I think March 17 is the inaugural date of flights of SouthWest Airlines to Hawaii. These will be flights out of several different California Airports.

I didn’t spend a lot of time researching flights, but it seems that American has MUCH better prices, in fact 50% less than SWA. I expected a better price from SWA. SWA was $1,200 round trip, AA was $598.

I searched using Honolulu, I know there are other Hawaiian airports. What do our well seasoned flyers recommend for which Islands to fly in/out of and to visit. BTW Pearl Harbor is a MUST for me to see.

Anyway, we’ll see how the price of fares work out. I’ve never been to Hawaii before.

Every American should visit Pearl Harbor.

I"ve been to Oahu 3x, Big Island 3x (my favorite island), Maui 2x, and Kauai 1x. The hustle & bustle of Waikiki isn't my thing, and Big Island is my favorite island to visit. However, you can have a more relaxing experience in Oahu by staying at Turtle Bay on North Shore or renting a VRBO/AirBnB in Kaneohe.

SWA was reportedly selling tickets to Hawaii for <$100 round trip but may be sold out of these loss leaders.
Having lived in Hawaii for years, we usually took Alaska to and from West Coast cities; they had consistently the lowest prices, usually $500-600 round trip.
They also fly directly to Maui which was advantageous for us as we lived there.

The sale fares last week were ridiculous while they were available. Some fares were $59. Regularish fares from SFO/OAK on other carriers have been ~$350 fairly consistently for a few years.

some news here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/mone...ould-fail/ar-BBUBpny

at the very least - competition is good

I fly Southwest regularly - i bet they get it figured out.

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The last few times I checked SW airfares, they weren't the bargain they used to be.

Maui has direct flights from the mainland. I would guess that Kauai and the Big Island(Hawaii) also have direct flights.



.

Are they flying the new 737-800?

^^^

yep

I won't be on an -800 any time soon

Can you imagine the peanut farts after a 5+ hour flight??? I'd be crop-dusting up and down the aisle the whole time.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:

I won't be on an -800 any time soon

SouthWest, with their large all-737 fleet and their intensive training for both flight crews and maintenance personnel, is probably very different from a third world operator. I do everything possible to avoid airline travel of any kind, but if I had to use an airline, I would not hesitate to fly on anything in the SouthWest fleet.

It sounds like the new 737 MAX sometimes has a desire to crash itself into the ground to prevent from stalling. Plus, you have to play the wrestle for a seat game with Southwest that doesn't work when flying with a family. I'll stick with American for a trip that long.

MCAS is an autotrim system which can be disabled. Trim can run away in any aircraft; it can also be disabled.

A number of aircraft have trim systems to account for various features; the big complaint with the 737 Max was that the MCAS was added without additional systems descriptions for pilots. It's harder to account for a new system or feature if one doesn't know it's there. Everyone knows it's there, now.

Bear in mind that as yet, the MCAS hasn't been cited as the cause in either of these events, and there's nothing yet to suggest that the second 737 Max crash was even related. Presently it's nothing more than wild speculation in absence of fact.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
SouthWest, with their large all-737 fleet and their intensive training for both flight crews and maintenance personnel, is probably very different from a third world operator. I do everything possible to avoid airline travel of any kind, but if I had to use an airline, I would not hesitate to fly on anything in the SouthWest fleet.

Bear in mind that SWA is in a very heated fight with the mechanics over contract negotiations, and has declared a "maintenance emergency," which is ongoing.

There have been some very serious accusations by maintenance, including whisteblower issues, coverups of cracks, etc.

If you're planning to visit Pearl Harbor, keep in mind that the Arizona Memorial re-opening has been delayed by several months.

Hawaii Magazine article which my girlfriend suggested I post for you guys:

https://www.hawaiimagazine.com...al-wont-reopen-march

I've also been to the Big Island 3x. All of the flights were LAX to Honolulu. At some point a carrier began flying PHX to KOA (Kona on the Big Island).

In the late '90s a 20-21 day trip PHX to KOA, including a cheap room with shared bath, cost me about $2,200. Airfare, lodging, food.

It is getting to be the time to revisit my haunts. Maybe a 2021 trip.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:

I won't be on an -800 any time soon

SouthWest, with their large all-737 fleet and their intensive training for both flight crews and maintenance personnel, is probably very different from a third world operator. I do everything possible to avoid airline travel of any kind, but if I had to use an airline, I would not hesitate to fly on anything in the SouthWest fleet.

understood however two airframe losses in a span of 5 months - I like to see if there is any commonality between them

in the meantime I don't have to fly on SWA - and yes I know they're a different animal

A 737-800 is not the same as a 737 Max-8.

If you're avoiding the 737-800, you're avoiding the wrong airplane.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Can you imagine the peanut farts after a 5+ hour flight??? I'd be crop-dusting up and down the aisle the whole time.

Slight thread drift. They no longer do peanuts and went all in on pretzels.....my girlfriend and I have the companion pass so pumped about the Hawaii flight... buy one get one free!