Two back-to-back flights offered surprising results. See what happened in our flight reviews: Hawaiian vs. Southwest.
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111 thoughts on “Flight Reviews: Hawaiian Vs. Southwest Showdown”
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Two back-to-back flights offered surprising results. See what happened in our flight reviews: Hawaiian vs. Southwest.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Comments are closed.
Swa is the top pick 👌 more leg room better planes, less hassle with luggage etc
No airline can survive on $39 fares. For those complaining about inter-island airfares, try working out how much you need to cover in aircraft, fuel, ground handling, staff salaries, airport fees, and maintenance. $39 is a joke. Enjoy it while you can.
OMG! Going to HNL from LAS in October and the airfare was actually less on Hawaiian but you’re right–the customer service is Dreadful! I had to call them about the flights–one because their website was screwed up, and the other because of an error I made, and I was Lied To about both flights. It seemed purposefully vindictive. I also was not connected to the survey afterwards, which I’m sure was intentional on the part of the customer service rep.
For someone who travels so much I am quite surprised that the Southwest boarding process was unfamiliar for you. If it is unfamiliar that means that you have not flow Southwest ever in the past 30 years because that is how long they have been using their boarding process (and longer).
The Southwest boarding process is actually a huge perk for me and one of the main reasons that I fly Southwest. It allows me a chance to get an exit row seat when other airlines charge for it.
Have done them both from PhD many times and will continue to use SWA no HNL anymore. Just try to cancel on HNL it takes an act of Congress to get your money or points returned on SWA your points are returned within minutes and any money is returned back on original c.c. used within an hour.
I’ve flown SWA numerous times between SEA, PHX, MDW, DTW, MCI, BUF and never had any issues but I have yet to fly the short inter island flights, my only gripe is the long nearly 1/2 mile hike between gates for a transfer at DTW with only 30 minutes to spare, all FA’s were awesome.
Short inter island flights are a breeze but the longer 2-5 hours flights can be challenging.
Note to editor-
When Southwest starting flying the interislands, there was Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Only Hawaiian Airlines exist today. When people fly the interisland they should try to support Hawaiian Airlines. Thanks for listening.
Please Felicia, Aloha shut down Way before SWA ever came to the islands by about a decade.
Felicia W – I absolutely agree with you and I’m from the Mainland. Hawaiian should take note and not charge for bags … if it is a “tossup” Southwest is going to win because of the bag!
Our family flew Hawaaian Air to Maui this summer and had a nice fight! Great Service and very friendly attendance to our needs! Flight was on time and great!
When were inter-island fares last $39? Perhaps when reviewing hawaii travel you could remind readers of the numerous attempts of new carriers in Hawaii and the inevitable airline failures that follow. You also failed to mention Hawaiian Airlines‘s recent nomination as the number one company to work for in Hawaii. I can’t wait for some flight attendant from the mainland to welcome me aboard an interisland flights with their Aloha in Texas twang once Southwest prevails.
Bob you’ve been missing out, flights were down to $29 interisland.
Southwest does not use bottled water. They use cans.
I used to fly Hawaiian air but when I flew Southwest to experience. Southwest is the best !! 2 free luggage was a big plus, very clean and the leg space is awesome. The staff is super polite .
Southwest has both and uses bottled water for servicing passengers. The cans are available and used interchangeably.
Glad southwest is here, if not prices would be triple at the least.
I am truly grateful that SW decided to enter the Hawaii market, especially interisland. For years, Hawaiian Air charged too much to fly interisland and this prevented many people from seeing friends/families on other islands. There were many times I needed or wanted to go from the Big Island to HNL only to discover the fares to be $100+ each way. I know airlines need to make money, but why is it SW can offer $29/$39 fares many times throughout the year and Hawaiian would only do this infrequently? At times,the difference in fares between the Mainland and interisland was only $150- $200 roundtrip? I believe Hawaiian Air was charging locals the high prices due to lack of competition and knew they could get away with it.
