Updated 5/11/19. News this week that there could still be more delays and headwinds for Southwest Hawaii. That as Max planes face additional scrutiny in the US and Europe. Bloomberg said agencies will “review the Max’s original certification. That work is expected to take three months with initial meetings held in Seattle last week.” And that as we continue to receive many questions about additional Southwest Hawaii flights. We had been told by Southwest that the announcement of flights to and from Kauai, San Diego and Sacramento, plus Kona nonstop flights would occur before the end of April. That didn’t happen as the Max crash-related problems spiraled out of control.
Max Perception Could Impact Future Southwest Hawaii Routes
Will you fly on any airline’s Max aircraft following the Lion Air and Ethiopian 737 Max crashes, once they return to the skies? Consumer willingness to do so is essential to Southwest Hawaii flights. Even though the airline is currently flying only 737-800 to Hawaii, Max is to be their primary Hawaii plane going forward.
Today, Barclay’s investment research said that many passengers will not fly on the 737 Max “for an extended period” following return to flight. “Nearly half won’t fly MAX for year or more.” The company surveyed nearly 2,000 North American and European travelers across age groups, income levels and travel frequency. We don’t know how accurately that survey will pan out, especially when we know there will be $99 Hawaii airfares again. But the question remains, how and where will Southwest bring the Max planes back, and what will the reception be? Your thoughts?
Latest Southwest Hawaii Updates
1. When do we expect San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, Lihue and Kona (nonstop) flights be announced plus more inter-island flights?
As of May 7, it is impossible to anticipate when the next round of Southwest Hawaii flight announcements will occur. Our best guesstimates by route and date, however, are below. The entire Hawaii roll-out, plus subsequent flights from Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver, is obviously poised to take considerably longer than had been expected.
2. Southwest just put the brakes on updated flight schedules.
The company was to release its next schedule for flights from November through January 5, 2020 on May 23. That date was then changed to May 29, and most recently to June 20. The company needs more time to try to determine when the grounded planes will be returned to service. At this point, Southwest has taken Max off their flight schedule through early August.
2. Do more Southwest Hawaii deals lie ahead for summer and fall?
Yes, there will still be late summer and fall deals coming soon.
It may take some time for the $100 airfares to return, but keep in mind we’ve already had two sales of $99 and less one-way fares to Hawaii this year. As soon as more flights are announced, Hawaiian Airlines will compete on mainland and inter-island routes and Alaska Airlines will join in mainland fare wars. At that time, expect intermittent return of mainland to Hawaii fares starting at about $100 each way and inter-island fares in the $30’s each way. For that matter we just had $29 Hawaii inter-island fares in the past week.
3. When will tickets become available for dates beyond November 2, including the holidays?
On June 20, the next Southwest schedule update is “planned.” That will include travel through January 5, 2020 including Hawaii flights.
4. Why aren’t flights bookable from points further east than Denver and when will they be?
That is because Southwest doesn’t have red-eye (overnight) flights. While the airline has talked about changing that, it could be many months to years away. There are logistical and staffing issues, although the airline’s reservation system has been updated to allow for them. When overnight flights start, that should make Hawaii accessible (without multiple tickets and a layover) from points further east across the U.S. CEO Gary Kelly said, “we don’t really desire to fly red-eyes right now…. for our style of operation, it would complicate things.” Red eye flights are used by other airlines flying from Hawaii to enable the long flights and up to 6 time zones between Hawaii and the eastern US.
When you attempt to book city pairs that require two separate SW tickets to Hawaii, you’ll get a message that looks something like this: “Sorry, we found some errors… Flights from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Honolulu (Oahu) are not scheduled to operate on mm/dd/yy. Please select an alternate date or choose another origination/destination.” That is your cue that two tickets are needed for now.
