars and restaurants on Hotel Street on First Fridays, and Sorensen says it's not unusual for her to come to work and find someone camped on her doorstep.

 "We're still interlaced with the homeless and drugs," she says. "If you have thick skin, and like to experience fun, cool places, come on down. If not, go to the mall."


If you go:

Getting there: Buses travel between Waikiki beach hotels and Chinatown. Trave time is about 30 minutes. 

Exploring: Take in the Chinatown arts and culture scene every First Friday of the month from 5 p.m.- 9 p.m. when shops, galleries and the Hawai'i State Art Museum stay open late. 

Second Saturday  "DiscoverArt" daytime events feature mini-classes,  music and arts and crafts demonstrations. Info at facebook.com/discoverchinatown

Maps and information are available at the ARTS at Marks Garage, 1159 Nu'uanu Ave 

Beyond the Beaches and Volcanos: Do-It-yourself culinary tours of Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii

The Big Island's Onomea Tea Company

For all of you with Hawaii on your minds for this fall or winter...Here's a leg up on some off-the-beaten path culinary finds to wet your appetite the next time time you're ready to go exploring.

I'll start with the Big Island and an update of a story I did recently for Virtuoso Life Magazine, then follow next week with a post on Upcountry Maui.

The Big Island

Ceiling fans spin above tables covered with mint-green cloths as we settle in for lunch and a farm tour at the Hawaiian Vanilla Company in the tropical rainforest town of Paauilo, an hour's drive from the sunny Kohala Coast on Hawaii's Big Island. 

Jelly jars filled with vanilla-scented iced tea and lemonade arrive along with vanilla-infused sauteed shrimp, grilled chicken in a bourbon-vanilla citrus marinade and a salad tossed with a vanilla-spiked raspberry vinaigrette.

Any regrets about leaving the beach behind to explore the agricultural side of an island normally associated with volcanoes and fields of black lava rock, disappear as quickly as the vanilla ice cream topped with a passion fruit curd.

Lunch at Hawaiian Vanilla Company

In business since 2000, Hawaiian Vanilla is among a handful of micro-farms and culinary entrepreneurs welcoming in visitors for a look behind the scenes.

In 1988 when Peter Merriman, one of Hawaii's best-known chefs and founder of the Hawaii regional cuisine movement, opened his first restaurant in the inland ranching town of Waimea,  "the vast majority of agriculture was intended for export, and it was mainly cattle, pineapple and sugar."  Like the rest of the state, the Big Island imported much of what it needed from the mainland.

"There weren't enough people in Hawaii, and the tourism industry wasn't yet big enough yet to develop supplies for the local market. We literally had to run an ad in the newspaper saying 'hey we want to buy stuff that's locally grown.' ''

Sugar disappeared, lost to countries with lower production costs, but the island's diverse mix of microclimates and rich, volcanic soil meant almost anything could grow well.
Today, the menu at Merriman's country-manor style restaurant in Waimea reads like a locavore's Who's Who. From the "dirt farm'' salads composed of tomatoes, roasted beets and papayas to the roasted mushrooms and naturally-raised lamb, 90 percent of what's served comes from the island. 

Taking time out to visit a few of these new-age purveyors, Merriman says, and  "you'll get close to the heart and pulse of the real Hawaii.''

Shorelines strewn with lava rock give way to rolling hills and forests as my husband and steer our rental car onto Highway 19, the paved, two-lane belt road that circles the island. It's just a   12 mile drive from the white-sand beaches on the South Kohala Coast to Waimea, elevation of 2,600 feet. 

First stop, the Rare Hawaiian Honey Co. Without a GPS or good directions, it would be easy to miss the warehouse that doubles as a tasting room for an organic white honey as precious as fine perfume.

Beekeepers Michael Domeier, a marine scientist, and his wife, Amy Grace, a jewelry designer, bought the company in December, 2012, taking over from long-time Volcano Island Honey owner Richard Spiegel.

Produced by bees harvesting nectar from a single grove of kiawe trees, a type of mesquite often used for fire wood, the honey is put through a natural crystallization process. The result is a creamy texture, more like butter than traditional honey.

The company hopes to start tours soon. For now, tastings are free, and visitors are invited to sample several varieties including honey infused with ginger and passion fruit.

Rare Hawaiian Honey Co., 66-1250 Lalamilo Farm Rd. Waimea. Tasting room open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. 4 p.m. Phone 808-775-1000.

