United Airlines Cancels Longest Hawaii Route In Shakeup

We can’t remember a time when there were this many changes to Hawaii flights, except perhaps at the beginning and end of Covid. Some of these changes have resulted from downsizing following the Maui fire, while others are simply an attempt to adjust Hawaii routes, flights, and frequencies to customer demands.

United Airlines served up both good and bad news in its schedule starting next spring. The good news is the airline plans to double its Hawaii flights connecting Houston and Honolulu. That will become an even greater focus city for Hawaii flights with the bad news they also served up.

Newark to Honolulu will no longer operate after April 14.

The flight between Newark and Honolulu was United’s longest Hawaii route, at a distance of 4,954 miles. Through the end of their schedule, September 16, that flight does not return. It is, of course, possible that United could return on that route for the 2024 holiday season or early 2025, but that isn’t clear now.

They will apparently abandon that route to nonstop flights by Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Air Lines, both of which operate from JFK. Delta originally operated that route as a seasonal service but later converted it to daily. With United’s departure from Newark, that seems sure to remain year-round.

United to instead double up on flights between Houston and Honolulu.

The nearly 4,000-mile-long Houston flights are on United Airlines 777 widebody aircraft, which has 364 seats. Beat of Hawaii editors have intentionally avoided flying on that plane for the following reason. The business class service is sub-standard and has a vastly different 8-across lie-flat seating, rather than the 4-across lie-flats that are seen, for example, on the United Dreamliner service connecting Chicago and Honolulu.

The flights will operate twice daily starting from May 23, 2024 through August 18, 2024, then return to daily.

• Flight 253 will depart Houston at 10:15 am and arrive Honolulu at 1:26 pm. Year round service.
• Flight 293 will depart Houston at 12:05 pm and arrive Honolulu at 3:16 pm. Seasonal service.
• Flight 394 will depart Honolulu at 5:45 pm and arrive Houston at 6:32 am. Seasonal service.
• Flight 252 will depart Honolulu at 7:40 pm and arrive Houston at 8:27 am. Year round service.

And San Francisco to Honolulu will operate 6x daily in 2024.

The airline is also doubling down on San Francisco service to a degree that makes us question the appropriateness. They will operate from four to six nonstop flights daily throughout their schedule from now (which is at four flights) through summer (when six flights will operate) until August.

United will use a mixed fleet to service the Honolulu flights. This will include Boeing 737, Boeing 757, and Boeing 777 aircraft.

The only other flights operating that San Francisco-Honolulu nonstop route are Alaska Airlines, flying a narrowbody 737, and Hawaiian Airlines, flying its A330 widebody.

Are you keeping up with all of the airlines’ plethora of Hawaii flight changes?