SWA does the $39 fare because they are large enough to predatory. They will take a loss in a market for years to drive a competitor out of business. Once that happens, the raise their fares significantly.
Apparently you don’t pay attention to Southwest’s predatory practices on the mainland. They run the competition out of town or out of business, then raise fares. Don’t be naïve. If people want to support locally grown food and merchandise in Hawaii, they should support Hawaii’s local airline.
SW can because they are a bigger company. They have way more destinations, daily flights, & hundreds more aircraft than HA does.They can take losses in Hawaii because they can make it up in the states.
I very much enjoyed your review. You could have gotten a newer Max just as easily as the 800 ER. I prefer 800 over the Max, it has more room. The seats on the Max are thinner than the 800 and restrooms are much smaller with the sink being maybe 12″ by 12″. When you look at the Max more carefully, you will notice that the Max is designed to be a lighter aircraft than previous Boeing aircraft. The engines on the Max are bigger and are designed for economy over power. Having said this, I don’t dislike the Max.
Aloha
Hi Roy.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it! We appreciate all your input, including on the SWA planes.
Aloha.
I have had a lifelong relationship with Hawaiian Airlines. My mother was a flight attendant having been in the 2nd class of Hawaiian Air flight attendants decades ago. Later she would work in their corporate offices and also do PR trips to the mainland with the Hawaiian entertainment groups. It was truly Our family airline. However, if Southwest had not entered the market the airfare may have continued to climb to $1000 inter island for a family of 4. Change fees/bag fees added made it unaffordable. The entire island chain welcomed the competition that Southwest brought to our ohana. That is why so many islanders and visitors alike support their effort here.
SWA doesn’t use plastic bottles, the water is canned. FYI.
Although rare, there are some water bottles in our provo ops out there.
I found your comments as the same as mine. Southwest has better planes. I’m glad that Hawaiian doesn’t have a monopoly now. They charged way to much before Southwest started.
I used Southwest traveling California all the time. They are usually on time.
Southwest Airlines is a better airlines. The distance from the gate to the baggage claim is a real walker. Leg room is really great, reclining your seat is the best, after in the air. Pricing for the airfare for interisland and to the mainland, hard to beat. Best reasonable flight times.
Aloha – I assume you mean the distance in HNL. SWA is no longer in the far G gates in HNL, but in the very central E gates.
Hawaiian is the largest employer in Hawaii. Southwest does employ Hawaii residents, but it’s more of the menial low paying jobs. Hawaiian employs high paying jobs in Hawaii which in turn means more tax. Hawaiian is also increasing it’s local procurement, meaning alot of the items being used for service is made in Hawaii, which helps out the small businesses.
SWA does employ locals.
Hawaiian has also been profiting off its locals for years until Southwest showed up. What makes you think Southwest won’t eventually make Hawaii a crew base in the future?
That is Precisely what has been said, with all likelihood SWA will make a Crew Base in Hawaii. The numbers of Pilots, Stewardesses, Stewards and Many other types of Employees living in Hawaii is that great. These are Middle and Above Income Earners, unlike what has been said on BOH, and contributes plenty to the local and State economy.
SWA will not create a base in Hawaii because it costs a lot of money to do so. Wishful thinking at best. It’s ok all the high paying Hawaiian airline employed will just move to the mainland when southwest takes over. Hawaii doesn’t deserve to have its own Airline apparently.
Not true, you have to look at Hotel costs.
Perhaps but competition keeps Hawaiian Airlines honest. Monopolies are never good for the consumer. Also, SWA pays it folks well, so I am not sure you assumption of low pay is correct.
Hawaiian has had the enviable position of loyalty among Hawaiian Residents for a long time, it has always been assumed that they would remain in that position. HAL began changing many things and cutting corners for profits forgetting that people are their largest asset. SWA has come in and is claiming its place by operating as it does elsewhere. HAL isn’t paying attention and will become the 2nd place operator because of their own fault, it would take a lot for them to stay number one for much longer. It’s a hard lesson HAL is learning and it’s doubtful they’ll turn things around.