Thirteen miles east of Waimea, a landscape lush with tropical foliage flanks the highway as we approach the rainy Hamakua coast, the start of a scenic 45-mile drive ending in Hilo, jumping off point for visits to the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano, the highest point in the U.S.  

Coffee, cultivated today mainly on the dry Kona side of the island, thrived here too before sugarcane became the major crop.

Leading a coffee-growing revival are a small group of artisan producers. Among them is Wendell Branco, a crusty mule breeder who founded the Long Ears Coffee Co. with coffee from trees growing wild on his estate in the foothills of Mauna Kea.

Wendell and Netta Branco

Wendell and his wife, Netta, both 71, greet visitors with handshakes and hugs, and offer samples around a picnic table in a tasting room decorated with vintage coffee pots. 

Explaining the challenges of small-scale production, Wendell points to a hand-cranked pulping machine he bought for $500, and laughs at how he tried to dry his first batch of beans in a clothes dryer.

The Brancos have since improved their equipment and techniques, but still do everything themselves by hand, from picking the bright red coffee "cherries'' from their trees to drying, aging and roasting the beans. 

Long Ears Coffee Co., 46-3689 Waipahi, Honokaa. Call ahead for drop-in visits or tours ($35). Information: 808-775-0385.

Leaving Long Ears, we drive a few more miles southeast on Highway 19, then detour onto a steep backroad and across a one-lane bridge to the Hawaiian Vanilla Company in the hills overlooking the Pacific.

Convinced by an orchid enthusiast that vanilla (the fruit of the planifolia orchid) could grow in Hawaii, Jim and Tracy Reddekopp planted two acres on newly-purchased, high-elevation ranch, and in 2000, became the first to grow the spice commercially in the U.S.

Working in an abandoned coffee mill and slaughterhouse they converted into a kitchen and country store, they and some of their five children cook for visitors, and tweak a repertoire of more than 80 vanilla-inspired products for sale that includes soaps, cookies, pie spices and body mists.

The Hawaiian Vanilla Company

Jim appears wearing a backwards ball cap, shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes and an apron as his son, Ian, gives a short demo on how to make home-brewed extract using vanilla beans and Costco vodka. Lunch is followed by a walk to the farm where vines grow under black shade cloths to buffer the sun. 

Growing and harvesting vanilla on a small scale is a labor intensive business. Blossoms appear just one day a year for four hours, and must be hand-pollinated in that brief window of time - one reason why a single bean sells for $11.

The Hawaiian Vanilla Co., 43-2007 Paauilo Mauka Rd. Paauilo.Tastings, lunches, tours, teas ($25-$39) by reservation. Information: 808-776-1771. 

Our last stop is the Onomea Tea Company, a 30-mile drive south along the coast's most scenic stretch.

Rob Nunally and Mike Longo were sipping a cup of Earl Grey in 2003, thinking about a crop that would fit the agricultural history of the former sugarcane fields they bought overlooking the Onomea Bay, just north of Hilo.

They found out that tea, part of the camellia family, grew in Hawaii in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Tours start with a walk through the fields where citrus and banana trees surround 2,500 tea plants spread out on land above rocky sea cliffs. Rob shows visitors how to pick the tea by plucking the stem and top one or two leaves, and explains the different processing methods that results in organic green, oolong or black varieties that sell for $15-$20 per ounce. 

Warm cranberry scones appear on antique Japanese plates as Mike begins a relaxed Chinese-style tea ceremony on their outdoor deck. Filling a thimble-shaped  "aroma'' cup, then covering it with a larger sipping cup, he demonstrates how to quickly invert the two so as not to spill any liquid. We follow his lead, tilting the aroma cup to inhale a fragrant mist. Then we slurp the tea, letting it hit the back of the throat as we savor yet another taste of Hawaii. 

The Onomea Tea Company, 27-604 Alakahi Place, Papaikou. Tours/tastings, $30 by reservation. Information: 808-964-3283. 

Our day ends at Merriman's in Waimea where guests waiting for tables can kill time wandering through a garden filled with dozens of examples of vegetables and herbs that can be grown locally. There's no view, no beach, just a dining room filled by 6 p.m. every night with diners ignoring the sunset as they focus on their dirt farm salads and roasted lamb. 

