It's gotten a lot harder to find flat bed United first class seats to Hawaii for 50K United miles (there are still some first class award seats on the flights to and from Houston and Denver) so I figured it's time for an update on where the flat bed business class seats are, in case some of you are planning trips to Hawaii for later in 2013 or early 2014. Particularly from the East Coast (EWR and IAD) I think it's very worth it to book flat bed business class if you can find award availability, since we're talking 9 to 11 hours of flying.
United charges 40,000 United miles each way, plus you can tack on a free United one way to maximize your award. If we take the EWR-HNL flight as an example, the paid business class fare is often $3200 or more, so that's about 4 cents per mile nominal value, plus the value of a free one way if add that in.
United Flat Bed Business Class routes
United flies their flat bed business class product to Honolulu from:
- NYC – Newark (EWR)
- Washington Dulles (IAD)
- San Francisco (SFO)
United Flat Bed Business Class EWR – HNL
EWR – HNL: UA15
The Newark to Honolulu flight departs a little after 1 pm ET and arrives a little after 7pm HST, or a little after 6pm HST when the continental U.S. is on daylight savings time (keep in mind there is no daylight savings time in Hawaii, given its proximity to the equator!)
Availability: You'll have to be very lucky to score a business class award on this nonstop flight between now and around mid-September. It's a good time to lock in flights for January-February 2014.
HNL – EWR: UA14
This red eye flight departs about 8:10 or 8:25pm HST (or after 9pm HST, when the continental U.S. is not on daylight savings time) and arrives 11:50am or around 12noon the following day due to the time difference.
Availability: Similar to the outbound–very little business class award availability until mid-late September, and of course avoid the holiday periods of Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Year's, etc.
IAD – HNL: UA145
Departs 1:10pm ET and arrives 5:24pm HST. Make sure you look for the 767-400ER for flat bed seats, not the regular 767-400.
Availability: I only see the nonstop operating through August 26 2013; thereafter I only see connecting flights and no nonstop option, so if you're flying from IAD you may want to book flat bed business class seats on UA145 before August 26. I see just a few dates between now and August, so nab them while you can.
HNL – IAD: UA144
This red eye flight departs about 8:05pm HST and arrives 11:30 am the following day due to the time difference.
Availability: Apart from a few days next week and July 4th (which I assume will all be gone soon) I saw almost no availability between now and August. And as with the outbound, I don't see this non-stop operating after August 26.
SFO – HNL: UA73
Departs 4:05pm PT and arrives 7:42pm HST.
Availability: I see very little from June 2013 (when I start seeing the 767-400ER with flat bed seats) until November, when a handful of dates are availble, and then availability is decent from mid-January 2014 on. I would definitely book now if you're looking at late January-February 2014.
HNL-SFO: UA72
Departs 6:25am HST (7:25am when the continental U.S. is not on daylight savings) and arrives 2:29pm PT
Availability: Perhaps because of leaving so early, business class award availability is a bit better on this flight than on the outbound, from June, when the 767-400ER starts to operate.
FAQ
How Can I Tell if the Flight Has Flat Bed Seats in Business Class?
Click on the “View Seats” link to view the seat map. Flat bed business class seats appear as yellow bed icons, whereas regular recliner business class seats appear as yellow squares. Here's an example of the Honolulu to Newark seat map for UA14:
What If I Can Only Find 1 Business Class Seat Award at the Saver Level, But Two of Us Are Traveling?
You have a few choices:
- Book one business class award at the saver level and one at the standard (double miles) level
- Book one business class award at the saver level and buy the other business class ticket
- Book one business class saver award and one economy saver award
- Travel separately on United: if you can find a saver level business class award for the day before or after, fly on separate flights
- Travel separately on different carriers: book one business class saver award on United and another award or paid ticket on another airline
Am I Guaranteed a Flat Bed Seat if That's What I Book?
Nothing is guaranteed–there could always be an equipment swap. I recommend selecting a business class seat assignment in rows 1-4 for that reason, since some of United's other planes flying to Hawaii only have 4 rows of recliner business class, and you want to avoid being bumped down to economy, even if you do unfortunately end up in a recliner business class seat.
Have you flown flat bed business class to Hawaii in United, or do you plan to?
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