Just five months ago, Southwest said they weren’t ready for either overnight flights or red-eye flights that their customers want and that are good for their company’s efficiency. Many Southwest Hawaii travelers have been clamoring for both.
While Southwest talked about red-eye flights based at DFW starting in 2026, we see Hawaii red-eye flights as an entirely different subject. And those might start sooner.
Just to say, for those willing and able, an overnight flight will typically extend your vacation by an average of 15% compared with flying back early in the morning. Not only that, but you save one night’s hotel charges, which in Hawaii, will save you hundreds of dollars or more.
In June, Southwest’s Dan Landson told Beat of Hawaii regarding overnight flights, “The work has been delayed slightly, and now we’re planning to offer overnight connections as early as later this summer (no firm date at the moment).”
Southwest confirms: “We will be doing red-eyes.”
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan this week hinted again about introducing red-eye flights to the airline’s offerings. While every airline with flights to Hawaii other than Southwest provides overnight red-eye flights, Southwest has yet to operate red-eye flights for its fleet.
Jordan said, “We have the aircraft; it’s a great way to use an asset that you already have and use it more productively, which means more hours in the day. So, we will be doing red-eyes.”
Southwest Hawaii red-eyes are the perfect place to start. And their usefulness is proven by decades of success with them at the other airlines.
We accept that for flights to the east coast, Hawaii red-eye flights are unavoidable. For west coast travelers, it comes down to personal preference. Ours is to avoid such red-eye flights. Editor Jeff flew to Los Angeles yesterday and arriving at 9 pm allowed him to have a normal night’s sleep.
Beat of Hawaii
Southwest long ago eliminated technical shortcomings preventing overnight and red-eye flights.
Southwest’s move towards introducing overnight flights comes after the airline overcame technical challenges that had previously prevented these offerings. The airline has expressed its commitment to providing both overnight connections and overnight flights, and this latest development marks another tangible step in that direction.
Overnight connections are flying now on Southwest.
That allows passengers to depart from Honolulu at 5:35 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 1:25 a.m. The connecting flight will leave Las Vegas at 5:10 a.m. and arrive in Houston at 10:00 a.m. Importantly, the connecting flights can now be purchased as a single ticket, significantly simplifying the booking process.
However, it’s worth noting that unaccompanied minors will not be permitted on these overnight connections.
Are you ready to fly Southwest overnight and red-eye flights?
Thanks BoH for all the best info. We take AA redeyes OGG – DFW then short hop to AUS. It would be great if SW could fly redeyes but 3 3/4 hours wait in Vegas airport to get to Houston isn’t very accommodating. I hope they can get better scheduling.
Just the opposite for us going to a similar midwest location. Red-eyes allow for sleep before connecting somewhere on the west coast so we are home by afternoon.