What’s next, as of May 7, 2019
May 12, 2019
✈ Inter-island flights between Honolulu and Kona start
✈ Flights between Oakland and Kona start (connecting service)
✈ Flights between San Jose and Kona start (connecting service)
May 26, 2019
✈ Flights between San Jose and Maui start
June 20, 2019
✈ Southwest schedule update for flights through January 5, 2020
By end of summer 2019
✈ Flight announcements from Sacramento to Honolulu and Maui with flight commencement
✈ Flight announcements from Honolulu to Kauai
✈ Flight announcements from San Diego to Honolulu and Maui
✈ Southwest 737 Max 8 returns to service
Before end of 2019
✈ Flights start from Honolulu to Kauai (inter-island only)
✈ Flights start from San Diego to Honolulu and Maui
By 2020
✈ Flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu and Maui
✈ Flights non-stop to Kona
✈ Flights from Honolulu and Maui to Hilo
✈ Flights from Phoenix, Las Vegas, non-stop to Hilo and later Denver to Hawaii starting 2020 or after
Food, drink, entertainment and WiFi on-board Southwest Hawaii flights.
1. Food.
Southwest is offering free food in the form of two snack services that is being well received. One soon after take-off and another two hours before landing, much like the snack boxes SWA had on longer flights years ago. The main post-departure service features a snack bag that includes crackers, pretzels, cheese spread, Tic-Tacs and fruit snacks. The second service consists of Pepperidge Farm cookies. There is no other food for sale so if snacks aren’t your thing, be sure to have food with you before boarding.
2. Hawaii-style beverages.
Island drink offerings include pineapple/orange juice, Kona Longboard beer and Blue Chair Bay (Caribbean) rum.
3. Entertainment. The SWA inflight entertainment portal is active on Hawaii flights. That includes flight tracker, gate information, games, free live TV, on-demand TV, free movies and messaging.
4. WiFi on Hawaii flights. The airline is offering $8 Wi-Fi for the entire flight. Southwest satellite Wi-Fi on Hawaii flights provides gate to gate connectivity. Just don’t forget a charger/battery pack, as their aircraft do not have any charging capability.
Southwest services.
Two free checked bags.
No seat assignments.
$25 Early Bird Check-in provides the option of automatic check-in before the 24-hour check-in and offers an earlier boarding position for a better chance of seat selection and access to overhead storage.
Updated May 7, 2019. Image courtesy of Southwest Airlines.
Christina says
Have an anniversary trip planned for Spring Break 2020 and am thinking it is best to purchase my tickets from Sacramento to Lihue asap in order to ensure my family of four secures airline travel. Am I being foolish in this thought?
Thank you!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Christina.
SW does make it a little harder to predict. But they too will definitely try to avoid discounting over spring break. Otherwise, it is best to book spring break far in advance. With this caveat. Unlike end of year holidays, spring break tends to be a moving target. You could buy what is considered spring break at this moment, and as it gets closer, it won’t be spring break any more. Or the opposite could happen. Safest bet, but perhaps not cheapest, is to book soon.
Aloha.
Linda J says
I completely agree with David L. about flying the 737 Max. Until Boeing accepts responsibility for the “known problems” with auto controls and the crashes that killed so many, I will not feel comfortable flying on that aircraft anytime or anywhere! While a $99 fare is tempting, my life and that of my family is far more valuable than the $$$ saved. I sincerely hope the problems can be corrected and flight safety over time will surely encourage passenger confidence. We love Southwest Airlines and look forward to the day we can fly PHX to Hawaii. I’m saddened by the SW setbacks caused by the Boeing 737 Max issues!
Many thanks for your always timely and extremely helpful information!
Linda J
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Linda.
Thank you.
Aloha.
Daniel B. says
When will flights from Los Angeles to Kauai be announced?
Natalie says
Good question
JohnW says
Boeing was such a great company and much of SWA’s success was due to the 737. Now you would really have to have your head buried in the sand not to see how corporate greed trumped quality and has created a monster. Read all the news coming out about it and it’s pretty clear that perhaps Boeing simply pushed the design too far and is getting bit for squeezing the golden goose a little too much……. SWA’s approach to serving Hawaii may be guilty of a little of the same…..Hawaii is feeling the pressure of overcrowding more and more…an over aggressive in your face we are coming in mass airline is not exactly what the the people of Hawaii really want to see. It’s a more common sentiment then some people realize.
Chris says
I read that Boeing knew there might be a problem with the MAX planes but they released them anyway. I think it was to make money and not be certain that the planes were totally safe. No, I don’t think I’d make a reservation to fly on one of those planes for quite awhile.
