When it comes to Hawaii flights, the islands are home to two of the most extreme air travel experiences in the U.S. You can take off for a 20-minute hop between islands on a full-size jet or fly more than 5,000 miles nonstop to the East Coast, often on the very same airline. It is all part of the strange and uniquely necessary network that keeps Hawaii connected.
The 84-mile flight that feels like a sip of coffee.
Southwest and Hawaiian’s 84-mile hop from Kona to Kahului is noteworthy as one of the shortest jet routes in the country. Hawaiian uses its interisland Boeing 717s, and Southwest uses the same Boeing 737 MAX 8s it flies across the Pacific.
On this route, any beverage service feels more symbolic than practical. You sip, and you’re already descending. There’s barely time to settle into your seat before the seatbelt sign lights up again.
While Alaska’s 31-mile flight from Petersburg to Wrangell holds the official U.S. record for the shortest scheduled flight, that one is a subsidized lifeline through remote, roadless terrain.
Hawaii’s version is entirely different. There are no subsidies, and it isn’t rural. It’s just a standard jet service connecting two busy destinations with high frequency.
It may also be the strangest. Where else in America do you board a full-size jet with drink service for a flight so short, you’re already descending before your drink reaches the tray table? It’s not remote, nor is it subsidized, and it’s not rare. It just happens to make perfect sense in Hawaii, and almost nowhere else.
Why Hawaii’s interisland flights are unlike anywhere else.
Other Hawaii routes are nearly as short. Honolulu to Lihue is 102 miles. Honolulu to Kahului is 101. These aren’t novelties. They run more like commuter trains, sometimes operating up to every 30 to 60 minutes during peak travel times.
And they are essential. These jets are the only practical way to get to medical appointments, family events, or work meetings. Many residents treat them like mainlanders treat the freeway, a bus, or a subway.
The 10-hour haul that starts in paradise.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Hawaii also claims the longest domestic flight in the United States. Hawaiian Airlines’ nonstop from Honolulu to Boston clocks in at 5,095 miles. It edges out other long-haul routes like Honolulu to New York, Newark, and Washington, D.C.
Eastbound, this flight can take over 10 hours, depending on wind conditions. The return to Hawaii can be even longer. It exceeds the duration of many international flights and feels more like an international journey than a domestic one.
How Hawaii’s flights make the extreme feel routine.
One day, you might fly for 10 hours across the country. The next day, you’re airborne for under 20 minutes between islands. What surprises visitors is how seamless both types of Hawaii flights routinely are.
For Hawaii residents, hopping on a plane to another island is as routine as driving to the next town. It’s a part of daily life. The short flights are efficient, the long ones scenic. What they share is how unremarkable they feel once you’re used to them.
Will Alaska Airlines change Hawaii’s flight landscape?
With Alaska Airlines acquiring Hawaiian Airlines, speculation has arisen about potential changes that may follow. Alaska is known for flying long domestic segments and also operates ultra-short hops in its namesake state.
That gives it a unique blend of experience. However, fleet changes and scheduling shifts could impact how Hawaii’s flight network appears in the years ahead. For now, though, the extremes remain intact.
Hawaii is still the only place where you can fly 84 miles in the morning and over 5,000 by nightfall, both on a full-size jet. And that says a lot about how different air travel is in the islands.
Have you flown Hawaii’s shortest or longest routes? Share your story in the comments. What surprised you most about flying in the islands?
Photo Credit: Beat of Hawaii flying over Ko Olina Resort on Oahu.
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I’m Canadian, so Hawaii has been my winter refuge since the first time I went to Kauai in the early 90s. I miss Aloha Airlines, but especially the healthy price competition it created with Hawaiian Airlines. Inter island flights were $19 through the early 2000’s
My 1st flight to Hawaii was with Pan Am from New York to Honolulu in December of 1989. I was lucky that my husband had enough miles for us to fly business class which at that time (especially with Pan Am) was a big deal. It fell in love with Hawaii and since I worked in Washington, DC for 30 years, it was always a long flight, but so worth it! I now live in Maui and love the flights to Oahu or Kauai. Never understood why someone would pay for a helicopter ride….Will miss Hawaiian Airlines like I miss Pan Am (I believe that’s the airline Elvis Presley took to Honolulu!). Now waiting for the Seaglider!
