Southwest Airlines widens Hawaii flight links to Bay Area this month
San Jose and Oakland will get more connecting flights to the islands
SAN JOSE >> Southwest Airlines in January is widening its flights to Hawaii that connect to the international airports in San Jose and Oakland, city officials and the air carrier said Friday.
The low-cost air carrier, which has triggered a pricing battle for travel to Hawaii, is adding flights between the Bay Area and the Big Island of Hawaii and the island of Kauai. according to information released by Southwest and the city of San Jose.
“The Hawaiian Islands continue to be an in-demand destination yearround from Silicon Valley, and we are pleased that Southwest Airlines has responded by adding service to meet our community’s needs,” John Aitken, San Jose’s director of aviation, said Friday.
On Jan. 19, Southwest will launch its first flights that connect Oakland International Airport with Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, and San Jose International Airport with Lihue in Kauai.
On Jan. 21, Southwest is planning its first flights between Oakland airport and Kauai-Lihue, and between San
Jose and the Big Island-Kona.
“Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii are popular leisure destinations and are now more accessible through Southwest’s competitive fares and excellent service levels,” Aitken said.
Two other airlines are locked in a scrap with Southwest for the Hawaii travel business.
Alaska Airlines will have daily flights during the summer of 2020 connecting San Jose with Honolulu on Oahu, Kona on Hawaii, Kahului on Maui, and Lihue on Kauai, according to San Jose airport officials.
Hawaiian Airlines is providing daily flights between San Jose and Honolulu Oahu and Kahului Maui, the airport said.
Southwest Airlines appears to be off to a robust start with its Hawaii service, the air carrier told analysts in October during a conference call to discuss the company’s third-quarter financial results.
“Our 2020 market priorities will continue to include Hawaii, which is going extremely well,” Gary Kelly, chief executive officer with Southwest, told the analysts.
The air carrier estimated that by the end of this month, it will have as many as 12 daily California to Hawaii flights, and up to 34 flights that hop between the islands.
“The demand for our service to Hawaii continues to be very very strong and our load factors continue to exceed our system average,” Tom Nealon, Southwest’s president, said during the conference call. “The demand for our interisland service is also very strong.”
Southwest plans to continue to be aggressive with its Hawaii flights and expansions, although the airline noted that the lengthy grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX jetliner could have an impact on how swiftly service is expanded to the islands.
“We’re absolutely committed to Hawaii. If anyone wants to know if we’re going to back off Hawaii, absolutely not,” Kelly said. “We’ve opened five stations in Hawaii. That’s performing really well. So, we’re not backing off.” Referring to the impact on Hawaii due to the Boeing 737
MAX woes, Kelly added, “It may have to pace a little bit depending upon the MAX.”
Despite the surging start of service to Hawaii, the airline emphasized that the flights to Hawaii are only a small part of the airline’s overall network.
“California, Denver, Baltimore, Houston” will also be primary areas of focus during 2020, Kelly said during the conference call.