Southwest is keeping a laser focus on Hawaii, with a trifecta, especially at a newsworthy time when Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are about to learn whether their merger will fly with federal authorities. To be specific, Southwest has three big things happening today, including where to find their best fares, how to get a companion pass with just one Hawaii trip, and today only score 30% off Hawaii flights.
1. First, Southwest has a new Hawaii companion pass offer.
Called “Bring Your Plus One Every Time,” this limited offer may well be helpful to visitors planning to visit Hawaii this summer in June and July. When you fly Southwest roundtrip to or from Hawaii this summer, you will earn a promotional Companion Pass valid for all Southwest travel.
The promotion will help keep Hawaii travelers focused on Southwest during this important time. It is also part of the airline’s HI 5 celebration, commemorating five years of Southwest service to Hawaii.
Here’s how the Hawaii companion pass offer works.
This offer is available to Southwest Rapid Rewards members who book one roundtrip or two one-way flights between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii in June or July 2024.
Most importantly, if you think this may work for you, you’ll have just two days to sign up. You must enroll in the limited-time promotion by May 24, 2024. The Companion Pass allows members to designate one person to fly with them for free whenever the customer purchases a fare or redeems points for a flight during the pass’s (limited time validity).
Then, fly to or from Hawaii between June 1 and July 31, 2024. Members designate a companion who can fly free on all Southwest travel from October 5 through November 15, 2024.
See companion pass offer details.
2. Helping you find their best Hawaii airfares, Southwest changed plans.
In a surprising but long overdue pivot in our minds, Southwest made the major leap by allowing its flights to be listed on Google Flights. This is the first time they have listed on a third-party site, which comes as a somewhat unexpected shift from its stubborn and long-standing policy of direct bookings on its site only. This is a great move for Hawaii travelers!
Why is Google Flights so crucial to Hawaii travelers?
Google Flights, which we’ve written about before in relation to Hawaii air travel, will be the only third-party platform on which Southwest appears. This incredibly important travel portal, which we always recommend Hawaii visitors use first when checking airfares, will unquestionably enhance Southwest’s visibility and competitiveness.
Unlike other sites, such as Expedia, Google Flights redirects travelers to the airline website directly for booking. This is consistent with Southwest’s model of direct booking only.
This change for Southwest coincides with the government’s growing opposition to “junk fees.” As this progresses, it could give the airline a leg up on others when comparing all costs since they always include free checked bags and have no change fees. This game-changing move for all Hawaii travelers, as well as Southwest regulars, could indeed get interesting.
3. Save 30% on Southwest Hawaii flights today only, May 23, 2024.
This sale ends tonight, May 23, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. It offers up to 30% off Southwest flights to Hawaii, as well as Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Travelers must use the Southwest promo code “BEACHES” in the promo code box when you are looking for Hawaii flights on the Southwest website.
What do you think about Southwest’s offer and their being on Google Flights now?
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Looks like the Alaska/ Hawaiian tie up is already increasing the competitive landscape in Hawaii…..good for the traveling public.
Just flew SWA from LAS back to the SE a couple days ago. Biz Select # 6 in line, scored a bulkhead seat, even so, the seats are still way too narrow (I’m slender) even for me. Decent recline on them though. Service was very good as usual but the 3 hour trip was about as long as I’ll ever want to fly on them.
I was disappointed by the Hawaiian Extra Comfort class (A330) – just 2 rows shoved into a claustrophobic walled off section between the main cabin and first, Barely any flight service w a soggy ham and cheese pocket as the “meal”. The seat (bulkhead) had good legroom but was very uncomfortable to sit in for 6 hours. AA’s analog class is far superior IMO seating wise as well as service, meals and general comfort. Too bad
Hi Jay.
Thanks for sharing your helpful airline experiences to/from Hawaii.
Aloha.
I like Hawaiian and really wanted to like their C+ category but I’m afraid I just can’t recommend it. perhaps they’ll come up with a better try in the future. It was a little dingy too – It was the Makali’i – first A330 delivered to HA.
Best Regards