Just did RT Boston to HNL. Piece of cake live the NS. Little tough going west with time change recovery but I would never make a stop. Second time doing this route. Hopefully Alaska keeps this segment.
In the early ’80’s I flew on a Hawaiian Airlines DC-9-50 HNL-MKK.
I remember think at the time it seemed the way they paved the runway in MKK was just to wait until all the pothole patches came together.
I’m going to fly back in Oct on both categories. HA/AA codeshare from HNL to OGG, then an AA widebody back to the SE. Haven’t been to Maui in years. Any good eats at the airport?
Best Regards
We always stop at the Beach Bar at the airport before boarding a flight to the mainland.
“…Where else in America…” Correction: Hawai’i is not in America, it is in the USA. We are in neither north nor south America.
The shortest and most scenic flight is between Maui and Molokai. Flight time is 25 minutes on a 9 seat Single engine Cessna, operated by Mokolele Airlines. You see the highest cliffs in the entire world.
If flying with a family dog from the East Coast to Hawaii, you are in for a quandary. With a dog in baggage, you look for the fewest stops and changes of planes. For us, the best and only route was Alaska Air non-stop from Charleston, SC (CHS) to Seattle (SEA) And then non-stop on either Alaska or Hawaiian from Seattle (SEA) to Honolulu (HNL or a neighbor island).
Given Hawaii’s real interest in preventing the entry of rabies into the islands, you have a gauntlet to surpass before your family pooch is free. They include multiple rabies vaccinations and lab blood serum checks, but also vet, time-limited, health certificates. At the poorly-located animal quarantine station at the HNL airport where your dog is taken directly, you may wait inordinately for the release of your pet, assuming all papers are in order. Otherwise, it’s off to lengthy quarantine. Also, no release from the travel crate is permitted at the airport. Crazy, if you must then travel to a neighbor isle.
I don’t see the problem here? We have no interest in taking animals in from thousands of miles way to our islands with a delicate ecosystem.
I fly interisland every so often for work meetings/events/leisure. I love the short commute and yes have gotten used to it, and like you said—it’s like our version of riding the subway.
I’ve also flown back to Hawaii from New York, which when I first booked that flight, I thought “Oh man, 10 hours?!?!” But it wasn’t that bad at all! Felt relatively quick. Flying from Hawaii to Philippines on the other hand… I couldn’t take it lol.
Nice read. Thanks for sharing. I normally don’t comment on articles, but I truly enjoyed this one.
One morning I flew from the big Island to pick up cabinet knobs on Maui not available at home. Then, Uber to Krispy Kreme, picked up donuts. Next flight to Honolulu, where I unexpectedly ran into family. Passed out half the donuts, and flew bay to the big island in time to prepare dinner! A glorious day to fly Hawaiian, enjoying the brief time in the air. All cheaper than a mini vacation!
JAL used to fly inter-island flights in Japan in Boeing 747s; I suspect that Alaska won’t be using their widebodies inter-island in Hawaii. JAL now uses A350-900 widebody aircraft for Tokyo – Osaka on the 1:10 flight.
I’m a regular on the HNL/BOS HA route. The A330 makes it quite tolerable, even in cattle class. I’ve told Alaska that if they move these aircraft to international routes and break the BOS route into segments, e.g. thru SEA, flown with the awful single-aisle 737s, I will fly the airline that gives me the cheapest price. I will not pay extra to be tortured in a sardine can.
My wife and I love the Honolulu-Boston route, and we take it at least twice a year. Nothing matches the contrast between our view of Diamond Head and the scene in Boston Harbor. I have heard rumors that Hawaiian Airlines may abandon this route, and I strongly urge them to keep it. Aloha, Ron
It’ll be interesting to see what aircraft Alaska Airlines replaces Hawaiian’s inter island Boeing 717 fights with. If I’m not mistaken, inter island flights, with current air fares and older 717’s are Not profitable at all.
That’s the rumor, but I don’t think either HA or AS has said so straight out.
I do believe Southwest Has said their inter island is not profitable, but I don’t think they ever particularly expected it to be. Until just recently when WN flights could finally fly passing midnight, only flights leaving the mainland no later than mid -morning could get to Hawaii, turn around, and get back to the mainland by 2359. So in order to have later flights in the day, planes would have to sit on the ground for hours and over night. So using them to fly interisland rather than just sit meant that the routes might lose money, but it was better than just having the plane and crew sir until the next day .