Why Hawaii Has Cheapest Airfares In The U.S.

Above, new arrivals disembarking at Kona International Airport. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At one time, Hawaiian Airlines was the "Big Kahuna" when it came to flights to Hawaii. Not anymore. Other airlines have entered the Hawaii travel market and competing for market share.

Now there's a price war between the airlines serving Hawaii and travelers are the beneficiaries.

Now, Hawaii has the cheapest airfares in the U.S.

Beat of Hawaii reported:

It seems odd to us that Hawaii would have that distinction. After all, Hawaii is usually more expensive in every way when compared with the mainland. But not when it comes to airfares, at least not for now.

Another fare war was started today by Southwest Airlines, still a relative newcomer to the Hawaii market. The deals are both from the mainland to Hawaii and interisland too. They were quickly joined by Hawaiian Airlines and by Alaska Airlines.

So why are we seeing the cheapest airfares in the US?

By their admitted nature, Southwest is acting aggressively relative to the other airlines and moving in on their rival’s territory with low prices. Southwest continues to look for whatever opportunities exist to expand and dominate Hawaii flights. As mentioned previously, the pilot head of SWAPA (Southwest’s pilots’ union) has described the airline’s expansion strategy this way: “Predatory and opportunistic—which we like.” In fact, there is a photo of a shark labeled “Southwest” which sits in one of the company’s offices.

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