Southwest Airlines will greatly expand its service in Hawaii with new service from four cities which will directly challenge competitors and respond to growing demand for travel to the Hawaiian islands.
Southwest Airlines Announces Hawaii Expansion From Four Cities
Two years ago, Southwest launched service to Hawaii from Oakland (OKA), Sacramento (SMF), San Diego (SAN), and San Jose (SJC). Earlier this year, it launched service to Hawaii from Long Beach (LGB).
Now Southwest Airlines will challenge American, Delta, Hawaiian, and United directly with new routes from Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Phoenix (PHX), and San Diego (SAN). Southwest will use a mix of Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX aircraft for its new service.
New Las Vegas – Hawaii Routes On Southwest
Starting in early June, Southwest will serve Honolulu from Las Vegas. It will add service to three additional cities according to the following schedule:
- Honolulu (HNL) – June 6, 2021 – 2x daily
- Maui (OGG) – June 27, 2021 – 2x daily
- Kona (KOA) – September 7, 2021 – daily
- Lihue (LIH) – September 8, 2021 – daily
Fares will start at $159 each way and include two checked bags.
New Los Angeles – Hawaii Routes On Southwest
Starting in June, Southwest will serve Honolulu and Maui from Los Angeles. It will add service to Kona and Lihue cities according to the following schedule:
- Honolulu (HNL) – June 6, 2021 – 2x daily
- Maui (OGG) – June 6, 2021 – 3x daily
- Kona (KOA) – September 7, 2021 – daily
- Lihue (LIH) – September 8, 2021 – daily
Introductory fares start at $129 each way.
New Phoenix – Hawaii Routes On Southwest
Starting in late June, Southwest will serve Honolulu and Maui from Phoenix. It will later add service to Kona and Lihue cities according to the following schedule:
- Honolulu (HNL) – June 27, 2021 – 2x daily
- Maui (OGG) – June 27, 2021 – 2x daily
- Kona (KOA) – September 7, 2021 – daily
- Lihue (LIH) – September 8, 2021 – daily
Introductory fares start at $159 each way.
New San Diego – Hawaii Routes On Southwest
In June, Southwest will increase service to Honolulu and add service to Maui from San Diego. Later in June it will add service to Kona and Lihue cities according to the following schedule:
- Honolulu (HNL) – June 6, 2021 – 2x daily
- Maui (OGG) – June 6, 2021 – daily (becomes 2x daily on June 27, 2021)
- Kona (KOA) – June 27, 2021 – daily
- Lihue (LIH) – June 29, 2021 – daily
Introductory fares start at $129 each way.
Southwest Will Temper Fares, But Likely Won’t Be Cheapest
Southwest is rarely the cheapest option and likely will not be to Hawaii either. However, if you are checking two bags and do not have elite status or a co-branded airline credit card, suddenly Southwest likely offers the best all-in price.
Long-term, Southwest may be slightly more than the competition, but it will cause carriers like American, Delta, Hawaiian, and United to keep fares lower.
United may have dodged a bullet in that Southwest elected not to add service to Hawaii from Denver at this time. Since Southwest does not operate redeye flights and has limited range on its fleet of 737 aircraft, legacy carriers will continue to have the advantage on longer, nonstop routes to Hawaii.
CONCLUSION
Southwest just announced a huge expansion to Hawaii, something it has hinted at for two years. The new service will keep fares in check and makes Southwest a force to be reckoned with in terms of service to Hawaii.
Will you fly Southwest Airlines to Hawaii?
How does ONT get the shaft here. At least a 1X HNL.
“Southwest is really the cheapest option and likely will not be to Hawaii either.”
Did you mean “rarely” rather than “really”?
This is great news for San Diego! Alaska is the dominant nonstop carrier to Hawaii with all four island served daily, but prices can be astronomical at times, except for Honolulu which also has competition from Hawaiian. Fare wars will likely becoming the norms from SAN with such a dramatic increase in overall capacity between the three airlines.
Yes, we’ll be flying WN to Hawaii. As a Companion Pass holder, my Beloved flies for free, so Southwest is the best choice for us! We’ll be flying RNO to LAX, and then to the Islands from there.
We were going to fly there last year, but the CCP Virus stopped us.
Looking forward to it!
737 to Hawaii?
No thanks!
You get what you pay for!
In fairness, it’s a little difficult to find twin-aisle aircraft from west of Phoenix to the islands. The largest carrier to Hawaii is Alaska and that’s all they fly. San Francisco on United? Same. American was flying A320s from LA. I am sure some of these might be swapped for twin-aisles and I know that AA used to fly 757s but it’s really common to get to Hawaii on short-haul aircraft.
Kyle, bro, wake up…UA runs 8 wide bodies daily from LAX/SFO to HNL/OGG. Last time I looked they all had twin aisles…UA will run 40 flights a day mainland-Hawaii this summer, many on wide bodies.
Short haul aircraft…?? The 737 can fly SFO-NYC and has had that capability for decades…so what’s a short-haul aircraft?
@Pedro – Did they swap those for COVID? I’m certain they were flying 737s when I shopped a number of flights to Guam on the island hopper.