Does Southwest fly to Hawaii? Yes — true to its name, Southwest will fly you to the most southwestern state in the U.S.

The low-cost air carrier launched flights to Hawaii from the West Coast in 2019, and service to the tropical island state has only expanded since then, including new routes from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Diego as of December 2021.

Whether you’re a snowbird seeking Hawaii’s seemingly eternal summer, or the kids are out of school and you need vacation plans, you’re in luck: Southwest flies to Hawaii year-round.

Here’s what you need to know about Southwest Airlines' Hawaii flights.

Does Southwest fly direct to Hawaii?

Southwest serves five airports in Hawaii:

Hilo (ITO), island of Hawaii.

Honolulu (HNL), Oahu.

Kahului (OGG), Maui.

Kona (KOA), island of Hawaii.

Lihue (LIH), Kauai.

Getting to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland on Southwest

Southwest has direct flights to Hawaii out of the following California airports:

Long Beach (LGB).

Los Angeles (LAX).

Oakland (OAK).

Sacramento (SMF).

San Diego (SAN).

San Jose (SJC).

Outside of California, Southwest also offers flights to Hawaii from:

Las Vegas (LAS).

Phoenix (PHX).

Flight times vary based on the route, but tend to run between five and six hours.

Southwest interisland flights in Hawaii

You don’t need to pick just one island to fly to; Southwest offers interisland flights, so you can easily skip from the quaint town of Hilo to the bustling nightlife of Honolulu in under an hour.

Here are some sample Southwest interisland routes, and their average flight times:

Kahului to Kona: 40 minutes.

Lihue to Honolulu: 42 minutes.

Honolulu to Hilo: 58 minutes.

Photo courtesy of Southwest.

What the flight is like

Since the five-to-six-hour flight to Hawaii is more than double the average Southwest flight length, expect some changes to service.

In-flight refreshments

Drinks: A typical Southwest flight includes a complimentary nonalcoholic drink. But on flights to Hawaii, you’ll also have the choice to sip Minute Maid Pineapple Orange Juice Blend. Alcoholic beverages are also available for purchase. In addition to the usual beers, wines and spirits, Southwest brings the tropical vibes with the option to purchase a Kona Longboard Island Lager or a Blue Chair Bay Coconut Spiced Rum for an additional $7 each.

Snacks: The snacks get a slightly-tropical boost too. Many of us are familiar with the small bag of snacks (think pretzels, a snack mix or Brownie Brittle) typical of Southwest flights. Flights to Hawaii usually feature a full snack box consisting of all of the aforementioned prepackaged items, as well as a couple additional items thrown in such as tropical fruit snacks and spreadable cheese.

Prepare for an onslaught of prepackaged carbs on your Southwest flight to Hawaii. (Photo by Sally French)

In-flight entertainment

On all Southwest flights, movies and TV shows are free to stream, and there are even some live TV channels — just bring your own device. There aren’t any seatback screens, so you’ll have to stream movies and shows from your own phone, tablet or laptop. Annoyingly, there isn't even a handy spot built into the seat to mount your phone or laptop, but a water bottle as a backstop might do the trick,

To access entertainment from your device, open www.southwestwifi.com and navigate to the Inflight Entertainment & Connectivity tab to start streaming.

Seats are pretty basic, with no built-in screen, no in-seat power (on most flights) and no good place to mount your phone or tablet. (Photo by Sally French)

In-flight Wi-Fi

Southwest-provided entertainment is free to stream online. But pretty much everything else you want to access via Wi-Fi will cost you — albeit not very much. All other internet access can be purchased for $8 a flight per device on Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft.