Southwest announced plans to fly to Hawaii all the way back in 2017. Since then, not much has happened. Their expected start dates for service have all come and gone. Finally, we have some promising news! By the time you read this, a Southwest Airlines plane will have landed in Honolulu!
Flight Route and Flight Times
That’s right. The test flight took off from Oakland, CA at 11:16 am PST and the anticipated arrival time is 2:27 pm HST. It wasn’t a paid passenger flight, or I’d be writing to you from the air! Instead, FAA employees as well as the SWA ETOPS team made are the passengers on the test flight.
Did You Wait Patiently For SWA To Announce Flights? I didn’t!
Last year I waited for Southwest to head to Hawaii so I could take advantage of my Southwest companion pass. It never happened and so I made my trip to Hawaii using another carrier.
I had a fantastic trip and great hotel stay while on Oahu. While talking with friends over coffee, one of the top topics of conversation was Southwest Airlines. Locals want Southwest as a carrier in the islands as much as we who don’t live in Hawaii do! Here’s where the Hawaii locals told me they look for Southwest updates.
The Beat of Hawaii offers the latest updates from SWA CEO Gary Kelly, which routes will be the first to get service, and the estimated timetable for how things will pan out.
Southwest is a quirky, outlier airline in how they do things.
While waiting for tickets to go on sale, you can learn more about all things SWA from these posts:
- Wanna Get Away Fares
- Choosing the best seats
- What’s so great about Southwest Airlines?
- Southwest tips and hacks
- Canceling tickets
With these guides, once tickets do go on sale, you’ll be one step and two seats ahead of everyone else!
Bottom Line
Fingers crossed that all the testing goes well. I’m looking forward to a nice price adjustment once Hawaii tickets go on sale. I’m bet you’re ready for some fun in the Hawaiian sun too!
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4 comments
Southwest has its advantages but a 6+ hour flight on them… no thanks.
Prediction: big splash, $189 each way introduction fares, and fares much higher within a year. $599 each way anytime fares to start
I’m hoping for a better fare than that, Ryan. Alaska Airlines SAN-HNL for $356 RT saver fare is the norm, so $189 each way wouldn’t start much of a fare war. Wonder what others think the intro fares will be. Thanks for reading!
Hoping for bigger seats and more leg room!