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1,796 thoughts on “Southwest Hawaii Stiffens Competition: 11 New Daily Flights Exposed”
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So it looks like SWA will not be flying to hawaii until 2019??? Also, reading some of these comments about the other airlines i.e Hawaiian and United I beg to differ their prices are outrageous never have I paid for a flight to HNL from California for $870 I can fly all the way to miami for 342 round trip…please please SWA hopefully you make these flights available especially from Sacramento…I see Sacramento was on the list but now it is gone 🙁 I love SWA I hope they can make this happen sooner than later
Hello, my name is Becky and I love your website and reading all the comments. I am hooked now! We are flying from Albuquerque to Ohau, June 23rd to June 30th, and I wanted to wait for SWA to fly there but I do not think that will happen by then, so I wanted to know, what is the best airline to fly and how much am I looking to pay? I also want to know when I should buy our tickets?
I value your advice and I appreciate your reply! 🙂
Hi Becky.
Thank you! Best combination of price, stops and duration is American at about $900. If you could fly on 6/21 and 6/28 instead, the price is $765.
Aloha.
Hello again, We are flying from ABQ to HNL on June 23rd – 30th and is it best I buy my tickets now or wait? Do you think the prices will just continue to clime? Thank you for all your great advice.
Hi Becky.
We answered this yesterday as follows. Perhaps part we forgot that you’re needing is whether to buy at $900 now and answer is yes.
Hi Becky.
Thank you! Best combination of price, stops and duration is American at about $900. If you could fly on 6/21 and 6/28 instead, the price is $765.
Aloha.
Is a nonstop flight between honolulu and las vegas being considered?
I just want to say I’m a loyal SWA passenger.I look forward to your flights from Hawaii to tbe mainland and back. Wishing you all the best.
Mario
Pleased that Southwest will start flying to Hawaii. A couple of thoughts…….Other carriers work very hard, particularly Hawaiian Airlines, provide a wonderful Hawaiian atmosphere on board and at gates for their customers….and they have reasonable, sometime very cheap fares. It would be special for Southwest to kick up just a notch a bit on Southwest flights to Hawaii beyond peanuts and routine drinks. Mai tais, Hawaiian chips, or something of a sort as a minimum. Travelers are very loyal to carriers like Hawaiian and sometimes United because of that extra Hawaiian touch at no additional cost. Break the routine a bit. Thanks
Hi Earl.
Good idea. We don’t really know Southwest or how they will approach Hawaii. Should be interesting. We plan to get on-board the first flight and report on that.
Aloha.
Aloha, would love to see SWA fly to Honolulu out of either Oakland (Oak) or San Francisco (SFO) to transport our Pearl Harbor Survivors back for the 77th Anniversary this coming December. December 1st would be a nice date for the “boy’s” to return to Pearl.
Just one comment about interisland flights on Southwest. While short flights used to be Southwest’s bread and butter, Southwest in recent years has decreased the number of shorter flights (e.g. intra-Texas) and increased the number of longer flights. So, I wouldn’t be overly optimistic that interisland flights are coming.
I’m a loyal follower of Beat of Hawaii. It’s gospel to me. However, I can’t help notice other sites, claiming to be travel sites were reporting in Nov/Dec that the earliest Southwest will fly to Hawaii is end of year to beginning 2019. Beat of Hawaii on Jan 1 said MAYBE late summer 2018 to end of the year. I’m curious why the other sites are swearing on a stack of Bibles the earliest is end of year to early next. Fake news??? 😉
Hi Melissa.
Thanks!! We do expect to see SWA by the end of the year, if they can. That’s assuming they get all of their logistics ironed out. It’s really quite simple. End of year is high season and a great way to start in Hawaii profitably. Airlines generally try to start routes then and in summer, unless other things get in the way. A good example of that is Hawaiian’s new routes. They would have started them in Q4 2017, but the A321neo’s were delayed coming from Airbus, which pushed things into early 2018. At that point they just couldn’t easily wait any longer.
We have our ears to the ground and as you know have been covering Hawaii travel and our airlines exclusively for ten years. We try hard to know what’s going on. It’s not gospel, but at the same time we don’t think anyone (other than Southwest in this case) has information that we don’t. We keep our ears to the ground and are in contact with the industry stakeholders.
Aloha.
I was born in Oahu and like to go back and visit as often as I can…. 66 yrs. old now and now would like to bring my grandchildren to see where their “Mimi” was born and lived!
Hello, Is there a place to sign up to receive updates as to when southwest will begin to offer flights to the Hawaii and other islands? My family is from Sacramento but it seems flights are usually better priced out of san jose or san fran. We are holding off buying our tickets to hawaii, Oahu at this time since we are hoping southwest offers tickets soon. IF there is a way to keep up to date notification we would like to sign up. Thank you
Hi April.
