Southwest’s New Flights to Hawaii Will Take Off 2 Months Earlier Than Scheduled

Because demand for flights to Hawaii is so high, Southwest is debuting its new service from California two months earlier than anticipated.

Southwest will start operating its low-cost flights from Sacramento to Honolulu on Nov. 10, the airline announced in a press release on Thursday. The flights were originally scheduled to take off on Jan. 19, 2020.

"Demand is strong for our Hawaii service and we're not just increasing those routes to daily service for our customers, we're also moving up our timeline on two routes set to begin in January, and instead will fly them this year," Adam Decaire, the airline’s vice president of network planning, said in a statement.

Introductory fares are available for as low as $99 one-way on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (excluding around the busy holiday season).

In addition to the Sacramento to Honolulu flights, Southwest is also pushing up its service between Honolulu and Lihue, Kauai to November. In celebration of the move, passengers will be able to book this interisland airfare for as low as $29 one-way.

Southwest will also begin flights from Sacramento to Maui from $129 in March 2020. At that time, flights from Oakland and San Jose, California to Kona and Kauai will increase to daily service.

It is expected that Southwest’s entry into the Hawaii market will increase competition on the route and make prices fall on other airlines. The airline began its service from Oakland to Honolulu earlier this year. It’s estimated that airfare to Hawaii has already dropped 17 percent since Southwest began its low-cost service.