Southwest begins much-anticipated service to Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Southwest Airlines began its Hawaii service with an inaugural flight from Oakland to Honolulu on Sunday.

The plane landed at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 3:09 p.m., and passengers received lei and were greeted by Hawaiian music and hula.

Gov. David Ige and Southwest Airlines executives were on hand to participate in the ceremony.

“It gives those who want to travel to the islands from North America more options to arrive here in the islands. And just as importantly, it gives our residents more options in traveling to the mainland as well,” Ige said.

Up next: An inaugural flight from Oakland to Kahului on April 7.

The low-cost carrier will begin inter-island flights, starting with flights between Honolulu and Kahului on April 28 — four times daily in each direction.

It will then start flying between Honolulu and Kona on May 12.

In the coming weeks, the carrier will begin service from San Jose to Honolulu on May 5 and from San Jose to Kahului on May 26.

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