If you want to fly Southwest Airlines to Hawaii, book now and think later. Southwest has added new nonstop flights to Hawaii from Sacramento (SMF) and new flights from the Bay Area to Lihue, Kauai (LIH) and Kona (KOA). In addition, Southwest has added new interisland flights and added a new Hawaiian city Hilo (ITO) to its route map. Intro fares are as low as $29 one-way for interisland service and new service from the mainland to Hawaii starts at $99 one-way or $198 roundtrip.

UPDATE 12:00 noon PDT: The $99 one-way intro fares from Sacramento to Honolulu sold out around 10:30 am PDT, and $99 intro fares from Oakland and San Jose to Kona and Lihue sold out shortly after. Fares are still decent at $238 - $358 roundtrip. These fares are selling out quickly!

Southwest Adds New Flights to Hawaii from Sacramento and Bay Area

Daily nonstop service begins on January 19, 2020, on the following routes:

  • Sacramento (SMF) to Honolulu (HNL)
  • Honolulu (HNL) to Hilo (ITO)
  • Honolulu (HNL) to Lihue (LIH)
  • Kona (KOA) to Maui (OGG)

Sunday / Monday / Wednesday / Friday service begins on January 19, 2020, on the following routes:

  • Oakland (OAK) to Kona (KOA)
  • San Jose (SJC) to Lihue (LIH)

Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday service begins on January 21, 2020, on the following routes:

  • Oakland (OAK) to Lihue (LIH)
  • San Jose (SJC) to Kona (KOA)

Connecting service and low intro fares are also available to the new destinations in Hawaii from a few cities in the Western United States and also on interisland flights within Hawaii. Existing connecting flights have low fares once again with the schedule extension.


Related: Which SF Bay Area Airport is Best: SFO, OAK, or SJC?


Travel Availability

New service begins on January 19, 2020. Low fares on existing service start to pop-up the second week of January through early March.

The lowest fares are valid for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the new routes. Existing routes have low fares for travel on Mondays and Thursdays as well.

Inter-island fares are only $10 more each way or the same price for travel on other days of the week.

Sale Period

Intro fares on the new routes from the mainland to Hawaii are valid for purchase TODAY ONLY! Tickets must be booked by 11:59 pm PDT, August 15, 2019, or while supplies last. Some fares have already sold out.

New interisland fares are valid for purchase through 11:59 pm PDT, on August 22, 2019.

New low fares on existing routes are unadvertised and can jump in price at any time. Since Southwest has limited flights, these prices will likely not last very long. Book now and take advantage of Southwest's flexible refund policy to confirm your plans. If plans change, get a cash refund within 24 hours of booking or a travel credit any time after this time period.


Related: How to Get a Refund When Your Flight Price Drops After You Buy


Sample Fares

Please note, these fares are only available on Southwest.com. Other carriers regularly match these sale fares, so be sure to compare to find the best deal.

New Southwest Service to Hawaii Starting January 19 or 21, 2020

Sacramento to Honolulu $198 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $358 RT nonstop

Oakland to Lihue $198 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $238 RT nonstop

Oakland to Kona $198 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $278 RT nonstop

San Jose to Lihue $198 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $258 RT nonstop

San Jose to Kona $198 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $238 RT nonstop

Los Angeles to Lihue $276 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $316 RT

Los Angeles to Kona $276 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $316 RT

Seattle to Lihue $276 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $376 RT

Seattle to Kona $276 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $336 RT

Oakland to Hilo $286 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $326 RT

San Jose to Hilo $326 roundtrip

Sacramento to Maui $346 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $386 RT

Sacramento to Lihue $346 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $386 RT

New Interisland Hawaii Flights on Southwest Starting January 19, 2020

Honolulu to Hilo $58 roundtrip, nonstop

Honolulu to Lihue $58 roundtrip, nonstop

Kona to Maui $58 roundtrip, nonstop

Kona to Hilo $126 roundtrip

Hilo to Maui $126 roundtrip

Maui to Lihue $126 roundtrip

Kona to Lihue $126 roundtrip

Existing Southwest Service to Hawaii with New Low Fares Starting in January 2020

Kona to Honolulu $58 roundtrip, nonstop

Honolulu to Maui $58 roundtrip, nonstop

Oakland to Honolulu $298 roundtrip Sold Out! Now $318 RT nonstop

San Jose to Maui $298 roundtrip, nonstop

Oakland to Maui $318 roundtrip, nonstop

San Jose to Honolulu $318 roundtrip, nonstop

Boise to Honolulu $351 roundtrip

Albuquerque to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Burbank to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Spokane to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Long Beach to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Ontario to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Reno to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Seattle to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Orange County to Honolulu $356 roundtrip

Long Beach to Maui $356 roundtrip

Seattle to Maui $356 roundtrip

Orange County to Maui $356 roundtrip

San Diego to Maui $366 roundtrip

Los Angeles to Maui $371 roundtrip

San Diego to Honolulu $376 roundtrip

Denver to Honolulu $376 roundtrip

Los Angeles to Honolulu $376 roundtrip

Portland to Honolulu $376 roundtrip

Phoenix to Honolulu $391 roundtrip

Las Vegas to Maui $396 roundtrip

Salt Lake City to Maui $400 roundtrip

Denver to Maui $436 roundtrip

Houston to Maui $476 roundtrip

Houston to Honolulu $480 roundtrip

Austin to Maui $480 roundtrip

Dallas to Maui $496 roundtrip

Minneapolis to Honolulu $526 roundtrip

Minneapolis to Maui $526 roundtrip

All fares also work in the reverse direction.

These prices aren't quite as low as the $98 roundtrip flights that were for sale this spring when Southwest first started selling tickets to Hawaii, but you may want to book these quickly if you want to travel on Southwest to Hawaii this winter. Ever since those super cheap spring fares sold out, Southwest fares to Hawaii have been extraordinarily high.


Related: How to Fly Southwest Airlines (And Get the Seat You Want)


Baggage

These fares include a carry-on bag, a personal item, and two free checked bags up to 50lbs/23kg each.

Seat Assignments

Southwest has an open seating policy, which means there are no assigned seats and you'll get to choose your seat during boarding. The order of boarding is determined by the time of check-in so check-in exactly 24 hours before departure or pay for priority boarding for a better choice of seat.

Alternate Fares

Other airlines may start to match prices in some markets, but all other airlines charge for checked bags—some even charge for carry-on bags. Southwest has the advantage of two free checked bags and no change fees.

If you want to fly into one island and back from another, you can purchase one-way flights for about half the roundtrip price and combine with $29-$39 interisland Southwest flights.

And if you're looking for flights from further east, you'll have to wait until Southwest begins flying overnight (red-eye) flights. Until then, it is not possible to make an onward connection flying from Hawaii to points east on Southwest. You may be able to book a one-way flight from the Midwest or East Coast to Hawaii on one itinerary, but the return flight would require two separate tickets and an overnight stop on the West Coast.

For a complete list of deals to Hawaii, have a look at all of our fares on all airlines to Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG), Kauai (LIH), and Kona (KOA).

And make sure to sign up for FREE airfare alerts to find out when prices drop. New routes usually spur fare wars.


Related: Open Jaw Tickets: Save Money and Time with this Booking Tip


Example Booking

Searching Southwest's website, I found a flight departing Sacramento SMF on Wednesday, January 28, with a return flight from Honolulu HNL on Tuesday, February 4, for $198 roundtrip.

Note: This price was active at the time of original posting, but has since sold out.

cheap-flight-from-sacramento-to-honolulu-hawaii-for-198-roundtrip-on-southwest

Featured image: Maridav / Shutterstock
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