We’ve just flown round-trip on Southwest between Kauai and Honolulu as we review a range of flights across the airlines that fly to Hawaii, It’s been nearly 18 months since BOH editors last flew on Southwest interisland, and we wanted to see for ourselves just how well and consistently their unique product is being delivered here in Hawaii.
BOH also flew on Southwest to and from Las Vegas in addition to this week’s flights. In a nutshell, the product is quirky as all get-out. Totally unique in the industry. And it delivered with aplomb. Please read the details of our review and share your own thoughts on Southwest Hawaii flights.
Southwest is, if nothing else, unique among US airlines. We can still report that there’s absolutely nothing objectionable or “second class” about Southwest. We actually quite like the experience, especially for short flights like within Hawaii. Between the mainland and Hawaii, editor Jeff is a seasoned travel snob and prefers to either employ his three seat economy trick or fly business class, leaving Southwest out of his mix.
Early check-in. N/A
After previously buying Early Bird check-in to try it out, with moderate success, this round, we did not buy either that or Early Boarding. Those range in cost from $25 each per flight and up.
For those of you who aren’t Southwest regulars, Early Bird checks you in 36 hours before the flight and gives you a better (albeit unknown) boarding position. The other option, called Early Boarding, costs significantly more, of up to $80. This means you have better control of where you sit on the flight and assures more overhead storage access.
Cost: 10/10.
BOH editors paid $49 per passenger in each direction. That was about as cheap as could be found in the market at this time. Again, however, considering the value of the two checked bags, it offers a strong value. Unless you are a co-branded credit card holder or have premium status, Hawaiian charges $25/$35 for first/second checked bags interisland.
Customer service: N/A
Everything was handled easily online, and there was no further interaction needed.
Check-in: N/A
Because we both traveled with only carry-on bags, there was no luggage check-in required. We proceeded directly to TSA PreCheck. As an aside, when you leave from Honolulu, make sure you enter the correct ticketing lobby for Southwest. It’s also worth noting that your check-in bags will clear agriculture at the gate when you depart from Lihue. That was a surprise, but it made sense because you are arriving on the other side of ag inspection in Honolulu. We assume this also to be true when flying Southwest Interisland from Big Island and Maui.
Boarding: 10/10.
We are now quite familiar with their unique boarding system. Some others did not and started asking those more familiar for help. We got in line in the order of our boarding positions, and then an entire boarding line entered rather rapidly, all at once, thirty people at a time, in that order.
In comparing the boarding process of Southwest and Hawaiian, we are both largely neutral about it. While it is nice to have assigned seats a la Hawaiian, not having them hasn’t been a problem either. Once again, boarding on Southwest was quick, effective, and orderly.
On-time Performance: 10/10.
Once again, everything was precise as per the schedule. Boarding on both flights started almost exactly 30 minutes before flight time. The boarding door closed about 5 minutes before, and the flight departed the gate at the specified departure time.
Food and beverage: 9/10.
How Southwest handles snacks and the lack of any food options is irrelevant on short, under 30-minute flights interisland. While Hawaiian goes one step further and offers either water or POG drink, Southwest offers only water. It was served by a very friendly flight attendant who seemed genuinely happy to be helping. We’ll knock off one point for lack of POG, although water is certainly a far healthier choice than what is largely sugar water.
Aircraft: 10/10.
The 737 MAX8 planes are new, extremely quiet, and everything is clean and modern. The flight attendants activated four different lighting modes, clear, blue, purple and orange, that were really fun to watch.
After writing about terrible aircraft lavatories, Jeff decided to take a stroll to the back and check this one out. Compared with the United 737 MAX, with its space-saving compact lavatories, this Southwest MAX 8 lavatory seemed to be several inches wider, which definitely felt different and better. Note to self – we’re packing a tape measure for future lavatory comparisons.
There was a slight anomaly on the return flight. Jeff asked the pilot sitting in the next row about why the plane was so hot prior to and during takeoff. He said that he’d seen the ground crew disconnect the air conditioning tube too soon, which had resulted in the cabin very quickly getting overheated. Once the plane was in the air, it started to cool dramatically. Seated across the aisle from the two SW pilots was an Alaska Airlines pilot who was on vacation.
Wifi/texting: N/A
Southwest offers unlimited $8 satellite WiFi even on short interisland flights. For less than a half-hour, however, we both decided it wasn’t even worth the time or money to get it going.
Flight attendants: 10/10
Once again, we’re either very lucky, or there’s something to the Southwest Hawaii flight attendants being unusually kind and friendly. They are pleasant, helpful, industrious, and generally funny. Jeff asked about going to the lav while the fasten seat belt sign was on. For what it’s worth, the seat belt signs were never turned off during the short flight. The flight attendant said that while she couldn’t authorize it, she wouldn’t prevent it either, and if the need was urgent, it was okay to go. Wanting to get a quick photo of the lav and see its size, Jeff was only gone about one minute before buckling back in.
Cockpit crew interaction: 10/10.
The captain came on before the doors closed for the first announcement and welcome. The captain also announced that there were two other pilots flying in the cabin and that if we had any questions, we were directed to ask them. Another announcement followed take-off, although for some reason, we had a hard time hearing.
Seating and comfort: 10/10
With new seats, and legroom more than other airlines provide in economy, notably Hawaiian Airlines’ interisland flights, it was a very comfortable ride. We will say that on trans-Pacific flights we flew previously, we noted that the seats are thin and the padding inadequate for good 5+ hour comfort.
Power: AC/USB: N/A
There is still no electrical or USB power anywhere on these planes. Starting this year, Southwest began to provide USB A and USB C at every seat. That’s a needed addition, which we have yet to see. Given the very short flight duration, we didn’t knock Southwest for this the way we would have between the mainland and Hawaii.
Post-flight survey: 10/10
The same day as the flight, Southwest sent a survey. Because it asked for confidentiality with the questions asked, Jeff declined to complete the survey inasmuch as he’d be writing about it here.
Scoring: 99 out of 100.
The only shortcoming we found, not serious on a very short flight, was the lack of USB or AC power. Otherwise, these were both excellent flights, albeit without POG.
Where BOH will be flying next.
Beat of Hawaii is flying a lot to and from Hawaii. In the next two weeks, look for reviews of United Airlines premium-economy widebody service, and Alaska Airlines first class.
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