Hawaiian Airlines is on a tear today with its largest and most significant route expansion ever announced that includes Texas and Florida. The company has just unveiled flights starting next year between Hawaii and Austin, Orlando, and Ontario (California). Kudos to them for being forward-thinking and doing so at such a challenging time. The airline just said that in addition, it will add another California route, with daily flights from Long Beach to Maui.
Peter Ingram, Hawaiian CEO said “We are delighted to bring our superior value proposition to travelers visiting Hawaii from Austin, Ontario and Orlando, while adding service to Maui from Long Beach.”
Read on for route details including start dates, aircraft types and more.
New routes begin next year, starting as follows.
Long Beach to Maui starts March 16, 2021, and will operate five times weekly.
Service will be on narrow-body, 189-seat, A321 aircraft. This is a significant expansion for Hawaiian at Long Beach, which previously only had service to Honolulu. BOH: This appears to be an excellent Southwest pre-emptive, strategic move in all-important Southern California. Maui is becoming arguably the most important of Hawaii’s destination airports on its own, with good connectivity state-wide.
Ontario to Honolulu starts March 16, 2021, and will operate five times weekly.
Service will be on narrow-body, 189-seat, A321 aircraft. This is the return of a prior route and once that has been asked for repeatedly. BOH: This and Long Beach both help fill some significant gaps before another airlines positions itself. We’ve previously used the Ontario route ourselves and found it very helpful traveling to Orange County and to the Inland Empire.
Orlando to Honolulu starts March 11, 2021 , and will operate twice weekly.
Service will be on wide-body, 278-seat, A330 aircraft. The Hawaii bellwether sees Orlando as one of the largest domestic travel markets without nonstop Hawaii service. It will also be a popular destination for those of us in Hawaii. This is the third Hawaiian east coast route, following New York and Boston. BOH: This is another interesting move. Orlando is a market that will need to be developed in much the same way the airline previously did with New York and is continuing to do with Boston.
Austin to Honolulu starts on April 21, and will operate twice weekly.
Service will be on wide-body, 278-seat, A330 aircraft. This route is Hawaiian’s first foray into the middle part of the USA. BOH: Since Austin is one of the fastest-growing metropolises in the country, this is a good bet, although it too will need work. It also avoids competitor-rich Dallas and Houston. We don’t expect it to be the airline’s last mid-continent opportunity.
Which route interests you the most? For us, it’s Florida because both of your editors have family there. We also like Ontario for our second choice.
Beat of Hawaii photo at Diamond Head Oahu.
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I’ve been hoping for the Ontario route for a long time. I can hardly believe that it is finally happening! This will open up access to Hawaii for thousands who simply didn’t want to drive over 2 hours through heavy traffic to LAX.
Thanks for the good news. Excited about Austin. United flies from Houston but the fares are never competitive. Even though Dallas is an option, Austin is a shorter drive for us.
Hi Mama.
The good news too is that will put pressure on the prices from both Houston and Dallas.
Aloha.
Howdy from Austin! Mahalo Hawaiian Air-can’t wait to fly on an airline that feels like Aloha for 8hrs non-stop!!
Aloha from Austin!
I am so excited about the Ontario route. We would always have to leave so early to catch a flight from SAN or LAX. That added an additional 2-2 1/2 hour travel time to the already long trip. Ontario us just a short 35 minute commute (if the Cajon pass is clear). Parking is so easy at Ontario. Hopefully they will consider routes to Maui as well.
I’m loving the Austin corridor.
We have lots of Ohana in the Round Rock, Lago Vista Texas area!
Very wise strategy on Hawai’ian Airline’s part.
Mega Mahalo to you guys for ALWAYS giving others a huge serving of hope and a side of smiles 🌺
Much Aloha
Hi Pam.
Glad that Austin will be useful for you. Thanks, as always, for your kind words.
Aloha.
If normalcy ever returns then the Ontario route is a game changer for us!! I see it’s only a one way offering now and only to Hnl but hopefully it becomes a regular all Hawaii destinations Time will tell. But still the daily changing rules of the govt have killed our desire to fly there
Mahalo
All these Maui routes are illusionary at best. I have twice booked direct flights from Las Vegas to Maui only to see them vanish from the schedule as my travel date approached and HA change my flight to go through Oahu which is totally unacceptable. I don’t trust Hawaiian Airlines to follow through with these March schedules at all. I know they have the Covid 19 excuse but I think they should wait until they can be sure that they can fill their regular routes before adding more.
The Orlando route is interesting. That will be interesting on how SWA will deal with the competition. You can fly out from MCO to Hawaii but when you return you have an overnight stay. This will probably not happen with HA. Any indication that a flight to Maui is in the future from MCO?
Merci beaucoup
Hi Richard.
Any further expansion from Orlando is highly unlikely.
Aloha.
We would love to see direct flights from Seattle to Lihue or Everett to Lihue on Hawaiian!
Austin? Losing out on the Dallas market.
I’ll keep Southwest and free bags out of Dallas, as will most others.
Would have loved more competition here.
Enjoy the connecting flight and hour + layover on SWA. Those in Austin will enjoy a direct flight with better service.
Great news for Hawaiian Airlines! We’re keeping fingers crossed for Denver!