Merriman's Restaurant, 65-1227 Opelo Rd, Waimea. Reservations required. Call 808- 885-6822 


Next week: Upcountry Maui 

A Taste of Hawaii

The Onomea Tea Company

CEILING FANS SPIN ABOVE TABLES covered with mint-green cloths as we settle in for lunch and a farm at the Hawaiian Vanilla Company here in the rain-forest town of Paauilo,
an hour’s drive from the Big Island's sunny Kohala Coast. 

Jelly jars filled with vanilla-scented iced tea and lemonade arrive, along with vanilla- infused sautéed shrimp, grilled chicken in a bourbon-vanilla-citrus marinade, and a salad tossed with a vanilla-spiked raspberry vinaigrette.

A vanilla-inspired lunch at the Hawaiian Vanilla Co.

Any regrets I had about leaving the beach behind to explore the agricultural side of an island normally associated with volcanoes and lava-rock fields disappear as quickly as our dessert of vanilla ice cream with passion-fruit curd. In business since 2000, Hawaiian Vanilla is among a handful of Big Island microfarms and culinary entrepreneurs welcoming visitors for a look behind the scenes.

Wendell and Netta Branco of  Long Ears Coffee Co.

Find out more about the Big Island's agricultural and culinary scene in my "Taste of Hawaii'' story in the March issue of Virtuoso Life magazine.

Money-saving tips for Hawaii

The bad news about planning a trip to Hawaii this fall or winter: You're not likely to stumble across a bargain on air fares, rental cars or hotel rooms. Everyone's favorite vacation destination is on the rebound as it attracts more visitors, especially Japan and China.

 The good news: No need to let anyone kick sand in your wallet. Try custom-creating your own deals.

  I've been experimenting while planning a two-week trip to Kauai and the Big Island and offer a few ideas in one of my recent Travel Wise columns for the Seattle Times. 

 Flights

A flight to Hawaii is an excellent way to use an Alaska Airlines' companion fares. I don't normally sign up for credit cards with annual fees, but I did last year to qualify for a $99 companion fare.  Now I'm cashing in.

 Two tickets for non-stop flights in mid-September that would have cost me $600 each totaled $814, including $39 taxes on the companion fare and the $75 Visa card fee. 

Lesson learned: Maximize the value of companion fares by using them for expensive flights.

Keep in mind that flight to the islands from either Bellingham or Vancovuer, B.C. sometimes cost less. Whether or not the drive is worth the savings depends. A recent check showed an Alaska's non-stop to Oahu on Dec. 6, returning on Dec. 13, priced at $537 out of Seattle vs. $437 out of Bellingham.

For an inter-island flight on Hawaiian Airlines, I saved $22 off the best price that showed up on the meta-search site, Kayak.com, by rechecking prices on the airline website. 

Hawaiian's inter-island prices vary depending on the time of day. In this case, they ranged from $125-$179 on one-way flights  between Kona on the Big Island and Lihue in Kauai, with the bulk of priced at $145, the lowest fare to show up on Kayak.

Hawaiian's site, however, revealed a $125 flight not shown on Kayak.

Lesson learned: Kayak, which doesn't sell tickets directly but rather links buyers to airline websites for purchases, is a generally comprehensive mega-search site, but it's not 100 percent reliable. This was the second time in a few months that I found a better fare by searching directly on an airline website.

Rental cars 

Searching for an 11-day car rental for pick-up in Kona, I checked prices at the major national companies' off-airport locations as well as quotes from Hotwire.com and other discount sites. 

 Several surprises: By going to Enterprise's website and shifting the pick-time at the Kona airport from from 1 p.m. to  2 p.m., the price on a compact dropped from $406  to $356, slightly less its off-airport price, and less than anything I found on Hotwire or other sites. 

 The compact was slightly less than the price of a smaller economy car, reflecting more demand for smaller cars due to high gas prices. But that's not the end of the story. Checking back on Enterprise's website four days ahead of my trip, I found the car available for $218. Needles to say, I cancelled the first reservation and rebooked. 
 Lesson learned: Never pre-pay, and always recheck prices again closer to your departure date. Rates can drop if companies suddenly find themselves with more unrented cars than expected. 

  Lodging 

Occupancy and room rates are rising on all the islands, reports Smith Travel Research. Average daily rates on Oahu rose 13.4 percent to $221 in July compared to last year.

Not everyone can afford a week at a luxury resort, but if one or two nights seem doable, think about the possibilities for mixing things up a bit.  

