Southwest Airlines has solidified itself as one of the best low-cost American carriers. In October 2017, the airline announced that it would be offering flights to Hawaii. However, no date was given at that time.
The Federal Aviation Administration approved the airline’s routes to Hawaii just last week. The FAA had to give the green light for Southwest to fly Boeing 737-800 jets over water for long distances.
On Monday, it was announced that one-way fares from Oakland, California would only cost passengers $49. This is less than 25 percent of the price of competitors that fly the same route.
The flights begin taking off on March 17, and the low-cost fares are already selling out. Some of the dates have started to increase to $99 one-way, but this is still significantly lower than other carriers. Southwest plans to fly to the islands from four California cities: Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento. Passengers can fly to Honolulu, Kahului on Maui, Kona, and Lihue on Kauai.
The airline will also offer flights between the islands, starting April 28 between Honolulu and Kahului on Maui, and starting May 12 between Honolulu and Kona, with fares starting at $29 each way.
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The addition of these low-priced flights could mean that vacations to Hawaii will drop in price as well.
Southwest was planning to increase its routes by 5 percent this year with over half of that being through the addition of the Hawaii routes.
“Were it not for Hawaii, we would absolutely be adding some more international routes and augmenting some of our flying,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told analysts on an earnings call in January. “So it’s simply a matter of prioritization, and Hawaii, I think, deserves that kind of prioritization. It’s that big of an opportunity.
With news like this, it’s safe to say many people will be heading to Hawaii soon. Will you?