Hawaiian Airlines honesty has yet to be seen even with the Advent of South West entering the Market. As some people have commented about Hawaiian’s inability to bully and forcing competitors out of the market And the simple fact that SW is too big for them to do that. What is apparent is that South West will eventually Win,whether Hawaiian will be a Real Competitor or not is to be determined. HAL may rely on the Devoted traveler and charge whatever they want as usual and passengers accept that for some reason!
I like to fly Hawaiian for the ambiance but fly Southwest more and more, mainly because of the free checked bag policy, even though I get one free on Hawaiian–and I usually don’t check a bag on my return. Another reason was (WAS) the included meal on Hawaiian. I am not a fussy eater and am grateful for whatever I get. Southwest provides a hefty snack. The last time I flew Hawaiin, the breakfast sandwich we received was inedible. I couldn’t believe it–for even me! The seats, the price, the ease of changing a reservation, as well as more options on flight times, are all reasons that I choose SW more often for my flights to/from the mainland. Interisland, it’s not a big deal.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Southwest. My husband and I will be flying with them on the 1st of September and by sharing your experience flying with them has given me some comfort knowing that they take care of their passengers.
Hi Winona.
Thanks. Glad it was helpful. Happy travels.
Aloha.
Aloha Beat of Hawaii!
I wanted to follow up with you on my attempt to get reservations for my Ohana to come visit me on Maui in February. 2 people.
Hawai’ian airlines is charging them a total of $4700 to fly from San Francisco to Maui with stopover in Oahu. After being on the phone with Hawaiian airlines for 6+ hours of being hung up on and treated like a blight on the planet.
Extra seat charges for bigger people.
They require that they buy two seats per person and cheap seats in the back.
Just FYI.
Mahalo nui loa for all you do.
Hi Pam.
Sorry to hear that. Thanks for sharing those details. 4700 huh?
Actually it’s $4634.00
Two over 6’5 people that are wide as well. One played college football.
The thing that got me was them being hung up on/disconnected and even had one person tell them they should charter a plane.
Hawai’ian Aloha?
I don’t think so.
Alaska has a COS policy if you want to look into that option.
Hawaiians support HAL and want for Tourists to do the same, why pay more without equal benefits for doing so? SWA so far is treating passengers much better in many ways and with a lower cost. I understand that Hawaiians expect to be raked over the coal by their Elected Politicians, maybe that’s why they like HAL, they’re used to the treatment. What else could it be!
Last time we flew back from BI was the time we decided to no longer use SW. They let C group just invade the line and enter with A. There was no rope, no workers guiding people and it was so nasty crowded!
Everyone has “Choices” to make, the Only time that I have heard of this occurring was when the amount of passengers boarding was extremely low. Even with the groups mingled and boarding together the amount was extremely small due to missing connectors and bad weather in certain parts of the country, passengers were wondering if the flight would be canceled. It’s Your Choice to choose, don’t allow anyone to stand in your way. You do know what they say about the Door not Hitting you on the way out, Right?
From the descriptions of Both Airlines procedures from purchase to flight take off I would seek SWA Flights over Hawaiian for sure. SWA certainly has the better Aircraft, Overhead Storage, Leg Room, Cleanliness and Reclining Seating. Hawaiian lags Behind in every category except where personnel are involved, they are Tied in those. I can experience Aloha on Either, SWA would be my first choice. Thank You BOH, I appreciate how you did this and can hardly wait for the long Pacific Flight to and from the Mainland.
Hi Ernie.
Thanks so much for saying that and for your input. It was fun but it was also a lot of work done in those 5 hours.
Aloha.
One other thing to note – SW uses the same plane to continue to the West Coast. So you have to clear agricultural inspection before boarding – if you just wanted to hop to another island for a day to bring back some fresh fruit or a plant from a family member or farmers market, you can only do so on HA. 0Before boarding SW, it will be confiscated.