I like to sample different types of accommodations when I travel, both for the variety of experiences and the chance to average out the costs.

We'll stay with friends on Kauai for a few nights, then divvy up our time on the Big Island with two days at a beach resort, then  boutique B&Bs on a working coffee farm and former sugar plantation; an Airbnb (www.airbnb.com) rental apartment near Volcanoes National Park and two nights "Couchsurfing" (www.couchsurfing.org) with a retired couple near Hilo. and a B&B on a start-up coffee farm in Captain Cook.

Hawaii fares headed up

Maui

Expect to start paying more for flights to Hawaii. So best to use those frequent-flier miles for Hawaii flights while you can, advises Joe Brancatelli, publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a newsletter for business travelers.

The three big players — United, Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines — are cutting back on seats this fall, Brancatelli reports. That likely means higher ticket prices and fewer seats available for award travel.

Competition between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska has been intense in the Pacific Northwest and the Bay Area, resulting in deals for passengers but weaker profits on some routes.

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey confirmed that the airline will cut capacity nearly 7 percent in the next five months, mainly by reducing daily flights from Oakland and San Jose to the Big Island and Kauai.

Allegiant Air is putting Hawaii flights from Boise, Spokane and Eugene on seasonal hiatus the week of Aug. 14. Flights from Bellingham to Honolulu and Maui won’t be affected.

Speaking of Alaska Airlines, what's behind its mileage partnership break-up between Kenmore Air? Read about it in my Sunday Travel Wise column for The Seattle Times. 

Beating high cost of rental cars in Hawaii

Hawaii’s back.

Nearly 8 million visitors traveled to the islands last year, spending $13 billion. Airlines are adding seats. Travelers are again pouring in from the United States, Japan and Canada.

That means supplies of rental cars are stretched, leading to higher prices and, during some peak times, shortages.

“When car companies on the mainland need more cars, they just shift them from location to location,’’ says Ron Wigand, product manager for AAA Washington. “In Hawaii, it takes months to address that.’’

Adding to the problem was a longshore strike late last year that affected car shipments from distribution sites in Long Beach, Calif., and Los Angeles, said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group.

Getting the best rate and the rental car you want in Hawaii will take some planning, so start early:

For some tips on how to save, follow these times outlined in my Travel Wise column in the Sunday Seattle Times: 

-Book as far as you can in advance, especially if you travel over spring break, in summer or during the Christmas holidays.

“Come June 15, airlines will charge as much as they can, and car rentals are in perfect alignment with that through early August,’’ says Jeff Tucker of the Beat of Hawaii travel website

Most rental-car agencies don’t charge for changes or cancellations (some do for no-shows), meaning you can take advantage of better deals if you find one later. That doesn’t always apply to discounted prepaid rates, so check cancellation and change policies carefully.

Agencies base pricing on supply and demand, Wigand says. “As demand goes up and inventory goes down, prices go up. Rent now for Dec. 15, and you might pay $250 (per week). Wait until September, and it could be $450.’’

- Almost all major agencies have in-town locations, sometimes just a few miles from the airport. The cost of a taxi can be worth the savings, given Hawaii’s high airport surcharges, taxes and fees.

When I’m in Maui, I rent from Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Hana Highway location, two miles from Kahului airport. A check on the Enterprise website in late January for a week’s economy-car rental in early March turned up a rate of $239 at the Hana location versus $551 at the airport.

Check operating hours at branch locations before you rent. Enterprise’s Hana branch, for example, closes on Sundays and at noon on Saturdays, and stays open only until 5 p.m. other days.

-Get quotes from local firms that negotiate wholesale rates with the major agencies.

Two with good reputations are Car Rental Hawaii and Discount Hawaii Car Rental. 

-Check various third-party websites (airline sites, Orbitz, Expedia, etc.) against rates posted on the car-rental agencies’ own websites. If you haven’t booked early, call directly to see about last-minute cancellations. Ask about AAA or AARP discounts (10-20 percent), or try a travel agent.

- If you want an air/hotel package, find one that throws in a few days’ car rental at no extra cost. Pleasant Holidays has some available.

- Try Hotwire.com or Priceline.com. Both discount rental-car rates, but don’t reveal the name of the company until after you’ve booked and paid with a credit card. Bookings are nonrefundable.

-Finally, rethink your need for a car. Will you really need one every day or just for a day or two? Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii have inexpensive public buses. They’re easy to use and a good way to meet locals — and save money.