Hawaii, Here We Come! Southwest Airlines Service For The Hawaiian Islands Now On Sale

DALLAS, March 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today announced the carrier will begin service to Hawaii on March 17, 2019, with an inaugural flight from Oakland International Airport (OAK) to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu, Oahu, followed by an inaugural flight from Oakland to Kahului Airport (OGG), Maui on April 7.

In subsequent weeks, the carrier will inaugurate additional service from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) to Honolulu on May 5 and to Kahului on May 26.

Southwest will operate its first interisland service within Hawaii between Honolulu and Kahului, four times daily in each direction, beginning April 28, followed by service between Honolulu and Ellison Onizuka International Airport at Keahole (KOA) on Hawaii Island, four times daily in each direction, beginning May 12. The additional interisland service will make possible connecting service between Kona and both Oakland and San Jose.

Additional service details, including plans for previously announced gateways of San Diego and Sacramento, and for Lihue, on Kauai, will be announced in the coming weeks.

"As we answer the call for Southwest in Hawaii with an initial schedule of service that speaks to a long-held hope of our Customers, I applaud and congratulate our People for their steady and impressive work to bring our world-famous Hospitality and game-changing value to the Islands," said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines' Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.

In celebration of the milestone, Customers may now book the carrier's initial wave of Hawaii service through March 5th at Southwest.com/Hawaii with two-day launch fares as low as:

Fare available through 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on purchase-by dates specified above. Travel on these fares is valid only on certain days of week. Please see complete fare sale rules below.

"Beyond these introductory fares that celebrate our significant initial investment in serving the Islands, our Hawaii Customers will experience our everyday value in low fares that offer everybody the same brand standards: no fees to change your ticket and two checked bags fly free*," said Tom Nealon, Southwest Airlines' President. "We're focused on bringing Hawaii an authentically Southwest experience with comfort across all seating—for every Customer—along with in-cabin snack enhancements for our flights between the State of Hawaii and the U.S. mainland."

With an industry-leading 32-inch seat pitch on Hawaii flights and Islands-inspired drinks and snacks, Southwest proudly will provide world-class service for Hawaii flights, including the carrier's gate-to-gate connectivity on WiFi-enabled aircraft, offering 100 percent free inflight entertainment with free inflight movies^{1^}, free Live TV² and free messaging^{3^}. 

¹To view movies and select on-demand TV content, download the Southwest app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store before your flight.
² Due to licensing restrictions, on WiFi-enabled flights traveling over water, Free Live TV and iHeartRadio may not be available for the full duration of a flight.
³ Messaging service only allows access to iMessage and WhatsApp (must be downloaded before the flight).
^Available only on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Limited-time offer. Where available.

"As our first flights go on sale, I want to recognize and thank our People who successfully obtained FAA authorization to operate this service across the Pacific between the mainland and the Hawaiian Islands," said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest Airlines' Chief Operating Officer. "From our work with airports under the direction of the State of Hawaii, to our California airports, and to all business partners who collaborated with us to safely prepare our operation, we gratefully share our thanks."

In October 2017, Southwest shared an intention to begin the technical work to bring capabilities for Hawaii service. The carrier filed application with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January 2018 and publicly announced in spring 2018 the carrier's initial mainland gateways and Island airports. The announcements punctuated a multi-year effort by Southwest across the Islands to map cultural and community landscapes with a focus on learning how the Company could best serve the different communities of the Islands of Hawaii with relevant service.

"Hawaii, we're in this for good," said Kelly. "Mahalo from all 60,000 of us at Southwest for the warm aloha you've shared ahead of our arrival and please know how excited we are to share our Southwest Hospitality with you."

RECAP | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES INITIAL PHASE OF SERVICE FOR HAWAII (chronologically):

• Oakland to Honolulu begins once daily on March 17, 2019; Honolulu to Oakland begins once daily on March 18; the route will be flown twice daily in each direction as of March 24.
• Oakland to Kahului begins once daily on April 7, 2019; Kahului to Oakland begins once daily on April 8; the route will be flown twice daily in each direction as of April 10.
• Interisland service four times daily in each direction between Honolulu and Kahului begins April 28.
• San Jose to Honolulu service begins May 5, once daily in each direction.
• Interisland service four times daily in each direction between Honolulu and Kona begins May 12.
• San Jose to Kahului service begins May 26, once daily in each direction.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FARE SALE RULES

$29 Interisland fare: Purchase March 4--5, 2019, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Interisland travel valid April 30 through June 19, 2019. Honolulu travel to/from Kona is valid May 14 through June 19, 2019. Travel is valid on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Saturdays. Fares are valid only on nonstop service.

$49 & $79 fares between California and Hawaii:  Purchase from March 4 through March 5, 2019, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Continental U.S. to Hawaii travel valid March 19 through June 19, 2019. Oakland to/from Honolulu is valid beginning March 19. Oakland to/from Maui is valid beginning April 9. San Jose, CA to/from Honolulu is valid beginning May 7. Oakland and San Jose, CA to/from Kona valid beginning May 14. San Jose, CA to/from Maui is valid beginning May 28. Continental U.S. to Hawaii travel is valid Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Fares valid only on nonstop service. Oakland and San Jose, CA to/from Kona valid on single, connecting service.

Additional fare sale rules apply:  Points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight. Seats and days are limited. Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of week and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Travel is available for one-way Wanna Get Away® fares. Fares may be combined with other Southwest Airlines® combinable fares. If combining with other fares, the most restrictive fare's rules apply. Sale fares may be available on other days of week, but that's not guaranteed. Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines®, as long as reservations are canceled at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Failure to cancel prior to departure will result in forfeiture of remaining funds on the reservation. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Standby travel may require an upgrade to the Anytime fare depending on Rapid Rewards® tier status. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Offer applies only to published, scheduled service.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 48th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 58,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 120 million passengers annually. Southwest became the nation's largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons, Southwest operates more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 99 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries.

Southwest coined Transfarency^® to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. *Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free^® to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest Airlines or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com