Get ready for a different ride. What we found on our first trip from the mainland with the Texas carrier. Southwest Airlines Hawaii review.
56 thoughts on “Classless Southwest Hawaii Review SJC to LIH: Quirky, Unique”
Comments are closed.
Get ready for a different ride. What we found on our first trip from the mainland with the Texas carrier. Southwest Airlines Hawaii review.
Comments are closed.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever fly SW from Las Vegas to Honolulu again. We flew 07/2021. I knew what to expect as I’ve flown SW many times and usually have no problems. The check in for the flights going and coming was terrible. No control over the very rude passengers; no lines to line up; no announcement to line up in numerical order. I would say most of the passengers were flying SW due to the low fares. I had a few people tell us the didn’t care if we paid for Early Bird and the check in folks just let them go thru. So I travel SW on the mainland. Unless I hear things changed with boarding, I will probably never fly SW to Hawaii again.
Just flew from El Paso to Hawaii. No complaints. Looking forward to cell phone charging ports.
Back in May, took my first Southwest flight from Hawaii to Eugene, OR via Oakland CA. Your review of the service is spot on. I was impressed by the inflight entertainment system and how it worked. It was very intuitive and didn’t have a glitch on the 2 Transpac flights that I went on. Even watched a few movies that I didn’t catch otherwise. Their cabin service can be described as “fun but drama free”. And that is really how it should be if you’re just looking for basic transportation between points A and B.
Would I take them again? Yes, but only to the West Coast. Their east-of-Rockies offerings are hard to navigate for reservations, especially if you are going point to point. SWA for west coast is, indeed, a solid product.
Aloha BOH!
Although I don’t feel welcomed in Hawaii anymore, I still enjoy reading your blog about it, along with your travel tips. I flew SW for years, for both business and pleasure. I agree, they are a great airline. But, if I am going to an exotic location on a vacation, I want to spoil myself and fly comfortably. I want that sense of elegance and feeling special, and don’t want to feel weary half way through the flight because the seats are too thin or they have served me dry crackers. In other words, I want to enjoy my flight and feel relaxed and refreshed when I arrive. So when I can, I will splurge for that upgraded seat on the airlines that offer them. Mahalo for sharing your research and your insights. Be well. ~ Debi
Hi Debi.
Thanks. Good to hear from you! Yes totally concur about the experience of travel and seeking that out when possible. Having said that, we all started in economy and that where the fun began.
Aloha.
I think you could sum up your entire review into the following simple sentence: “Southwest is the low frills, efficient & friendly alternative to other airlines”.
I am a Southwest “convert”. I Love their model and fly them whenever possible.
Queen, there are ways to get around that issue. Do a bit of homework or call SW service. Also, SW boards all family groups between A and B boarding and flight attendants will help you with seating.
Yes I agree about that ugly snake pack thing, that needs help. However, some people seem to love it. SW is also good at transferring your luggage to other worldwide airlines. I have U Prof friends who travel the world frequently. They have used SW for many years and they love the airline. At first I didn’t get it. But after using them several times, I’m beginning to understand. They are all business and punch all the buttons nicely. I had a service issue that was complicated, they resolved it to more than my satisfaction quickly. The more we use SW, the more doors get open to understanding SW.
Aloha
Hey Roy,
How do you get SWA to transfer your luggage to other “World Wide” Airlines as you say? I thought with no code share you have to collect at bag claim and recheck at new airline. Thanks!
Lori, I have not done this but, my friends have. You need to go to the main check in desk in the airport (not the outside baggage check in) You need to show your passport to the agent and your connecting flights. I think it would be a good idea to call SW service.
I’ve always appreciated the Southwest flight crews. They go above and beyond to be friendly. On a flight to Vegas for a friend’s 50th, they made her a birthday crown out of pretzel bags and swizzle sticks, turned all the lights out except the running lights, and had all of the passengers sing to her. A refreshing bit of light hearted ness in an increasingly stressful world.
Hi, thank you for this article. Eventhough it does hit the high and low points, I never travel solo and usually in groups of 4 or more with small kids. Southwest airlines is the worse for families as it is very difficult to find seats/rows together. At least on other airlines you can choose your seats which is more convenient for families.
Queen, there are ways to get around that issue. Do a bit of homework or call SW service. Also, SW boards all family groups between A and B boarding and flight attendants will help you with seating.
Southwest has family boarding. If you miss the announcement the folks at the counter can tell you when it is occurring. Usually when their top tier fliers and military folks board is when families can board.
I have flown various airlines for cross-country mainland flights in the last five years (United, Delta, American), but none more frequently than Southwest.
