Southwest Air going to Hawaii

Where do you think they will fly from?

Coming from the UK and find that second flight pricey so fingers crossed
 
Where do you think they will fly from?

Coming from the UK and find that second flight pricey so fingers crossed

I believe I read in their post that they're flying from California.

I am SO excited Southwest is finally getting in the Hawaii game. I don't ever fly the other airlines, and I adore Southwest, so this is perfect! Actually the last time I flew a different airline was to Hawaii!
 
Ohhhhh so lax ?

Do they include suitcases in price?

Any food or like AA buy if want to

Do you mind commenting on here as soon as you know something

Thank you
 


I don't believe they will change their model, so no food, even for purchase. Bring on your own food.
 
I am SO hoping they will be doing this by mid-July when we are tentatively planning a trip to Hawaii!
 


I am so excited about this! I have a trip to Aulani booked for June 2018 so I hope they start their flights by that time. They should - they wouldn't want to miss out on the high season, right?

Also exciting: I got a SW credit card offer that provides a FREE COMPANION PASS through December 31, 2018 for opening an account. Did that this morning! Can you imagine - lower flight fares AND ONE FLYER FREE??? :yay::yay::yay:
 
This is great, wasn't sure if we would ever get back to Aulani, but now with DVC and how easy it is to acquire SW points, it's going to be much easier. Though the lack of legroom options and entertainment will be tough. We used rewards flights on American which lets you choose your seats at no extra cost so having the first row with unlimited legroom helped this tall person get through the 9 hours. I'd imagine you'd have to get real lucky to grab the exit rows on Southwest to Hawaii flights.
 
I think one of SWA's main hubs is BWI, isn't it? I wonder if they'll do nonstop flights out of BWI. That would be a win for us east coasters.

Did they say anything about what type of aircraft they will be flying to Hawaii? With the flight being so long, I really prefer the 2-4-2 seat configuration which I know can be found on the Airbus 330. I think only Delta flies that to HNL currently? Also, I don't think the Southwest planes I've been on have in-seat power and the free entertainment is through your own device. Curious too if they'd have a "first class" depending on the plane type? So many questions! lol!
 
I'm not a fan of southwest. Honestly, so many people decide they need preboarding, and so many others pay to board first that even right at 24 hours you get stuck in a bad loading zone. Then, we sit and wait while families who know this is the policy decide they MUST all be sitting together and start shaming people to move. Nope. It's fine for a few hours but no way would I want to deal with it for a long flight.
 
Southwest Airlines just announced in a FB live video they’ll be starting service to Hawaii in 2018 (pending govt approval). Route info and dates will be released soon. So excited, hopefully this means a reduction in fares!!

The announcement was that they would be selling tickets starting in 2018. That strongly suggests they won't begin flying to Hawaii until 2019.

I think one of SWA's main hubs is BWI, isn't it? I wonder if they'll do nonstop flights out of BWI. That would be a win for us east coasters.

Did they say anything about what type of aircraft they will be flying to Hawaii? With the flight being so long, I really prefer the 2-4-2 seat configuration which I know can be found on the Airbus 330. I think only Delta flies that to HNL currently? Also, I don't think the Southwest planes I've been on have in-seat power and the free entertainment is through your own device. Curious too if they'd have a "first class" depending on the plane type? So many questions! lol!

Southwest only flies Boeing 737s. It is part of their business strategy. Any Southwest pilot can fly any Southwest plane. There are several different variations of the 737.

Initial service to Hawaii is expected to use the Boeing 737-800 series. Once they get them, Southwest intends to switch Hawaii routes to use the Boeing 737 MAX series. The MAX series is more fuel efficient and has a longer range.

According to Wikipedia, the Boeing 737-800 has a range of 3,010 nautical miles (3,464 miles). The 737 MAX has a range of 3,825 nautical miles (4,402 miles).

To put that in perspective, the distance from Honolulu (HNL) to Las Vegas is 2,763 miles. Honolulu to Phoenix is 2,918 miles. Salt Lake City is 2,994 miles. My educated guess is that those airports are the furthest possible until Southwest gets the MAX. While those are in play, expect most of the Hawaii flights to come from secondary airports in California (Oakland, Ontario, Burbank, Sacramento).

With the MAX, they might consider Dallas-Love Field (3,796 miles to HNL), Minneapolis-St Paul (3,972 miles), or Chicago-Midway (pushing it at 4,253 miles). Sadly for you, Baltimore (BWI) is not possible, as it's 4,856 miles.

