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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

I basically just remember 2 words, aloha (greetings) and mahalo (thank you) Wink

We had planned a 9 day family trip to Hawaii end July and I had another week to play with. Hawaii is as far as you can get from DXB- the other end of the planet. Going via Japan would be quicker so option 1 was to spend a week in Japan. Very tempting neither R nor I have ever been. Option 2 which we eventually did was go via America, spend 3 days in New York visiting family/friends and another 3 days in San Francisco.
Getting to JFK is straight forward EK flies 3/4 times a day. The flight I wanted EK203 was looking full so if we couldn't get J we would take the next one which looked slightly better. On the way back I wanted to stop in LA but LAX is only 1 daily and is generally full. Thanks to LoadMaster (ojas) again for calming my nerves and telling me not to worry about loads. We managed to get business on both the long EK legs, NY was almost full and LAX they left staff behind.

No time for a KaB routing ..... just the basics. Point to point.

DXB-JFK on EK
EWR-SFO on Virgin America VX
OAK-OGG on Hawaiian Airlines HA
OGG-KOA on Mokulele Airlines MW
KOA-HNL on HA
HNL-LAX on Allegiant Air G4
LAX-DXB on EK

Maui (Kahului) - OGG
Big Island (Kona) - KOA
Honolulu - HNL

DXB-JFK = EK-203
(0250-0850) A380
Left on time. Landed :40 mins early. They served dinner after TO but I went to sleep, woke up 8 hours later. Went to the bar hung around for a while then had a roast beef sandwich (they have a mid flight dine on demand snack service called Light Bites) which they brought to the seat. Watched a movie then breakfast was served before landing. A good flight nothing to say, slept ate watched movies went by relatively quick. Immigration didn't take to long, maybe 15 mins which was great. They had a separate priority bag belt and we were out of the airport quick.

Spent 3 days meeting family and friends. Just did a lot of eating and meeting people nothing touristy except walking around the 9/11 memorial strolling thru battery park and the USS Intrepid.

I need to plan these things better it seems every aviationish museum I go to I'm rushing. My friends and I got to the Intrepid an hour before it shut so rushed thru everything. We had no time for the submarine and didn't enter the Concorde. Sad face Sad

Not a whole lot on deck but it was still lots of fun, and the Hubble part is ... well ... anything to do with space is amazing.
Ill just add some pictures, because the Intrepid has been TRed before ...

People could use that?

OOooooooo

One of my favourite aircraft growing up!!!

Another (everyones!) favourite aircraft growing up.

Katz's Diner (errrr Delicatessen)

EWR-SFO = VX-183
(0730-1035) A320
There are lots of options flying NYC-SF but I wanted a new airline so this was perfect.
Called a cab the night before to EWR. Reached about 1:20 before the flight. Hassle free check in (and even better) hassle free security. It moved quick and we didn't have to take out anything from the carryons.

The aircraft was super clean and looked new. Clean leather seats and a responsive IFE. I was very impressed with Virgin America, friendly crew great aircraft (interiors) great IFE. Food was ok nothing great but what you expect. You know how these American carriers are super casual and laid back, very friendly and professional in their kinda way.
The headphone jacks were the normal ones (ya ya pet peeve Cool

) and the touchscreen was quick and accurate. The movies cost $8 I forget what the newer TV shows cost. Again that's what one expect from these carriers so can't complain. Live TV was free around 15 channels or so, I watched Ace Ventura just coz that's what was on. Seats were comfy and the cabin looked nice with the mood lighting.

For the AI followers

They only accept card, no cash. You pay for whatever then the FA brings you the food. Quick and convenient.

Great flight, I managed to get some sleep and stay occupied. JetBlue was my favourite airline in America (altho its been 8 years since I last flew them) but now Im adding VX to the list.

In SF we took a shuttle to the hotel which was in Union Square so very central.

Spent 3 days visiting more friends and family. Ate at china town a couple of times- including a super meal at Z&Y. The hot chilli beef and steamed beans with pork were yum. I generally avoid chicken but the explosive chicken was incredible!

Didn't do much touristy stuff tho, most of the stay was visiting people and eating. Our last day R and I went to the Golden Gate Park and roamed around visited the California academy of science. We were there around 4 hours, another 1-2 would be better. The section on the evolution of man was my favourite. They had a few shows on the planet/habitats in one of those huge ceiling projection theatres which was amazing. A section on whales, a tropical rainforest and aquarium was also fun.

Roaming around the city we saw a street food stall "South Indian Snacks- Dosa". 2 white guys running it I got all excited! Just my luck when I went back in the evening they were closed. Damnnn I would have paid triple to try it Very Happy

OAK-OGG = HA-23
(0700-0910) 763
Had to wake up early in the morning the taxi came at 0430. $100 bucks to get to Oakland including tip 😡 All these cabbies love to talk non stop hehehehe.

