It's now easier for Big Isle residents to reach the Ninth Island. Southwest Airlines kicked off nonstop service between Hilo and Las Vegas today, marking the first regularly-scheduled nonstop link between East Hawai‘i and the popular destination.
Nearly 160 Southwest customers and a crew of six who arrived at Hilo International Airport were met by Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda, along with entertainment, refreshment and treats, an announcement Thursday noted.
The new route was announced last December and a Southwest spokesperson shared the December announcement when Aloha State Daily reached out earlier this week for updates.
The flights are initially scheduled to operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Eastbound flights will depart at 8:45 p.m. and arrive at 5:10 a.m. the next morning, while westbound flights will leave at 9:30 a.m. and arrive at 12:35 p.m.
“Hilo is one of those special places where Southwest has entered to serve — and we immediately and strongly have felt a sustained loyalty,” a Southwest spokesperson told Aloha State Daily by email late last year. “We have many local, Hilo-side customers on Hawai‘i Island who have used our interisland service to and from Honolulu. We also have seen a lot of customers (based on either side of the Pacific) who fly Southwest to or from Hilo, even if that’s meant an extra ‘connection’ in the Islands at HNL [the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu]. This new service is an investment in our relationship, a reflection of the demand we’ve seen and of the promise of potential new business in the Hilo market.”
Southwest announced it would first arrive in Hawai‘i in March 2019 and began operating at Hilo International Airport on Jan. 19, 2020. In December, the airline noted it offered nearly 60 interisland flights per day and nearly 90 flights a day that "touch Hawai‘i."
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
