Southwest Airlines to Offer Interisland Flights in Hawaii

The company plans to enter the market dominated by Hawaiian Airlines.

In addition to new flights to four Hawaiian airports—Honolulu International, Kahului, Lihue, and Keahole—from California, Southwest Airlines has announced it will begin flights between Hawaii’s islands pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Southwest would be entering a highly competitive arena. Hawaiian Airlines dominates the interisland market, with more than a 90 percent share, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and earns 94 percent of its in-state revenue from the five busiest routes in the network. Aloha Airlines, go!, and Island Air have all gone out of business trying to compete with Hawaiian. The airline responded to Southwest’s news by saying it’s ready for the challenge, citing its 170 daily flights between the islands.

Once approval is received, Southwest Airlines will start ticket sales for flights to Hawaii from Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento before the end of the year. Interisland flights are expected before the end of 2019.

Image credit: courtesy of Southwest Airlines