We offer a free subscription to all of our email updates. (https://beatofhawaii.com/subscribe). Or you can follow us on Facebook. Email subscribers always get information first. 🙂
Aloha.
My father is 85 and wants to see the Pearl Habor Memorial. I would like to take him using my Southwest points. Do you have any news when flights will start to Hawaii?
Did you not read the update Jan1 2018?
Hello! My name is Amy and I wondered if you will have flights from Salt Lake City to Hawaii? We have been planning a family trip to O’ahu and we are hoping that you have flights by summer of 2018? We are super excited that SWA is putting this in their itinerary. Thank you for considering us!
Kind Regards, Amy
Hi Amy.
We don’t really know of anything that will happen in terms of new flights for SLC to Hawaii this coming summer.
Aloha.
Hi, we were planning a European family vacation for summer of 2018 but now want to consider Hawaii. We are big fans of Southwest and have earned 3 companion passes. We don’t want to miss out on Southwest going to Hawaii but we also don’t want to wait and miss the chance to plan and secure the trip to Europe on a timely basis. Do you think the announcement will really happen in January?
Thank you!
Hi Deb.
No one knows the answer to when they will announce other than Southwest.
Aloha.
Aloha
I am so excited that Southwest will be coming to Hawaii. I have flown Southwest all over the mainland and I’m currently retired from Hawaiian Airlines. I truly miss the airport and atmosphere and I’m hoping to join the Southwest team. Welcome to to our islands.
Thanks for the valuable and up to date info! I note that with your latest update you’ve dropped Sacramento from the list of potential mainland origins. Was this intentional and Southwest have changed their minds about a Sacramento route?
Hi Michael.
It is there, but on the back burner it would seem for now.
Aloha.
I am a travel agent and not sure exactly how successful Southwest will be flying to Hawaii. They do have a great customer base, but there is already pretty good service from the West Coast with Hawaiian, Alaska, American, United and Delta. If they did start inter island service, that would be a plus for them since Island Air is in trouble financially. As for the fares being lower, they will probably be, but Southwest is not a discount carrier anymore. Gary Kelly, the CEO, would probably tell you that they don’t want to be known as a discount carrier, they want to be known as a customer friendly carrier. So I do expect the fares to be a little lower but not drastically lower.
All true, but I’m among those flyers that would be interested in SW solely because of the points I’ve built up. Would love to cash in on that SW credit card mileage 😉
Hawaii first then hopefully next stop Guam!
That’s a nice thought and maybe a good move for SWA since Delta stopped service and UA has downsized their schedules.
Any news on if the SWA flights from the mainland to Hawaii are going to allow pets in the cabin? We travel to Kauai for an extended period and fly with our 2 pugs. Right now the only option in Alaska.
I currently work for Hawaiian Air and would consider applying with SWA. Are you going to use contract services for above and below the wing or will you hire SWA employees for these services. If so, when? Seriously interested. Thank you.
Hi Brian.
Good questions to which we do not have the answers at this time.
Aloha.
Hi. I’m a SWA employee. Dependent on the amount of flights daily, SWA will decide then to outsource to a contractor or to hire SWA employees. Due to Hawaii labor laws, a certain percentage of employees will have to be Hawaiian residents so any current employees thinking about transferring will likely be put at the bottom of the list. As with contract or new hires, current SWA employees will put in a request to fly to HI to train on our reservation systems paid per diem.
Thank you so much for the information. I have my 20 year vow renewal planned for June 2. flying from Phoenix to Maui We have about 20 people coming out. I have been waiting for flights. Do you think they will start flying by then or should I just book other flights before they are gone?
I am so grateful for any advice and help!
Hi Traci.
Southwest Hawaii flights will not start by then. For 20 people flying together (actually 10 or more), contact the group sales desk of all pertinent airlines. You should be able to get a discount of about 10%.
Aloha.
Thank you so much! Even though Im sad, it helps a lot. Do you think they will start selling soon and will cause the “Southwest Effect ” on other airlines ?
I am extremely grateful for your help. Flights have gone up so much I feel bad having people pay that. I almost feel like delaying our vow renewal! ..
Hi Traci.
They will probably start selling as sure as they feel confident on flight start dates. So that again goes back to the federal approval. At this time, our gut says that should happen within 6 months. You’ve got to figure that Allegiant got it, and it didn’t take forever. And Southwest clearly runs circles around that company.
Aloha.
We’re traveling to Waikaloa,(Kona) in very early September 2018, any thoughts on SWA flights by then? Thanks! Ron
Hi Ron.
We publish everything that we know. SW is completing certification and when that’s done they will announce flights. Could be summer but more likely is winter.
Aloha.