This review is pretty accurate, and SW is certainly a unique airline with very niche offerings.
Will have my first flight to HI on SW next week, and am looking forward to seeing how it goes.
As a former “Standards & Practices” evaluator for a high line automobile manufacturer (Land Rover/Jaguar), I Love these posts! Fantastic, unbiased , and very informative. I hope to see other airlines be put to “the test”. We’re loyal Hawaiian Airlines flyers from San Diego. So enjoy your blog. Keep up the good work! 👍🏼
Hi Sue.
Thanks. We appreciate the feedback. There are more Hawaii flight reviews in the works.
Aloha.
Good review. It aligns with most of my experience traveling from Oakland to Maui. I’m a big fan of Southwest and appreciate their efforts and courtesy.
Our experience flying SW has been same as yours. Efficient & friendly bring your own food. We always get Early Bird check in. For us SW is a good alternative in the mix when we search for flights based on variety of factors.
Interesting that what used to be a $10 Early Bird fee is now $25 and you used to be able to get A15-30 for that fee if you booked early enough. A1-15 has always been a higher fee but we’ve never used that so we don’t know what the price was. For $50, I’d pay that but only on a flight such as TransPacific. Personally, I can’t imagine flying in a 3 seat situation for 5-6 hours but for many that is the only way to afford SW. Unfortunately for us, their schedule doesn’t match our needs in any way.
Almost exactly what I would have expected on Southwest. We have not taken them to Hawaii, since we “standardized” on Hawaiian Air back in 2018. I will say that we do enjoy the 2-4-2 seating on the A330 with Hawaiian. Competition is good for the industry!
My wife and I have not yet flown on SW to Hawaii. We have taken many trips with them anywhere they fly on the mainland. SW is usually our first choice wherever they fly. Our experience mirrors Jeff’s. One of our favorite routes was Denver to Dulles when visiting the DC area.
We have flown SW to Hawaii about 6x since they began flying there. We find everything about the airline to usually wonderful & we don’t mind the lack of food because what they serve on planes as we choose healthy foods over processed and prefer to bring our own snacks. Comparably, prices have outweighed any other factor–last year and the beginning of 2022 I paid $48 and $77 one way fares from LA and SJC to Kona and Oahu! We have a companion pass and I qualified for A-list which gives us a free ticket for 2 years and we are guaranteed A1-15 for everyone on my confirmation number. We travel to Maui in October with 6 adults and 1 child on my confirmation number! For us, there is no comparison 🙂
You are my hero! We have scored similar deals on Hawaii flights, most sitting in a chair with more leg room than the other alternatives. Once we hit retirement and are able to make better use of a companion ticket we will jump on it and be like you!
Funny you say the was very narrow when in fact it’s one of the widest economy seats in the air… especially across the central pacific… maybe you sat in the first row where the trays are sowed into the armrest? Those are indeed more narrow but the rest of the cabin… no.
We love flying SWA-been our family’s main ✈️ for 25 years. Never have had a bad experience w/ them – even during a tornado on the runway in Denver, a lost wallet pre-flight in Kona, and a blizzard. Flying other airlines just feels weird at this point.
Agreed. I go out of my way to fly SWA. I hate the “old” model now.
If he got Early boarding, 1-15, why didn’t he go with an exit row? Tons more leg room. Or was it already taken.
I think he said he had A59. Early Bird don’t give you A1-A15, that’s reserved for Business Select. So there was a pretty good chance that those seats were already taken.
Personally, I’m also a big fan of Southwest, but only for short flights. Anything more than an hour or two and I also find that the seats become uncomfortable. But, on the other hand, the same can be said for any other airline’s economy class. The difference is that on the other airlines I have the choice to upgrade to something more comfortable which I don’t on SW. Therefore for me, I prefer to fly Delta or Hawaiian when traveling to Hawaii.
Speaking for all tall people (I am 6′ 7″ tall), may I respectfully suggest that you save the exit rows to those of us who really Need the extra leg room? It is exponentially more uncomfortable for those of us over about 6′ 3″ to sit in the regular seats on Any airline. So as us tall people walk onboard and see some 5′ 2″ person sitting in the exit row it really adds insult to injury just because they happened to check in 2 seconds earlier than me…..
One if the big complaints from Southwest flight attendants is the people who board first all trying to find seats in the front.. It would be much better if they found the seats throughout the plane. It hinders the boarding process and there’s no real benefit except you save a few minutes getting off.
Flights to Hawaii are not their strong suit.. Flights are often diverted for fuel especially from Las Vegas. Just one drink service and no food for purchase on these long flights. Alaska on the other hand has three drink services plus food for purchase and snack packs. They need to improve their service to Hawaii.