After months of work, and in the wake of formal approval, Southwest Airlines now has permission to fly nonstop between San Diego and Hawaii.
The airline plans service to both Oahu and Maui, with flights scheduled to begin next spring. San Diego is not the only city in California in which Southwest is offering the new service to the islands, but it is the last to get the flights started. Southwest is already operating nonstop flights from San Jose and Oakland, and flights from Sacramento to Oahu will begin soon.
The flights from San Diego to Maui will leave at 8:10 am each morning, with return flights arriving in San Diego at 9:20 pm. Those going to Honolulu will leave at 3:40 pm, with return flights from Oahu landing in San Diego at 6:15 pm.
When the San Diego flights go into service, Southwest will by flying a total of 28 flights between the Hawaiian Islands and California every day. The airline also has inter-island service, which will now rise to 38 departures daily, serving Kona and Hilo on the Big Island, Kahului on Maui, and Lihue on Kauai.
Two other companies, Hawaiian Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, fly a number of nonstop flights from San Diego to the islands. However, executives at Southwest feel there is room for competition on these routes.
The direct flights start April 14, 2020 to Maui, and April 20 to Honolulu. Brochure printing is often used to create schedules for services like this.