We have scheduled our first interisland trip for next February. LIH to KOA. I chose Hawaiian over SWA. We are, however, riding 1st class. Simply because the fare difference was less than the cost of checking 2 bags per person. Less than 1 hour non-stop, so we’ll see how the seats are then.
Just wanted to reply to comments about buying local. As a SWA employee I can assure you SWA revenues do go to the Hawaii, and a LOT of it! The money spent to rent gates and offices at the airport- not to mention all the hotels and transportation costs for flight crews – all that benefits the state and local counties. We not only hire local residents for ground positions (all pay local taxes), but we have hundreds of flight crew that live on island and pay HI income taxes. (SWA did a big hiring campaign in HI so I wouldn’t be surprised if it is a crew base in the future). Plus, SWA is Helping locals by keeping the cost to travel low! Who doesn’t love $39ow fares?!
Aloha!
The Bias among some is quite clear towards HAL. HAL is a Corporation just as SWA is, HAL has decided to go in a different direction, SWA is here to take up the slack, give them the same courtesy and chance.
Aloha guys,
Interesting article – have you done a similar comparison on one of their flights to mainland? Would really like to know your thoughts?
Haven’t flown either carrier to the islands; fly SWA often domestic as well as Alaska..curious as to the differences in onboard comfort and service flying to Hawaii..Mahalo
Hi Cheryl.
Thanks. As mentioned in the article, we do plan to do a similar review/comparison on mainland to Hawaii flights.
Aloha.
I’m going to say something and I didn’t want to. We have been coming to Hawaii for a great many years. We were first loyal United fans for a good many years. Then United started giving us poor routing. Spending 19 hours to get to Hawaii is nuts. We then went Alaska. At first their routing was good and then they became poor. It hurt coming into LIH late and seeing the SW plane before us. Coming from Northwest Alaska is your best option. I have a University Prof friend who loves SW. They do a lot of traveling all over the world. We started using SW because their routing was good for us. I have found SW service to be second to none. You get a real person on the line and they know what they’re doing. It takes a trip or two to understand SW.
I will never fly a single aisle again between mainland and Hawaii. We had the most unpleasant, bouncy and rough flight on AK few years back. Seat belt light on the whole way! Took 8 hours instead of 6 because we had to add more fuel in Portland (from Seattle). Then my husband couldn’t use bathroom because so bouncy! I’ll pay whatever for wide body anyday…so much smoother!
I love Hawaiian I love how they treat their people and have two small dogs thst are high risk and they always take care of them.
Your review of SWA and HAL on interisland flights is similar to that of my experience flying HNL-OGG-HNL in late July, flying over on SWA, and flying back on HAL. I will say in comparison to equipment, SWA beats HAL hands down even if you are flying on HAL’s A321s, as I have heard those seats in coach are not the most comfortable. I have found SWA’s seating on its new planes to be quite satisfactory and was happy to be able to fly on the MAX-8’s interisland and get an understanding of how their interisland and mainland operations work. They are no muss, no fuss and you outlined that in your description of the booking. HAL – they are okay for the interisland service they provide, but long gone are the days that trip was memorable on them.
I’ll never fly Hawaiian again. You can book flights and stuff like that no problem but if you need to change flights their customer service is terrible. I have had two instances where I needed to change a coworkers flight and my own. Their website doesn’t work to change flights so you have to call the airlines and their customer service on the phone is the worst. Being on hold for almost two hours (because everyone is calling them to change flights since it doesn’t work on their website) and then one of the two instances I got disconnected and the service rep did not call me back despite taking my contact information down so I had to hold again. Southwest’s website actually works for changing flights and I can do so in a few taps.
Amen!!!
Agreed, and you know what, the price differences are not extraordinarily large, and you even get the credit if the flight you change to is cheaper than the first one. I was impressed by the ease of the SWA system. When I had to make a change to my name (the letter ‘d’ didn’t show up in my full name) I had to call HAL and stay on the phone for what seemed to be a long time just to put in a letter for my name. I almost thought I was going to need to cancel and redo it just because of the name issue. Turns out not, but being happy about that level of service affirms just how hard it is to deal with HAL in the first place as a customer.
