Southwest Airlines adjusts routes between California and Hawaii

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Southwest Airlines adjusts routes between California and Hawaii

Research

Erica Silverstein Managing editor | The Points Guy

By Sky Industry News

Nov 14, 2024

Southwest Airlines is set to modify its service offerings on Hawaii's Big Island. The airline, based in Dallas, has announced plans to discontinue its route from Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK). This change will take effect on March 5, 2025, as initially reported by Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a spokesperson for the airline.

The Kona-to-Oakland route was introduced in January 2020 as part of Southwest's initial expansion into Hawaii. Despite this cutback, the airline will introduce a new service from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) to KOA starting March 6, 2025. The last time Southwest operated flights from Sacramento to Kona was during the summer of 2022 with a once-weekly service.

In response to these changes, Southwest stated that "we're meeting Customer demand and maturing our Hawaii service as we surpass five years of proudly serving the Hawaiian Islands with interisland and Mainland connectivity."

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Oakland serves as one of Southwest's major operating bases with flights to over 30 destinations. Although Sacramento is not as large an operating base as Oakland, it still offers flights to 28 destinations according to Cirium data. The decision suggests that there wasn't sufficient nonstop demand for the Oakland-Kona route.

Despite this adjustment, Southwest will continue daily services between Oakland and other Hawaiian destinations such as Honolulu, Maui, and Lihue on Kauai. Department of Transportation data indicates that in 2023, there were about 60 daily nonstop passengers on average between Oakland and Kona.

In addition to these changes, Southwest plans to launch red-eye flights from Hawaii in early next year. Earlier this year, the airline also canceled its Los Angeles-Maui route. Further adjustments are being considered for their Hawaii network due to underperformance in interisland travel.

Andrew Watterson, Chief Operating Officer at Southwest Airlines, commented on interisland flight load factors saying "I think they're low." During a recent earnings call he noted ongoing efforts by cross-functional teams focused on optimizing their Hawaii network.