Cheapest city from the western USA to Honolulu

Cheapest city from the western USA to Honolulu?
In October of 2008 we are planning a trip to Honolulu. I live in Salt lake city UT (SLC) but would like to know what the cheapest city to fly to Honolulu is? Here is some background. My aunt is going and she is from Phoenix. Her flight would be by Delta from Phoenix to Honolulu with a layover in SLC. It is going to cost her about 350. If I put in the same airline from SLC it is about 150 to 200 more expensive. How does that happen. So I got thinking maybe I could fly from SLC to another city for cheap then from that city to Honolulu for cheaper than directly from SLC. Anyone have ideas? I can easily go to Expedia, Travelocity, ect but that usually is not what I'm looking for. Ideally no more than 350 to 450 per ticket would be nice. Thanks.
Honolulu - 3 Answers
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1 :
Here are some of the cheapest that I know of ... Sometimes you can fly one way on Aloha airlines from LA for 99 Southwest also have some good deals out of Phoenix Also, try Seattle or San Diego I am so jealous of you! We went to Hawaii in Oct 2006 and I have been in love ever since. Can't wait to go back!
2 :
Try San Jose, Oakland, San Francisico, or Los Angeles. San Jose and Oakland are serviced by Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines respectively and San Fran and LA are hub cities for Hawaii so will have a large number of flights back and forth daily. There is also a direct flight from Portland to Honolulu on Hawaiian which is sometimes on sale. Good luck and happy travels!
3 :
LAX is usually the cheapest I can find. Hawaiian Air flies from all over the west coast (including Pheonix), so I suggest going to their website (www.hawaiianair.com) and checking for your personal specifications. October is a the start of the slower season, so it should be a little cheaper. I also suggest signing up for the Hawaiian Miles program, it's free and entitles you to discounted fares AND you can sign up for the Unadvertised Low Fares email program, where they send you emails about lower than advertised fares. Even for the summer months, tickets from LAX ar around $400 roundtrip.