Interisland Flights For Spare Change Or 3,500 Miles

The great deals on Hawaii interisland flights continue. Today’s offer from Hawaiian Airlines sweetened the deal a bit further. By 54% off, to be exact.

The good news is that it has become much cheaper to fly interisland since Southwest added so many flights. They currently operate about 40 flights between the islands daily, while Hawaiian has nearly three times as many.

For us residents and visitors, it is feasible once again to travel between the islands without breaking the bank. Were it not for those incessant flight delays, it would be entirely smooth sailing. Personally, your editors don’t remember traveling this much between islands in years. The price had become onerous before this competition.

Spare change or just 3,500 miles interisland.

Hawaiian is currently offering interisland flights into December for just 3,500 HawaiianMiles each way plus $6 in taxes. That’s a savings of 54% off the cheapest fare using HawaiianMiles. For those with just some “spare change” miles in their account and not enough for mainland flights, it can make sense to use them up this way.

If you don’t have or want to use HawaiianMiles, there are still the $39 airfares on both Hawaiian and Southwest. Either way, you’ll be paying the same equivalent amount.

The 3,500-mile offer is valid for some flights each day through December 31, 2022. We expect both of these to be extended into 2023, even though the airlines continue to lose money at this price.

Tips for the best interisland flight deals:

1. Check both Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines for those $39 deals that are usually available on both airlines.

2. Interisland flights that connect with mainland flights fill up the fastest. Interisland flights tend to be far less crowded in the early morning and late in the day. On some of the recent flights we’ve been on, as few as 25% of the seats have been sold.

Compare three interisland airlines and their offers.

1. Hawaiian Airlines has by far the most flights. Under normal circumstances, these flights run efficiently, which is why they have been the most on-time U.S. airline. No-cost advance seat assignments are a plus. Be careful since stand-by and flight changes are generally not permitted without extra cost, in spite of what their website says. Also, checked bags start at $15 for HawaiianMiles members unless you have their branded credit card, two being free. The normal cost is $25 for the first bag on neighbor island flights.

2. Southwest Airlines flies on most Hawaii interisland routes but has much less frequency to choose from. You get two free bags, which are great for shopping, and have free changes too. But you’ll deal with no seat assignments.

3. Mokulele Airlines has scenic low-altitude viewing on their interisland flights. See that below. These are on Cessna Grand Caravan planes with only 9 passengers (but 2 pilots). They fly between all islands except Kauai, and prices start at $47. It is a lot of fun, and you’ll end up with great photos included. Now that’s a unique perk!