Southwest Airlines is launching the Hawaiian city of Hilo’s first direct flight to the U.S. mainland in more than three years.
The airline announced plans on Friday to launch nonstop flights between Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) and Hilo International Airport (ITO) on the east side of Hawaii Island, commonly known as the Big Island.
The city has been without direct connections to the mainland U.S. since United Airlines ended its long-running Hilo flights from Los Angeles in early 2023.
Southwest Airlines launches new nonstop flights to Hilo
Southwest Airlines announced Friday that it will launch new flights from Las Vegas to Hilo on August 6.
Starting out, the airline will have three flights per week between Las Vegas and Hilo.
The following is the itinerary:
- LAS-ITO: Departs at 9:30 am and arrives at 12:35 pm (both local times)
- ITO-LAS: Departs at 8:45pm and arrives at 5:10am the next day (all times are local times)
Flights will operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.
The new service will be Southwest’s fifth route between Las Vegas and the Aloha State.
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It will also complement the airline’s inter-island services already flying from ITO. Southwest Airlines currently operates five round-trip flights daily between Hilo and the state capital, Honolulu.
On Friday, Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda praised the new direct route as a way to strengthen connections between the Big Island and Las Vegas. Las Vegas is sometimes called the “Ninth Island” to celebrate its strong cultural ties to Hawaii.
“Faster flights across the Pacific mean more convenience for our local families and another opportunity to support our hometown airline,” Alameda said in a sarcastic statement. Southwest is actually headquartered in Dallas, but it does have a strong presence in Las Vegas and has been operating flights to Hawaii since 2019.
The state’s eponymous airline, Hawaiian Airlines (now owned by parent company Alaska Airlines Group) currently provides interisland service to Hilo. However, it does not have uninterrupted connectivity from ITO to the continental United States.
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Strengthening its footprint in Hawaii
The new ITO-LAS route is the third new flight between the continental United States and the Aloha State that Southwest has announced in the past few weeks.
In November, the airline revealed plans to offer Honolulu service from Ontario and Burbank, California, starting next summer.
Hilo has about 45,000 residents and is about a 75-minute drive from Kona on the west side of the Big Island.
It’s often seen as a less touristy destination, with a small-town feel. Except for the Hilton Hilo Naniloa Grand Hotel, there are not many big brand hotels here.
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