Southwest Airlines wants to launch flights to four airports in the Hawaiian Islands from a quartet of cities in California, and the airline’s CEO also detailed plans to add more flights to Latin America.
Pending regulatory approval, Southwest hopes to fly to Daniel K Inouye International airport in Honolulu (HNL), Kahului airport on Maui (OGG), Lihue airport on Kauai (LIH), and Ellison Onizuka Kona International airport at Keahole (KOA) on the big island of Hawaii.
Gateway cities from the mainland US would be Oakland Metropolitan airport (OAK), San Diego International airport (SAN), Mineta San Jose International airport (SJC), and Sacramento International airport (SMF).
Airline officials also said they would like to offer inter-island flights in Hawaii in the future.
Southwest President Tom Nealon said the airline is “on track with our plans to sell tickets this year” on the Hawaii flights.
CNBC reported May 16, 2018 that Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said 96 per cent of Southwest flights are currently domestic, but that the airline sees long-term potential service opportunities in about 50 other destinations in North and South America.