I walk in the mornings by Lihue Airport,,have for decades-now,as in after Hurricane Iniki,9-11.the many hurricane warnings that left Kauai residents with little air transportation,I feel very emotional and grateful towards Hawaiian Airlines ,when I see their flights either land or depart, for their committed services;and am happy to see these new routes,; bringing new visitors to Hawaii -thank you
Hi Jeanne.
Thanks. We get it. It is an eerie silence not hearing more planes taking off and landing.
Aloha.
Jeanne,
I live on Maui and even I have to admit that the sky, while I was driving from Kihei to Kahului during the 7 month hiatus, seemed empty. I never appreciated those 2 or 3 planes that flew over me on their way to land. And if my errands took me next to airport fields-ho!- I never knew so many, many rental
Cars on this island!
The Hawaii / Austin TX route will be a nice way for Hawaii citizens to taste before relocating to a low tax freedom loving State (even if Austin is Socialist).
Love the Austin route and will be booking. Can’t compare SW to HA when you have a widebody jet to compete with. Equal distance from Dallas to Austin/Houston to Austin. Good planning Hawaiian Air!
You are correct…..Can’t see too many people choosing a 737 for two or three legs over a non stop HA Widebody. I wouldn’t think it’s a route they see as competing with SWA, more like creating new business like HA did with BOS and JFK. My guess is there are plenty of cities throughout the mainland they can replicate the success they had with JFK and BOS.
Texas may have no state income tax, but their property taxes will bankrupt you if tried to retire there without deep pockets. My daughter has a house the same basic square feet as I have in my home in Utah…and the property taxes are nearly three times as high ($2200 Ut vs $6500 Austin) so its hard to say its actually a low tax state!
Always wanted to visit Austin and haven’t yet… Hawaiian’s service is substantially better then everyone else in my book. I know it’s cliche but it’s also quite true…
you are in Hawaii as soon as you step on the plane, everyone else you have to wait till you land!
They must know something relative to tourism bouncing back, or perhaps they are deploying aircraft that would have been used for International flying.
Either way, it’s nice to see and good for Hawaii.
Of course there are no new flights for Kauai since Kauai doesn’t welcome visitors. As a matter of fact the airlines are cancelling the Kauai routes left and right. Mahalo for the good news about Ontario though. Austin will be an excellent market as well.
Hi Joan.
Thanks for your many comments. Honestly, Kauai is just far too “thin” a travel market for routes like these. There is nothing new to the Big Island either, and it for precisely the same reason.
Aloha.
Thanks. Flew Hawaiian Air in 2013, amazing airline, amazing service
I currently live in Long Beach and moved here after 25 years living in Hawaii — I’m definitely interested!
Seems so contradictory that Airlines are adding routes and offering cheap flights when each week there are more and more hoops to jump through to get to Hawaii. More routes and discounted flights dont change the fact that the Hawaiian government cant decide if or how they want visitors to come to the islands.
Thanks, BOH!
Hi Tracy.
Staying optimistic, we won’t be stuck like this forever. These are good moves both for visitors, the airline and Hawaii.
Aloha.
Hawaiian is making a very strategic move here with these routes.
For the LGB and ONT routes – I am reading them as a bit of a slap in the face to LAX and the way the airport authority there has been messing around with Hawaiian. Last I heard LAX wants to move Hawaiian again, this time from T6 to the West Terminal at TBIT. I heard that Hawaiian balked at that when the news came down. So instead of expanding at LA, they will expand in other areas. For ONT – they have also been aggressive in getting new international service in with CAL running a TPE-ONT flight
For Austin – smart move to both get into the Texas market without dealing with AA and UA. With Austin, there is no fortress carrier there, but still is significant enough of a destination to get to where you need to go. Furthermore, AUS has also been attracting new carriers, with British Airways flying from London to AUS.
Orlando is a bit of an interesting one but it makes sense. Its not FLL where your literally mobbed with the cruise flights, nor is it Miami where your dealing with AA. So Orlando is close enough to the cruises and the Disney/Theme park action.
All of it is good news for the Hawaii travel market and either its a projection forward based on information that things will start to get back to normal then, or the biggest bet Hawaiian has made in a while. One thing that Ingram will be sure of is if any of these routes don’t pan out…he’ll pull them real fast. Learned his lesson on the China/Taiwan and even the Manilla operations.
Sounds good, but I still have to pay for baggage fees. I travel as a family of 4 so SW is still cheaper. No fee is better than any fee!
Get the credit card, you get free checked bags, plus 60,000 miles, good for free travel (hawaii r/t starts at 35,000 miles)
I love Hawaiian airlines. Any chance of nonstop flights for those of us in Sacramento?
There is nonstop on Hawaiian from Sacramento to Honolulu.
Maui too on Hawaiian starting in April
Huh? Hawaiian flies Non-stop from SMF to HNL and OGG (Kahalui, Maui), for many years now, and Hawaiian Air has been far more competitive since SWA entered the SMF to Hawaii Market…
Typo – this is their 2nd daily flight to SFO.
Hawaiian currently operates two daily flights, one from Honolulu and one from Maui so this will be the 3rd daily flight between Hawai’i and San Francisco.