Free wifi at the airport- didn't get any nice shots of the 763. Hawaiian is pretty big- 30 or so wide bodies and the 8th largest airline in America. They fly daily from OAK SFO and SJC to Maui sadly only SFO gets the 330. I was tempted to pick SFO because their 767s don't have IFE but a new airport (I've never been to OAK) trumped the 330s superior product.
We got the emergency exit row. It was right besides the galley and toilet which wasn't very nice. The breakfast was terrible good thing R and I ate at the airport. The cabin screens were playing random Hawaiian traditional songs (music videos) no sound of course. Random. They made a drinks run during breakfast and about an hour before landing we got chips and a Hawaiian rum punch.

Apparently this is breakfast Laughing

Crew were nice, hard product was meh. 767, I can't tell if it's a narrow body or what 😈
Landed in OGG on a beautiful day (weather was great throughout actually) and bags were out quick. Nice open air terminal. The car rentals had shuttles it took about :30 mins to get to Hertz pick up our car and get back to the terminal.

The next 3 days went by too quick. The hotel was fantastic and it was nice to have the car and be mobile. We did a 25 mile bike ride down Haleakala crater (not hard at all was 98% downhill). The bike company was in a town called Paia (a lot of surfing) and we took about :30 mins to drive up the mountain and biked down. We started above the clouds and it was a little drizzly but the scenery on the way down was something else. Clear day you could see for miles (both the volcanos, the city even the airport kind of) the vegetation changed along the way. A mini forrest, then cactus and bamboo once we got lower. With great enthusiasms I carried my GoPro (only for this ride!) but ..... yup you guessed it ..... I forgot to charge the bloody thing 😶

Another day we did a mini trek, swam by a waterfall. Stuff like that. Every evening we went out for a meal. Our last night was at Morimoto, the guy from Iron Chef America.
Ate lots of seafood (but didn't do a Luau) most places had Monchong fish which was local? white flakey fish.
Maui was beautiful but a bit commercial. Let me rephrase, it wasn't secluded which isn't necessarily a bad thing more an observation.

OGG-KOA = MW-1716
(1440-1525) Cessna 208 Grand Caravan
Very excited about this flight. Grand Caravan- 9 seater. We filled up the petrol tank dropped the car off and went to the commuter terminal (basically a few buildings after the normal terminal). Red roof, few chairs and a cold drink vending machine.

Check in was quick (as you can imagine) and after they weighed the luggage they weighed us 😜. No security no boarding passes no departure screens no TSA- just be ready to board when they shout out your flight. :30 mins to go we saw our aircraft land and :5 later they called us for boarding. Seats were assigned and a small gate was opened and we were led onto the flight line. I got the last row on the right side, R in front of me. 2 pilots, the FO gave us the emergency briefing and we were on our way.

The cabin wasn't as loud as I imagined which was a pleasant surprise. 3 mins after taking off I looked back and the runway was more or less behind us (and we weren't very high) reminded me of flight school hahahaha 😜 Beautiful view on the climb out the greenery + blue pristine water was crystal clear you could see the rock/seabed all along the coast. Wow. Very few bumps unfortunately. Was hoping for some nice rocking sadly just got 5 mins of bumps on the way down.

Saw a stranded United 777 in Kona without an engine (read here http://www.avherald.com/h?article=489bbf91&opt=0 ). The next day when we were starting our helicopter tour I saw an engine (I figured it came off the Kalita 747 parked nearby) which was sitting next to the 777 by the time we got back. Must have flown out a few days later.

Big Island was such a different scenery and feel. A lot less people, more secluded and isolated in a way (felt like it but it's not, dozens of wide body's come and go every day)
We spent 3 nights but could have done another 2. I missed the trip to the observatory which was high up on my list- damn.

None of the hotels we stayed at had an electricity saving device ..... as in most hotel you need a keycard or something to get the lights working correct? Here - nothing, if you left the room with lights on they stayed on. At least in California the flushes had a low/high flow. Guess electricity is cheap in America Confused

The highlight of Big Island was the helicopter ride, a Bell 407 of Paradise Helicopters. N407WH would be my first helicopter ride ever but what made it special was what we saw!

We booked a 3 hour flight which was supposed to be 2 hours then landing for a picnic lunch (which we carried from the hotel) then back to the airport. The weather at our landing site didn't cooperate so we skipped the picnic and had to head back- our 3 hour trip became a 2 hour one but it was ok we saw everything.
We saw the beaches, the macadamia farms, the forests and stream/waterfalls. The best parts were the lava flows and the 3000' waterfalls.

