Southwest Reveals Airports for New Hawaii Service

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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Could Southwest Hawaii service make way for the ‘Southwest Effect’—increased competition and lower fares for travel to the islands? We’re closer to finding out.

Southwest just revealed new details of its hotly anticipated (since 2010), forthcoming Hawaii service. The airline announced which airports it will serve in Hawaii, along with the mainland airports from which it will operate those flights.

Southwest Hawaii Service Airports

In Hawaii, the airline will serve:

Honolulu, Oahu
Kahului, Maui
Lihue, Kauai
Keahole (Kona), Big Island of Hawaii

Flights from the U.S. will depart from four cities in California:

Sacramento
Oakland
San Jose
San Diego

Southwest will fly to each major island in Hawaii and four of the five primary airports in the state, and will do so from some of the most conveniently located mainland cities it serves.

If you’re looking for specific routes, prices, or even a schedule for when those will be made public … you’ll have to keep waiting. In a recent quarterly financial update, CEO Gary Kelly said “We continue to expect to begin selling tickets in 2018 for service to Hawaii,” which importantly is not the same as saying the airline will begin operating flights in 2018. So flights may not begin until 2019.

Interestingly, in announcing the U.S. gateways for its Hawaii service, the airline said it intends to “eventually offer some inter island flights.” This means travelers could potentially book multi-island trips on Southwest: something for travelers to monitor as the airline announces more details in the coming months.

Readers, are you excited for Southwest’s forthcoming service to Hawaii?

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