All that was great information thanks , it would be more useful if you did the same regarding the mainland to me that is the real test . Inter island is a dash compared to the mainland as you know .Aloha
Hi Ernest.
Thanks. We will be doing that was well.
Aloha.
I fly to the west coast and back once or twice a month and I prefer Southwest to Hawaiian.
Flights on Southwest are more affordable if you book very early, its more of toss up when it gets closer to the flight date.
Southwest has a better cancellation policy/user experience. You can go on the app and cancel, it takes less than a minute. For Hawaiian you need to call their phone number and it can take as long as 45 minutes to get to a service agent.
Southwest has newer planes that provide wifi access for entertainment on your mobile device, Hawaiian has the older headrest touchscreen units that are slow.
However Hawaiian has direct flights to Portland and Seattle so for those flights all things being equal I prefer Hawaiian.
Hey Ernest! They’re planning on doing the Mainland Route in the future, BTW… Great Name, and I am interested in seeing what will be their determination. I typically fly United from Newark non-stop to Honolulu without any concerns, it’s only when connections are present that things can be fouled up. I think that BOH did a very good assessment of the inter-island flights and am certain that the Mainland will be the same.
Hi Ernie.
Thanks for saying that. We appreciate the feedback.
Aloha.
Mainlander here, I love (& prefer) to fly Hawaiian when coming to Hawaii.
I’ve been flying SWA since late 80’s (& have experienced their boarding policy transformation through the years, today’s model is the best)
Yes, SWA’s boarding can be confusing to a new passenger at first but once you know it it runs smoothly.
(And if you had included a checked bag in your comparison SWA would have had a higher score due to their FREE 2 checked bags policy).
Thank you for the review!!
Hi Tammy.
Thanks. We added a mention about free bags. And we’ll include luggage in a future mainland review.
The boarding was unusual but it worked well. As someone else pointed out, it actually had an okay social component.
Aloha.
Have you completed a comparison of the two, HA & SWA on travel between the islands and the mainland?? I would love to have your opinion there.
Thank you!
Hi Anne.
Thanks. That is coming next and you won’t have to wait long.
Aloha.
Before SW began its Interisland service a typical fare was $139 (RT), plus $15 each way to check a bag. You didnt mention SW policy of 2 free bags, as well as the ability to change itineraries without penalties. Hawaiian’s behavior in the past has been to lower rates to drive competition out, and then raise rates as the monopoly. Fortunately, SW is too big for that to work, so I think Hawaiian has to adjust to the reality of competiton for the long term. Finally, with SW I earn points, whereas Hawaiian’s loyalty program doesnt really have any value to me.
In fairness to Hawaiian, one advantage is if you want to bring home grown produce between the Islands, you can because Hawaiian uses a separate terminal for the Interisland flights. With SW you have to give up the avovcados, mangoes, or papayas you just brought back from the Big Island because you arrive/depart from the main terminal in HNL.
You cannot hand-carry the produce, but it can still travel in your free checked baggage.
I know it isn’t ideal but you can put the produce in to your checked luggage and it will be allowed. You just can’t carry it on.
A better comparison would have been to the mainland, i.e. HNL-LAX.
SW use to be the airlines I would fly on the mainland. Experience was always positive…and no nonsense experience. Very good when traveling for business. Thanks for the comparison…will have to give SW a try especially for interisland travel.
As for HA…I totally agree about the upkeep of the inside of aircraft. I have a couple trips of pictures of human hair on seats…especially on the sides. And it is not one but many strands of hair. It really grossed me out. Wish I could have attached the picture. I would have sent HA & complained but…
Also…booking flights on HA website. I could NOT get RT ticket from LIH to SAN. Return flight said…NO FLIGHTS. After trying for 3 days…I ended up booking it on separate tickets.
