Southwest plans Hawaii flights
Las Vegas’ involvement in routes unclear
When Southwest Airlines starts selling tickets for flights to Hawaii next year, there is no indication any of its routes will include nonstop trips to and from Mccarran International Airport.
The Dallas-based discount carrier, the largest commercial operator at the Las Vegas airport, said Wednesday that it has begun applying for Federal Aviation Administration authorization to fly its twin-engine jets on extended operations and would start selling tickets in 2018.
Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly told Southern California Southwest employees about plans Wednesday, and the company then issued a release.
The airline did not announce details of what routes would be served. Southwest serves 10 airports in California, including Los Angeles International, Burbank, Long Beach, Orange County, Ontario and San Diego in Southern California.
A Southwest spokesman said Thursday that while routes and destinations haven’t been announced for either Hawaii or the mainland, Las Vegas is likely to have good access.
“We haven’t announced routes or destinations, but California will play a key role to access the islands,” said spokesman Dan Landson in an email. “You can anticipate there will be ample connectivity to our Hawaii routes based on the number of flights between Las Vegas and California.”
Mccarran has nonstop flights to and from Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines, which has 18 flights a week, and Allegiant Air, which has two a
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week but is exiting the market when the last of its Boeing 757 jets are retired.
Hawaiian has the most to lose when Southwest jumps in because there is little hotel capacity being added in Honolulu. Most of the air travel market will be shifts in share as opposed to growth, a source familiar with the market said.
Southwest officials are happy to carry out a plan that has been speculated on for more than a decade.
“A day long-awaited by our customers, fans and more than 55,000 of the world’s most-loved airline
employees is finally within sight — a day that will showcase your hospitality, about as far southwest as you can go in the U.S.,” Kelly told the gathering of employees in Southern California.
Shares of Southwest gained 26
cents, or 0.44 percent, to close at $58.81 on Thursday.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.