I can’t wait for Southwest to start flying to Hawaii. We are planning a trip in July and I am hoping this will force prices down.
Looking forward for the Hawaii flights to take off. We will be coming from the East Coast for a December 2018 trip. We hope to have a flight from our MD with a layover in CA so we can stay with SW flights. Since there are flights now from the East Coast to CA, is it safe to assume that there could potentially be a layover in CA enroute to Hawaii?
Hi Maria.
Good question on layover, but unfortunately we don’t know yet how SW plans to handle that. Hopefully we will all know a lot more in the weeks ahead. On timing for December, it seems likely they will have started flying by then.
Aloha.
Hi! I’m excited that SWA will be flying to Maui… I reside in Phoenix,AZ and already booked my condo in Maui for May of 2018. I’m just having trouble getting reasonable airline tickets for 10 people. I hope u will be ready to go by May!!!!! Please keep posted updates as often as you can. My kids and foster kids are getting excited!!! Thanks so much!! Happy New Year. Best news for 2018..
Hi Dee.
Happy new year. Highly unlikely that SW will be flying by May. For 10 people traveling together, we suggest you contact the group sales desks of multiple airlines. That should save you in the range of 10%.
Aloha.
Great Thank You so much!!!!
Would a group of 8 qualify for that discount ?
Love SW fly them all the time. Heading to Kauai in June 2018, was really hoping they would be flying by then.
Thanks so much for your update do you think there is any possibility they will be flying by then.
Mahalo
Hi Cindy.
Highly unlikely is all we can say. We’re keeping ears to ground and we’ll update with anything we learn.
Aloha.
My son is in Hilo and Mom and Dad in San Diego look forward to a direct flight to the Big Island from San Diego that doesn’t take me to La or SFO first and cost $700
under $450 round trip is my hope!
Does Southwest plan on adding flights from PDX or Sea-Tac?
Southwest doesn’t have any flights from sacramento to hawaii???? lets get this show on the road……the other airlines are outrageous in pricing almost 900 bucks round trip from california they are absolutely crazy guess I won’t be going to hawaii any time soon
Hawaiian has a a daily flight Sacramento to Honolulu. Alaska has a daily flight, Sacramento to Maui. I’ve found flights for $450 round trip. But I’m hoping Southwest starts flying Sacramento to Hawaii, as well.
Hopefully they will fly out of Portland, OR soon!
Intrested in SWA flights to Hawaii
Aloha,
When do you think Hawaii will start to hire for the airlines??
Why isn’t SWA considering Portland in their opening flights to Hawaii? We are on the west coast also. Wife and I are ready to buy tickets when they come to Portland.
Because Alaska has a hub in Portland, and Hawaiian also flies from Portland. There is only so much traffic on a route.
I’m signed up for your emails. Will Beat of Hawaii be sending out an update email when Southwest announces their flights to Hawaii? They told me to just keep checking their site but I have not found any info there. We are going to Maui from Phoenix In June 2019 and praying SWA will be enroute by then! American flights keep raising in price! Thank you!!
Hi Mary.
We sure will!
Aloha.
No food? 😳🤔. How long will the flight be?
depends on where your flying from 🙂
Probably as long as pretty dollars from your origin to Hawaii. And Alaska doesn’t feed you either. Stop by Subway on your way to the airport.
I fly Alaska all the time, and while I don’t often buy their fare, they do have items for sale. And they have free access to their movie library if you have an iPad. If you don’t, you can rent theirs. They also have seat chargers. So SWA will have to up their game.
LAX – OGG is about five hours, give or take. My UAL 757 did it well under that last November, so routing and weather are factors, but let’s say roughly five hours each way, slightly longer eastbound. I’d just stock up on chow at the airport or bring my own aboard from home, assuming TSA doesn’t take apart my sandwiches! In ‘N Out animal style at 30,000 feet, anyone?
“Pilot and flight attendant labor disputes continued to plague SWA for years.” This is not an accurate comment.
It has been widely publicized that the Southwest mechanics will indeed file a cease and desist order to stop Hawaii service until their is an agreement between the two worked out on ETOPS. AMFA, the mechanics union, has language in their contract that protects and provides that Southwest mechanics will do ETOPS departures. It was reported that Southwest made an offer to the mechanics seeking relief from this language. The mechanics have not had a new contract in over 5 1/2 years. This is what you should be writing about as this will be a contentious battle should Southwest try to violate the mechanics contract.
Aloha! Thank you SWA … for getting ‘on-board’ to Hawaii. We really need an airline to give competition to what we already have. We fly to mainland USA at least 4x a year and twice to Reno via Las Vegas. With SWA coming to Hawaii we’ll be able to fly to Reno direct from Honolulu. Your flight attendants are all so nice and very hospitable. Boarding is a breeze…all passengers wait very patiently to board per category. The “other” airline seem so disorganized. Their boarding notice to passengers are not the same at LV & Hnl terminals causing much confusion. Looking forward to seeing SWA in Hawaii! Congrats & best wishes!
