HOUSTON — Southwest Airlines on Monday officially launched its website to start selling tickets for flights to Hawaii.
Those flights are scheduled to begin March 17 out of Oakland, Calif. with even more departure cities rolling out in the weeks to come.
Getting there and back from Houston
Using the Southwest Fare Finder, KHOU 11 News found you can get from Houston's Hobby to Honolulu roundtrip for $298.80 in late March. The only catch: connecting flights. Currently Southwest Airlines has no plans for nonstop travel between Texas and Hawaii. According to the airline's fare finder, the cheapest offerings will route Houstonians to Indiana first and then to Oakland before flying to Hawaii. Return flights to Houston are shorter, however, with only one stop in Oakland.
The next cheapest option
Skyscanner shows the second cheapest options for flights to/from Houston and Honolulu in late March and early April are from American Airlines. Those tickets are listed for $712 roundtrip with two stops: one in Dallas and then in Los Angeles. Nonstop flights are available through American for closer to $800.
The cheapest Southwest flights to Hawaii start March 17 out of Oakland
The inaugural Southwest flight from Oakland International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Oahu will be followed by an inaugural flight from Oakland to Kahului Airport, Maui on April 7.
Fares from Oakland start at $49 one-way for travel into mid-June, as part of a special introductory offer from the airline.
"Southwest will operate its first interisland service within Hawaii between Honolulu and Kahului, four times daily in each direction, beginning April 28, followed by service between Honolulu and Ellison Onizuka International Airport at Keahole (KOA) on Hawaii Island, four times daily in each direction, beginning May 12," stated a company press release. "The additional interisland service will make possible connecting service between Kona and both Oakland and San Jose."
On the web: https://www.southwest.com/hawaii/