MRB says
The unsuspecting traveler may read your updates about crashes of the Max8 and naming an airline other than the ones that actually crashed, as one of theirs. Can you be more specific? I am long on SWA, and these derogatory comments may hurt its brand and therefore its shareholders who, at least as far as I am concerned, very happy they’re flying to the islands.
Aloha
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi MRB.
We made a minor change. Our audience is quite aware of what is going on to be honest and you are the first person to even mention that.
Aloha.
Maria M. says
Thank you so much for these updates! Based on what I’m reading, I think that I should not be counting on Southwest to be flying to Kauai by our departure date of Saturday, October 5th. In another article, you had some great advice about waiting to purchase airfare for the fall season until about 90 days before departure. Do you think that advice still stands, or should I look at booking airfare now?
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the good work you do!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Maria.
You didn’t say where you are flying from, but generally speaking we aren’t seeing great fares yet, even counting SW out of the max. We’ll be publishing better fall fares as soon as we see them. That could start at any point now.
Aloha.
Maria M. says
Oops! Sorry–I’m flying out of Arizona. Mahalo!
KW says
We’re flying from San Jose to Kauai the first week of August. Prices are high right now. Should I hold off to see if there are any deals coming or is this is as good as it’s going to get in that timeframe?
Diane says
PLease clarify: will there be an announcement on May 12 regarding connecting flights from Oakland to Kona? Mahalo
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Diane.
5/12 is the start date for flights and the announcement was some time ago.
Aloha.
Carol M says
Hi there – I wrote in about a month or so ago and never heard back so thought I’d try again. We are footing the bill for our kids and grandkids (10 in all) to get to Maui next February. Our arrival and departure days are firm for most of the group. Feb 15-22. It wouldn’t be a group rate we’re looking for since we have some coming from Seattle and some from Portland, OR.
When should I buy is my question. When I look now at those dates the prices are incredibly high through Alaska Air and Hawaiian, especially with decent departure and arrival times and overall travel time.
Thanks so much for all your expertise and information, I’ve been following your posts, especially about Southwest Airlines, hoping they’ll be an option for us also!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Carol.
Sorry that we did not respond timely. So you’re flying weekends and that will keep it significantly more costly. Target somewhere in $500’s RT. Currently much higher so suggest waiting. Might need to be in late summer to fall in order to get that price. Lastly, Southwest will not be an option.
Aloha.
Kim says
I don’t know if I’d ever be willing to fly on a MAX plane. It’s jinxed, and just a bad design with those giant engines almost dragging the ground and unbalanced on the wing. You can’t make something that aerodynamically compromised and expect it to be safe.
Kristie D says
Will be traveling from Oakland to Maui
In April 2020. Do you know when SWA will open up ticket sales.
Thank you
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Kristie.
Sorry, we don’t have that information. Once the next schedule release occurs, there should be a posting on the SW site that will indicate the subsequent release. Will be updating that as soon as we know more.
Aloha.
Monila says
Hi,
Thank you for all the updates in regards to SWA and Hawaii flights. We have a trip planned for August 4th-10th, 2019 to Honolulu. We have been waiting for Sacramento to Honolulu flight announcements to maybe get a good deal since we missed the Oakland announcement in March. Our dates are unfortunately not flexible and we are not sure whether to keep waiting for that announcement or to go ahead and book our tickets now. Any suggestion is appreciated.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Monica.
It’s honestly not looking good to wait at this point. If you were flexible, then by all means you could do so. Since your dates aren’t flexible however, that might not work out with the limited options from Sacramento.
Aloha.
David L says
Great reporting as always, Beat of Hawaii. Your insights help us make the most of our Hawaii travel plans. Thank you!
I will have difficulty trusting the 737 Max after its return to service. It seems like there are weekly revelations of new areas in which Boeing cut corners, ignored or concealed defects, or did not communicate critical information to their airline customers. Boeing’s reputation is seriously tarnished in my opinion and it will take time to earn back my trust. I plan to avoid the 737 Max for a good year or so after it begins flying again, until it has proven to be safe and reliable.
Aloha
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi David.
Thank you! Can’t disagree with you at all. The interesting thing here would be the $99 airfares and whether those will be adequately tempting in order to reduce Max avoidance.
Aloha.