Updated 2/15/2020. The cost of flights to Hawaii in 2020-2021 is continuing to change for the better. This will of course vary by departure city. Generally, U.S. west coast cities with the most Hawaii traffic and the most airline choices will offer the cheapest fares.
Those cities that have new Southwest Hawaii flights will be the cheapest in 2020-2021.
Flights to Hawaii | What to Expect by Location and Duration
West Coast Departures: Generally fares starting at under $300 round trip including all taxes and fees. That being said, sales as low as $99 each way could happen again. Deals are typically for low season, which is also the best time to visit Hawaii. Think winter, spring, and late summer through fall. Best fares will occur during intermittent sales on flights to Hawaii. Those cheapest fares will occur as Southwest Hawaii competition builds. Weekend travel may be, but is not always, $50 to $100 more than midweek. Saturday is generally the most expensive day to fly. Planning on Saturday flights should be avoided when possible for that reason. Summer flights will also benefit as a result of competition from Southwest flights. Intermittent sale prices for summer should start at $400.
West Coast Departures: San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento are benefitting most from Southwest Hawaii flights. Those followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle. See Cheapest Cities for Hawaii Flights with specific price information for more key gateway cities.
Midwest and East Coast Departures: Expect to generally pay $200 to $300 more round trip although some sales do result in even lower costs than that, for flights to Hawaii. We had flights from the east coast for under $400 round trip in 2019. Note that many mid-west and east coast cities do not get true Hawaii deals due to the lack of a competitive market environment. They do, however, still see price reductions for off-season travel. Weekend flights can run $50 to $100 more than midweek and again Saturday is almost always the most expensive day to fly.
Note on Southwest: As Southwest starts to build routes from beyond the west coast to Hawaii, prices could also be reduced beyond what is normal. They will also need, for the first time, to incorporate overnight flights in order for connections to and from more distant cities to work. That may take time to happen, but it will occur over time.
Flight duration and intermediate stops can significantly affect cost. Airlines are now regularly charging substantially more as the duration of the flight(s) decreases. If you don’t mind a layover en route, you can often save a lot of money. The longer the layover, the cheaper the price, even when flying from the closest west coast cities. Note: Pay close attention to duration when booking flights to avoid long and exhausting delays, sometimes overnight, in stopover cities.
If you’re ready for a free trip to Hawaii, there are many contests you can now enter and more coming soon.
Feel free to scan some of our recent Hawaii deals to see what you can expect to pay or use the website search to find your city.
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