Southwest Interisland Hawaii Service Review

Flying interisland in Hawaii has always been an odd choice. You could either fly Hawaiian (at very higher fares of $119 one-way) on their 737/717 or use one of the (now demised) lower-cost carriers. The low-cost carriers always seemed shaky and some of the planes seemed in a rather sorry state.



Southwest has now entered the fray and connects the islands for just $59 one-way - a boom for locals and tourists and also a welcome change for the crew members.

Honolulu airport has added a section for Southwest (just passed the United gates) that looks much like the former Air Asia terminal - it's much more a cargo terminal where you walk freely to your plane than any other gate in Honolulu. You still have access to the terminal area though and there are some brand new shops and a new Starbucks as well.


As usual, the crew came with a friendly attitude - something that most 'mainline' carriers have successfully eradicated over the last decades.

The plane was a brand new 737-800 with the typical Southwest leather seats.




The best part of the flight is the view. It was a tad cloudy that day of the flight but I still felt the views taking off over Waikiki and Diamond Head were fantastic. Maui was dark and grey with rain showers tough.
















The flight was just 22 minutes in the air and we only made it to 13,000 feet before switching back into landing mode. There was no drinks or snack service.


I'm glad Southwest flies to Hawaii and in between islands now. The planes are new, the service friendly and the fares are low. Perfect!