With the time finally right as Hawaii enters a post-pandemic reset, Southwest Airlines — and others — are doubling down on travel here. To capture the peak summer season, the Dallas-based carrier in June will start offering 37 trans-Pacific roundtrips, more than twice its current 16 roundtrips daily between Hawaii and the mainland.
The expansion gambit stands to benefit Hawaii residents in many ways, such as hiring that would increase Southwest’s workforce here by a third, adding 100 people to its 322-person staff. After a year that’s seen too many businesses shut amid statewide lockdowns and stringent public-health protocols, the new job creation is a psychological and economic boon.
And it’s not only Southwest Air seeing the huge potential for summer Hawaii travel. Homegrown carrier Hawaiian Airlines is nearing pre-pandemic flight levels and is poised to add new routes, as are longtime Hawaii carriers United and Alaska airlines.
With COVID-19 getting increasingly tamped by vaccinations, mask-wearing and social distancing, the outlook is rosy for travel in and out of the islands. Tourism-industry analysts are forecasting pent-up demand for Hawaii trips to be realized this summer and beyond. Just this week, U.S. News and World Report released its annual rankings of the best vacation destinations in the U.S. and in the world — and Hawaii landed near the top on both lists. Specifically, Maui ranked No. 4 as both the best place to visit in the U.S. and the best place to visit in the world.
And, the financial-literacy website Wallethub ranked Honolulu No. 2 out of 100 metro areas on its 2021 list of best summer travel destinations — rated across 42 key indicators, such as weather, activities, safety and flights.
For travelers itching to travel — safely, of course — the expansion of flights and price competition among airlines are welcome indeed. Southwest is adding new gateways in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas, and adding more flights in California cities, while maintaining its interisland schedule.
That expansion surely will put pressure on Hawaii’s other carriers. Hawaiian Airlines in June will start new routes between Honolulu and Austin, Orlando and Ontario, plus expanded nonstop service between Maui and Las Vegas, Phoenix and Long Beach. United Air and Alaska Air also are building up service here: Among others, United will add new Maui-Newark, N.J., and Kona-Chicago routes; and Alaska will add new nonstops from Los Angeles to both Lihue and Kona.
All this competition bodes well for Hawaii’s recovering but still-struggling tourism industry. With luck, the state’s Safe Travels program soon will be turning into happy travels.
