Because they don’t appear on most travel comparison sites*, a lot of people don’t realise Southwest Airlines offer Island Hopper flights in Hawaii. Nonetheless, having introduced routes across five Hawaiian airports back in 2019, the Dallas based airline provide an competitive alternative to Hawaiian Airlines’ long dominance in the market.
Prices are generally comparable to Hawaiian, with one big difference that echoes Southwest’s offerings on the mainland: two free checked bags on every flight.^
I reviewed the Hawaiian Airlines island hopping experience a couple of years ago, and this past December, I was able to ride Southwest between the island of Kaua’i (LIH Airport) and Honolulu (HNL) for the first time. So how to the flights compare? Read on!
Airline: Southwest Airlines
Flight Route: Kaua’i to Honolulu (LIH-HNL)
Flight Number: WN 2208
Aircraft: 737 MAX 8
Class: Economy (All seats are economy with Southwest), 3-3 Layout.
Flight Time: 38 Minutes
On Time? Yes
*Expedia just announced they are finally featuring Southwest on their group of sites.
At the Airport – Lihue (Kaua’i)
The International Airport on the island of Kaua’i is located in Lihue, not far from the Royal Sonesta Kaua’i hotel, where we were staying.
It’s not a large airport, so we didn’t see any queues to speak of across the journey. This included at the bag drop – where automated machines would print out your bag tags. And it also helps that Southwest offer two free checked bags on every ticket – the only airline in the world that I know offers this.^
They have newer x-ray machines, so we didn’t have to take anything out for security, which helped ensure there wasn’t a queue here either. We whisked ourselves through in record time.
After passing security, we went to the Ai Ono Cafe, which sadly had already stopped breakfast by the time we got in (it’s only available from 5am to 930am). But you can get fried rice with scrambled eggs for just $4.99, so this was more than enough to keep us satiated until we arrived in Honolulu. And for an airport cafe – what a price!
Boarding
Southwest have a boarding procedure that is very much their own. Rather than provide you with a seat number, you are given a boarding position. You then line up according to your number (I was A59), against numbered poles that sit in the boarding area. It’s then open seating once you get on board the flight. Everyone then just takes the first seat they can. It honestly works better than most other airlines who go via Zone, who often don’t enforce it, so the jet bridge finds itself clogged all the same.
While I wouldn’t want this for a flight longer than a few hours, where I might pay extra for their priority boarding to ensure I can get the more suitable seat, for a flight this brief (under 40 minutes!), I’ll take any seat I can. And all passengers seemed to have the same idea. All the same, I ended up with an window seat towards the middle of the aircraft, which was perfect to enjoy the picturesque journey.
In-Flight Experience
The seats on the new Max jets have built in USB and USB-C chargers, which is fantastic, and are more than comfortable enough.
There was wi-fi on board, with movie and TV options, plus free texting. Internet is available for a US$8 fee. Though it’s worth noting that Facebook worked fine amongst the messaging options, so between it, Instagram, WhatsApp and iMessage, there wasn’t must else I needed.
Unlike Hawaiian Airlines who offer a prepackaged juice or water on every flight, there was no drink service. After all, we were only at the 10,000 feet elevation for a couple of minutes.
While we were originally told to only expect a 23 minute flight, we ended up in the air for closer to 40, due to some air traffic congestion in Honolulu. But we were still at the gate on time, with almost no taxi time on either end of the journey.
On Landing at Honolulu International Airport
Our bags were out 15 minutes after landing, which felt like something of a record, and from there it was an easy walk from the domestic arrivals terminal to the car rental centre. From there we picked up the car that we rented through Discount Hawaii Car Rental.
Final Verdict
While Hawaiian Airlines offer a couple of added incentives, from a free drink in the air, to the fact they currently sit in the Virgin Australia Velocity alliance (which sadly ends 30 June 2025**), this isn’t enough to make them the given choice for the market. Southwest have brought some welcome competition, to say the least.
As face value prices are pretty comparable, where you’ll notice the savings is in the lack of cost for checked baggage. Currently, for most travellers, Hawaiian Airlines charge US$30 for your first bag, and US$40 for your second (all baggage fees can be found HERE). So that alone could save you quite a lot of money. And for this reason alone, they emerge as the superior service cost wise.^
The USB chargers and the free texting also add to the positive, brief experience of hopping between islands.
I love flying Hawaiian, and they offer the more frequent service, but this experience confirmed that Southwest are also excellent in market. I will definitely be considering them on all future travel in the great state of Hawaii. And you should too.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
To book your next trip in Hawaii with Southwest Airlines, head to southwest.com.
The author flew at his own expense.
^Sadly, Southwest recently announced they would be stopping free baggage as a given for customers as of 28th May 2025. To enjoy the two free checked bags on their flights, make sure to book on or before 27th May 2025. The airline will honour this offer on any ticket booked by this date, no matter the date of travel. More details can be found HERE.
**Hawaiian Airlines will be joining the Qantas alliance in October 2025.