I know that you had no bags, but I believe the bags are free on Southwest. We are flying from KOA to LIH in early September @ 7,500 miles per ticket and our bags will cost us. We have a credit with Hawaiian with our AMEX Platinum card so that is always our Airline of choice so we won’t pay for the bags. However, next time I would rather pay $39 and get free bags vs using my precious miles that I use for upgrades to First when traveling from the Mainland and back on Hawaiian.
Aloha Gloria. You may consider changing to SWA as your preferred airline with AmEx Platinum. After buying your ticket, make a separate purchase to add Early Bird Check-in & you’ll get the credit almost immediately! Plus, you still get the free checked bags! It’s a win-win in my opinion!
Aloha Lisa, Thanks for the tip as SW is a great airline, but one of the best things about going to Hawaii is buying a Coach ticket and upgrading to First on Hawaiian – my vacation starts when I board the plane and receive Aloha from the moment I step aboard! There are many good things about Southwest, but flying 5.5 hours on their planes are not one of them.
You forgot to mention the safety aspect of both airlines. Hawaiian has a clean safety record and doesn’t fly the unsafe MAX. Meanwhile southworst has had numerous maintenance issues (some publicly well known and others only known behind the scenes) and flies an unsafe and unreliable aircraft. We will stick to flying Hawaiian every time for inter island trips
Welcome to the world of Southwest seating! I know it was new to you but it is so very familiar to us. Actually, on the Mainland, they issue you a number and everyone in the line jockeys to find whom they are in front of and whom they are behind! But it makes for a social engagement!
Aloha BoH friends! I might be in the minority, I fly HA into Maui and SWA out and back home – same airports, different reasons.
Going to Maui I’m flying on the very first flight (start my trip please!). That means I’ve been up since at least 4:30 am. I want to get on the plane, plug in my noise-cancelling headphones, and get some naptime. No need for fanfare. On the way home I fly SWA because even though I only fly with carry on…free luggage check in (gifts for everyone back home)! And the best free entertainment in the air coming back – during normal hours. I don’t care about food on planes, if I think I’ll need it I take some with me. I do notice the seats on SWA are roomier.
Mahalo for all you do – tea
Hi Tea.
Thanks for that. One of us will do a mainland fight comparison and we discussed going on Hawaiian and retuning on SW for shopping purposes.
Aloha.
As a resident and contractor, I fly interisland regularly and really appreciate the 2 free check bags.
At almost anytime in the last couple years Southwest has maintained a cheaper fair also.
I still fly Hawaiian a lot great airline as well.
Thanks Beat!
Do consider that the revenue from your SWA ticket went to their corporate headquarters in Dallas Texas and was of no benefit to Hawaii. The revenue from your HA ticket went to Honolulu and did benefit the State in multiple ways. There is a good reason the whole buy local campaign was started.
Hi John.
Thanks for more than 600 comments. Your point on this is one that some may care about and others not. There are many other things one could consider in a review. We wanted this to be focused on the travel experience. We also didn’t include checked bag fees or other policies in this round which would have changed the ratings.
Aloha.
Hi John, is that the same for American, United, Alaska, etc that fly to Hawaii?
Hi Tammy , Yes, it’s the buy local ethos that as Rob and Jeff correctly said, some people care about supporting Hawaii and some not so much. Hawaiian is our Hometown Airline, the States largest private employer and it’s made up of the people that know Hawaii and live here.
With Many Hawaiians having problems with Tourists and Tourism I certainly hope that it doesn’t effect Hawaiian Service and Representation.
It would interest people of Hawaii to know that Many SWA Employees, including Pilots, make Hawaii Their Home. They Live in Hawaii with their Families and Their Incomes support Hawaii just like Hawaiian Employees do. The Main Difference is their Employers. Hawaiian has decided to put Profits over others more than ever beginning late last year and will certainly be felt by many that typically receive from them. Sounds like both are on Even Footing except for Comfort, Committment, and Pricing and that’s where SWA Customers Benefit over Hawaiian. Why rely on overpaying and less for every dollar spent?