As for you other questions, I'd say there's zero chance that Southwest will be adding first class. Southwest does offer satellite-based WIFI on their Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. That service includes entertainment. They do not have in-seat power, although that's less of an issue today since many hand-held tablets get great battery life.

Although I looked, I can't find a source that regarding if Southwest's Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will have in-seat power.

Sources:
Aircraft specifics: http://www.avgeekery.com/breaking-southwest-airlines-announces-hawaii-service-to-begin-in-2018/
Boeing 737 article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737
 
I'm not a fan of southwest. Honestly, so many people decide they need preboarding, and so many others pay to board first that even right at 24 hours you get stuck in a bad loading zone. Then, we sit and wait while families who know this is the policy decide they MUST all be sitting together and start shaming people to move. Nope. It's fine for a few hours but no way would I want to deal with it for a long flight.
I would agree, Southwest is not a great fit, I want a reserved seat, but more flights mean lower prices. Actually I think United is adding flights next year that will probably have a bigger impact. Also Hawaiian will start adding smaller planes 320s next year for the west coast, which will provide more direct flights to the outer islands
 
I would agree, Southwest is not a great fit, I want a reserved seat, but more flights mean lower prices. Actually I think United is adding flights next year that will probably have a bigger impact. Also Hawaiian will start adding smaller planes 320s next year for the west coast, which will provide more direct flights to the outer islands
Good point. Even if I never touch Southwest from hawaii, it should impact prices everywhere. I generally take Delta only because I have a good assortment of flights that get me to Boston and I like to just stick to one airline to maximize my points. But it would be nice to see prices drop a tiny bit. That said, low flights are still out there. I just booked my mother a november flight from boston to hnl for 638 round trip. Over thanksgiving....
 
I'm not a fan of southwest. Honestly, so many people decide they need preboarding, and so many others pay to board first that even right at 24 hours you get stuck in a bad loading zone. Then, we sit and wait while families who know this is the policy decide they MUST all be sitting together and start shaming people to move. Nope. It's fine for a few hours but no way would I want to deal with it for a long flight.

Most of those in the A group are frequent SWA flyers (A-Listers), not necessarily paying for early boarding. Getting a guaranteed A section boarding spot is one of the benefits of status with them.

Agree with the detail from writerguy on their model and planes. I expect they will market this to west coast residents flying out of Burbank, Oakland, etc. Prices to HI are pretty high just from the west coast and its only a 4-5 hour flight, so not unbearable on SWA. I can't imagine doing SWA for multiple cross country legs, or east coast to HI, its really a better model for short, regional legs.
 
I wonder if this will bring down prices or only from LAX. The reason everyone is adding slights there is because of demand. With Mexico really out for most travelers now, Hawaii is the thing. Alaska, the only airline I will fly domestic, used to fly so many routes in Mexico and now a few Cabo and PVR. The moved them to HI and some cross country like DC, Nashville etc.
 
Most of those in the A group are frequent SWA flyers (A-Listers), not necessarily paying for early boarding. Getting a guaranteed A section boarding spot is one of the benefits of status with them.

.
I get that. It's not those folks, and it's not the folks who pay either. I generally pay because I want to make sure my family sits together. The way boarding is handled on southwest pretty much guarantees that a 1/4 of the plane is trying to get on "first" and they allow it. I fly a lot. On most flights it's a few people with babies, a few older people who get on pre-boarding. Why is the "need" so much higher on southwest?? And then it's the folks who get on at the end and decide they NEED to sit together and the whole plane gets held up waiting which someone changes seats. Sorry, but if you need that, then don't book southwest, or pay to get on early. I just hate the whole thing.
 
I like the couples who take a window and an aisle and put a big bag in the middle seat to see of they can pull it off. Our strategy is to get B group and head for the back of the plane, that usually works, but you have to remember the 24 hr check in
 
I get that. It's not those folks, and it's not the folks who pay either. I generally pay because I want to make sure my family sits together. The way boarding is handled on southwest pretty much guarantees that a 1/4 of the plane is trying to get on "first" and they allow it. I fly a lot. On most flights it's a few people with babies, a few older people who get on pre-boarding. Why is the "need" so much higher on southwest?? And then it's the folks who get on at the end and decide they NEED to sit together and the whole plane gets held up waiting which someone changes seats. Sorry, but if you need that, then don't book southwest, or pay to get on early. I just hate the whole thing.

I wait till all the crazy is done, board and my family sits where we sit, I can't be bothered. If I get an alone spot for those 3.5 hours...it is a bonus for me! However my kids are 14,18 and 21!!
 

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