When we got to the crater (only active one on the island) you could smell the sulphur. It wasn't bad at all but if the black rocks and lava streams didn't give it away you would know something wasn't right 😜

That was amazing to see, but for me the waterfalls were even better. Our pilot played the Jurassic park theme when we entered the valley, added to the prehistoric affect hehehehe. These pictures don't do justice. High high falls, not mighty .... but imposing because of the height. We got pretty close to them as well. It's something I won't forget in a hurry.

Our hotel room was really nice and we spent our free time lazing by the pool- it was really hot I didn't go swim in the sea tho.
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sabya99 · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 9:38 pm Post subject:

What a brilliant TR, as if I was there. Thanks. Very Happy

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ameya · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:58 am Post subject:

Mahalo captain! For the wonderful report

Nice to see pics of those insane portions of American food!

The two images look like from Flight Sim for some reason I don’t know why.

Some very nice pics of Hawaii
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Nimish · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 12:24 pm Post subject:

Lovely TR and excellent pictures Nikhil! I know this is a stupid kind of question, but how would you compare the beaches of Hawaii to say Thailand/ Vietnam or even our own Goa?
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We miss you Nalini!

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

A usual delightful stealthpilot trip report! mahalo, thank you, to steal your words. I find it especially encouraging that you are very prompt in posting your TRs, and even when you do not have that much time on your busy schedule, you still post lovely pictures for us. Pictures of planes, places, and food: all of which we all love. You also have a real knack of working out exotic itineraries to even more exotic places, a skill perhaps dwarfed only by our own Mr. Samir Pal (PAL@YWG).
This TR has special significance for me, since I walked on those very paths a few months before you on a trip to NYC. I will post a detailed TR on this, including one on the USS Intrepid, once I get some window of free time to sort out my pictures.
I guess it is just me: I would never forego food (and that too, airline food), to catch up on sleep. Come on, I travel on business, and what are meetings, conferences and seminars for? Razz

It is sad that you had to rush through another aviation museum, but believe me, you would have missed quite a bit at Krakow (which I haven't seen), but not that much as the Intrepid (which I have seen in detail, and frankly, I have seen better museums, which are better-maintained as well. The USS Intrepid museum compares quite poorly with the USS Midway museum at San Diego, for instance). The NYC food pictures look very inviting. And what could describe it better, than a sandwich which simply called out for a bite, before you took a picture! Smile

Is that cranberry juice on VA? It goes well with the colours all around Smile

SFO is supposed to be a foodie place: The Wife would vouch for it. dosa by two Americans, wow!
Rum punch on a US flight (Hawaii, ok) sounds nice, especially for a fellow Rum-bhakt, though I prefer it with Coke. And The Old Monk, with its Vanilla flavour, is one to savour.
If the Hawaii pictures and descriptions left Dr. Ganguly speechless, I guess he hit the right spot. Nice food pictures, and...breathtaking pictures of the surroundings, the mist, the volcanic flows (the Pahoehoe and Aa flows, if I remember my Geography right), and the waterfalls, and the Jurassic Park mention! Breathtaking.
I see the small size of the last picture: I guess it was after one particular comment you got on the WA group, I believe, ``Dude, pull up...'' Razz

Thank you very much once again, and I look forward to enjoying part 2.
Cheers, Sumantra.

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

What a nice fantastic Hawaiian report, and I loved all the photos they seem very sharp and clear.

Thank you for sharing the information about the Intrepid museum which I will now add as one of my go to things when I am in NYC. The food pictures are absolutely amazing and stays true to the large portion that is so common in the USA. Also in the US hotels it is quite common not to have a key card that is not connected to room electric grid. One advantage is that you can leave behind items for charging but agree is an environmental waste if you do not switch off lights before you go.

Your new airline choice Virgin America seems to be absolutely good, and the meal portion looks quite substantial for a so called LCC. Also a good update on Hawaian with winglets.

The Hawaian pictures are absolutely stunning thanks for posting.

Sri_Bom

jbalonso777 · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 8:22 pm Post subject:

Another great NiV report, awesome!

Paying so much more extra to fly a plane you don't get to fly everyday: nice Razz

Hawaii looks awesome. Must do for me, that's for sure!

Interesting seeing a Boeing 747 freighter in those islands!

Have you tried WN? They're my favorite for sure, way better than the apparently best legacy carrier, DL. Might have something to do with the all B737 fleet Razz

Quick immigration - wow!
And were you TSA pre-checked for security? That explains the quick security you had!

Regards
Jish
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Karan69 · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1334

Hi NiT just went through both these reports

Simply Fantastic,
and good info on the museums, i dount ill ever find the need to go to Hawai now that i have already experienced it through your reports

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Excellent TR .... the pictures were superb especially of the food...

Good information on the museum and overall a good visual of Hawaii.

A diverse range of airlines, airports, food, beach ... what else can you ask for Very Happy

...

Thanks for sharing.