111 thoughts on “Flight Reviews: Hawaiian Vs. Southwest Showdown”
Tammy’s
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!!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?