Southwest has recently extended its schedule and has added direct flights from San Diego to both Honolulu and Maui in Hawaii. I’m seeing good availability in both May and in early June for $129 / 8,188 Rapid Rewards points each way.
The Deal
- Southwest Airlines has added direct routes from San Diego to both Honolulu and Maui in Hawaii
Quick Thoughts
This is obviously great news for those hoping to leverage their Southwest Companion Pass for flights to Hawaii as this should open up additional options for connecting to Hawaii for those with direct flights to San Diego as well.
I’m seeing introductory prices at $129 each way that are widely available in May and early June.
Alternatively, the cheapest flights can be booked for 8,188 points each way.
Keep in mind that Southwest recently announced an increase in the required points to earn the companion pass in 2020, so if you are hoping to pick up your pass sometime next year you will need an additional 15K points. That said, you could certainly book one ticket now and then add your companion in the future after you have earned the companion pass (if you don’t already have a pass valid through December 2020). For complete details on the pass, see our Complete Guide to the Southwest Companion Pass.
Overall, more Southwest flights to Hawaii is probably good news for everyone as it means more options for Southwest flyers and more competition for everyone else. Keep in mind that Southwest also has incredibly reasonable prices for inter-island flights, especially when you consider that their fares include 2 free checked bags (whereas you’ll pay on Hawaiian).
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[…] Route: Southwest added flights to Honolulu and Maui from San Diego. Prices start at $129! See this post on Frequent Miler for more […]
Being 6’8” and based in San Diego, I’ve been waiting for southwest to launch here but hoping that this will make Alaska match its fares so I can guarantee myself an exit row seat. 5 hour flight is too much of a gamble for southwest boarding process for me :/
Fair.
Get the SW Premier $149 card or upgrade like I did (4) A1-A15 credits every year ..I’m tall but not that tall.
CHEERs
lol/24…
how many hours in sw plastic seat from San Diego to Hawaii?
Without checking, I can’t imagine it’s much more than the 5.5 or so hours from the rest of the west coast cities. Maybe 6hrs?
As someone who this year alone has flown between the mainland and Hawaii on Alaska, United, and Southwest, I’d say that I think there is no significant difference in the in-flight experience in my opinion. If anything, Southwest gives the most substantial free snacks.
checked SAN-OGG and the one Saturday nonstop took 6 hours…most of the others go through the northern CA cities and add hours filling the bus, layovers that switch planes, ect…so the average flight is 9 hours. Nonstops from oak and sjc cut 45 minutes off the nonstop.
We have family in SAN so I was hoping a visit to break up the long flight with a quick morning flight to finish. …non stops from DFW are 8.5 hours, so coming back on AA with a lie flay seat is a must, and going out on SW has no advantages over other coach seats, unless you can’t get free bags or have the companion pass…I will fly them interisland, Just have to find something to do with Hawaii miles I was saving for that….I guess, in the end, more options are a good thing…I just wish SW would buy some flat seaters and start flying them from their hubs to Hawaii, but I could see them stopping 3 times along the way to load them up…lol