Southwest has checked in again on anticipated service to Hawaii, which is something that we’ve all been waiting for. As you may know, the airline has already started to take delivery of their new Hawaii-capable 737-800 planes. For nearly three years they have been on again, off again in terms of a commitment to start service to the islands. Here’s the status of their plans:
No Hawaii service in 2012
The airline’s CEO Gary Kelly said last week that they now do not intend to start Hawaii service this year. There are union agreement labor rates that need to be worked out prior to any announcement, he added. It seems to me, however, that Southwest is having cold feet again (or at least they are pretending to), not unlike when they axed Hawaii plans three years ago.
In a Facebook comment, it was suggested that perhaps Southwest is having ETOPS certification issues. And you may recall that Allegiant did earlier. While my understanding is that Southwest’s new planes comes certified, the airline process is another issue. I don’t know where Southwest Air is in the regards. If anyone has more information on that, please let me know.
Airlines serving Hawaii play it close to the vest
New Hawaii service plans are becoming more secretive than ever. Allegiant continues to delay their long-anticipated announcement of service expected to begin this summer, and we are awaiting news of added Alaska Air Hawaii services as well. Stay tuned for these.
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http://blogs.hawaiinewsnow.com/howard/2012/03/how-real-is-the-buzz-about-southwest-airlines-flying-here.html
Here is more info on SW’s ETOPS
I am certainly not an expert in this area, but I would think an airline like Southwest should certainly not have problems getting ETOPS certification.
Back when South west bailed out the bankrupt ATA airline, that was supposed to be their Hawaiian link. It went under again and maybe that is why they have the jitters about flying to Hawaii, as that is a big commitment for any “new” airline to make. Come on Allegiant go from SMX.