I have a grandson that is now 6. I have only got to see him once due to cost of airfare; this was 2 yrs ago. I really hope I can get there from Lubbock with my favorite SW airline in 2018. Lubbock is a very dry climate and it is hard to breath in the humidity of Maui. I don’t care if I see a beach…just his sweet face. 🙂
I just went to Hawaii for a week, my Daughter & her family moved there 2 years ago. It took me that long to save up round trip airfare to see my only grandchild. When I flew in the past I loved Southwest, I look foward to flying with Southwest again.
Please can you tell me what website I should access to get breaking news & when the flights will start From LAX to Hawaii.
Thank you so very much
I fell in love with the island & oceans & people, I would love to go 2 times a year (to see my family & grandson too, lol)
Hi Deborah.
You’ll probably find the most information about SWA Hawaii here on Beat of Hawaii. Trying searching on Google, and you’ll see we come up first in the search results for that.
Aloha.
Kauai is always mentioned as well as Maui, but you can still get really good fares to those islands. Big island, particularly the eastern island is always left out of these deals with fares from $125 and up greater than flights to Maui/Kaui/Honolulu. State of Hawaii should ʻrecommendʻ that SWA include a competitive fare to and from Big Island to promote tourism and easier travel to the Big Island. Iʻm just saying.
I live in San Francisco and am planning on buying tickets to visit Kauai for March 17-24 2018. I was advised by Beat of Hawaii that it is $250 cheaper to fly out of Oakland Airport. A non stop ticket is $631 right now on Alaska Airlines.
Do you think this price might be reduced in the next 30 day?
Hi Walter.
Not too optimistic about it improving. Reason is those are both Saturdays in high season/spring break. Without changing dates, that may be the best possible. Suggest buying now.
Aloha.
Hey Walter,
I too live in the Bay Area and frequently fly to Hawaii on an annual basis. $631 is actually a high price ticket and likely reflects an added flight with many seats available (supply and demand) Typically, it is cheaper to fly out of OAK as opposed to SFO or even SJC – a quick daily check for 1 week for the same dates would show you that. I tend to check at least once a week for my flights until i find a reasonable fare since i travel with my entire family.
If i were you, i would 1.) Fly out of OAK 2.) Wait for prices to drop especially if you plan to fly alone – there is almost always an available seat for solo passengers that are cheaper than the rush buyer. This is obviously contingent on you getting your flight for a time that permits (Ex. early am flight vs late evening flight).
Hope this helps!
Southwest may have other “issues” with their new Hawaii service that you have failed to talk about. Their aircraft mechanics. Their aircraft mechanics have been working without a labor contract for over 5 years !!! Everything is not hunky dory with labor at Southwest. http://www.amfanatl.org/index.cfm?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=675887&page=Southwest20Airlines
Pedro, how do you know so much about AMFA? Just curious
NO, I am not an aircraft mechanic, nor am I a member of AMFA. I follow numerous airlines for investment purposes. I saw this article on the internet. It was a topic that has not been mentioned here. 5 years is a long time to be without a labor contract! There was just another article on the internet recently about this same issue, I’ll see if I can find it again and post it here for an update.
All the media publicity regarding WN to Hawai’i has been very interesting…but, I think very misleading. With all the competition to/from HI with UA/AS/VX/HA you will likely not see lower fares…and if you do see lower fares, they will not be that much lower than they have been in recent days. The “southwest effect”, as has been proven in many studies, only applies when there is little or no competition….which clearly does not apply to the Hawai’i market. WNs cost to operate are also higher than it’s peers, with the exception of AA/DL/UA. And the most important thing that has not been discussed in great detail, will be the increase in hotel and rental car fees that will occur as more people come to the islands. There are simply not enough hotels in Hawai’i and that will only get worse with more seats flying to/from HI. Any savings from the airline ticket will be quickly gobbled up by hotels and car rental agencies.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/22/the-southwest-effect-may-not-be-all-its-cracked-up.aspx
https://seekingalpha.com/article/3995777-fooled-southwest-airlines-lot-expensive-looks
As always, Mahalo to BOH for keeping us all informed
I live in LA and I remember when SWA started flights to Atlanta. I know a lot of you in hawaii may not believe this but SW made tickets drop to Atlanta from LA. Delta was always asking 4 to 5 hundred and American the same for non stop. I have been flying for 280 or less with all that competition going to atlanta. 600$ flights to hawaii from LA is Stupid, I can pay that and get round trip to Rome from LA. I cant wait until the Hawaii flights that will cost in the 300s from SWA. and those 59$ inter island flights.