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Southwest Airlines

3.2 (55 reviews)

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aisle seats fill first, and middle seats fill last
Robert C.

Would you pay $879 for basic economy flying from Kahului to San Francisco? Thursday Alaska Airlines cancelled my 737 max 9 flight from Kahului to San Jose on Saturday. Hawaiian Airlines had openings on Kahului to San Francisco Saturday but was charging $879 for basic economy. The previous Friday and following Monday $359 one way. Checked Southwest airlines from Kahului, and flights full for San Francisco and San Jose, but they had a $166 basic economy fare to Oakland on a 737 max 8. We purchased the $25 per person per trip early bird check in, which assigned us a boarding gate position between A31 and A60, 36 hours before the flight. In our case A41 and A42. People in economy without early bird check in have to check in 24 hours in advance on the web site to get their boarding positions , which will be after we board. People in the lowest fare group board last. At the boarding gate, business class passengers A1-A15 board next. Business class is usually double the price of basic economy. Passengers with disabilities can get tickets marked PRBD, and board after A1-A60, a change due to the "Southwest wheelchair scam". Customer Service determines if a customer meets PRBD requirements through a series of questions. They are trying to avoid the "Southwest wheelchair scam", where physically able seniors request a wheelchair simply to get their families onto the plane first. And PRBD families cannot occupy emergency exit seats. We get on before the PRBD. The aisle seats of the front bulkhead seats were occupied , with the middle and window seats empty. Had to pass on these seats as all the overhead luggage bins in the front section were full by the time we boarded at A41, A42. Seating far forward is a quick route to the 1 forward bathroom, which has an indicator light of occupancy on the overhead. 2 bathrooms in the back, or 3 bathrooms altogether for 30 row, 175 passenger capacity Boeing 737-max 8. Business class couple take aisle seats 15C and 15D in the first emergency exit row. This row has by far the most legroom, so much so that the other four seats in the row would be occupied. We occupy seats 16B and 16C, also in the emergency exit row, but only two seats on each side of the aisle, and much less legroom than row 15. I use the 1 forward bathroom twice during the second half of the 5 hour flight from aisle seat 16C Row 17 is also an emergency exit row, but no window in the window seat. Window seats 17A and 17F have the most leg room, as no seats 16A nor 16F. There are 25 open seats on the flight, so the Boeing 737 max-8, with 175 seats, was 85% full, with the only empty seats being 25 of the 60 middle seats. There is no meal service for the 5 hour flight. They serve 1 bag of snack mix, wheat thin crackers and Welch's fruit snack and chocolate brittle along with two 6 oz drinks. No 8 oz let alone 12 oz containers of soda given out. No chargers on Southwest airplanes. Bring battery boosters, as you don't want a dead battery cell phone when requesting ride sharing at your destination. They do have wifi. I watched the entire 49er-Packer divisional playoff playing on the upright tablet of seat 15D, across the aisle and diagonal in front of me in seat 16C, even reading the score. Guy took off his shoes, and no audio, but I'm not complaining.

Beautiful picture near Las Vegas airport above the skies!
Ethan J.

Southwest is GREAT!! They offer great snacks especially when going to Hawaii. The captains are very nice, and know what they're doing. Same goes for the cabin crew. They are all very friendly. The only red flag is most times I fly with southwest, our bags get damaged. They only give us a $50-$75 dollar voucher for my expensive suit case. Hopefully they fix that situation. Anyways, expect great service with southwest, highly recommended!!

Beverage Menu - November 2022 - VN
Vince N.

Competition is necessary to keep prices down. At our strongest, Hawaii was home to three inter-island carriers, Aloha Airlines (1946 - 2008), Mid Pacific Airlines (1981 - 1995) and Hawaiian Airlines (1929 - current). Discovery Airways operated for just 3 months in the 90's before ceasing operations. But, the wolf in sheep's clothing was definitely Go! (2005 - 2014) who started an inter-island airfare war by selling one-way tickets for as low as $19, which eventually pushed Aloha Airlines into bankruptcy. For 11 years, we've had to deal with the monopoly of Hawaiian Airlines and their often ridiculous pricing, many times as high as $300 to fly a hundred miles. Thankfully 2019 rolled up with Southwest's announcement of starting service in the 808. OGG to HNL: Even though you're not flying to the US mainland, you must put all bags through agricultural screening prior to arriving at the boarding gates as you'll be arriving in the international terminal of HNL, according to a screener. The Southwest boarding gates (west terminal) are currently being expanded as they're a lot smaller than the eastern terminal. Being a Southwest virgin, my friend had to explain the numbered signs hanging from the ceiling. You board by letter groups and stand under the sign of your position number. Position numbers are issued according to the time you check in online. The earlier you check in, the lower your position number is, meaning you'll be at the front of the boarding group. I'm sure it works better in larger holding rooms but it's cramped at OGG. The 737 Max8 (seating 3 & 3) wasn't full, so there was room to spread out. There's also more legroom than Hawaiian and no first class is available. HNL to OGG: Funny as we didn't have to go through agricultural screening here. Maui has some odd rules. I was right, as the boarding here went a lot smoother in a larger holding area. The flight back to Maui was just as empty with room to spread out. THE "FAR" WALK: Many-a-Mauians have mentioned a long walk to the gates at HNL. I have no idea what they're talking about as it felt like the same distance as flying Hawaiian. Stop being lazy! TIP: Only water is available on inter-island flights due to the distance being under 175 miles. OVERALL: Welcome to the Aloha State! The clientele is definitely different than Hawaiian Airlines which made me chuckle. Affordability and comfortability are winners in my book. I just wish they had a later HNL - OGG flight than 8pm.

Horrible service from this gentleman behind counter. I would have gotten a name but didn't want to miss my flight because of his arrogance.
Sandy J.

Fyi... if your Flying into Hawaii, ALOT of places dont accept CASH!! Take credit cards or Pay as you go cards. It's very frustrating. Flew to Hawaii on Southwest. Ever since Sacramento re-did the airport, its Organized Chaos. Most employees are very cordial, others don't give a damn especially in Hawaii. We almost missed our flights back home because of horrible service. Luckily we had an awesomeness flight crew from Hawaii back to Sacramento. They were awesome in EVERY WAY!!! But in Hawaii, the service was absolutely ridiculous and rude employees. Worse than being in California where everything is OVERPRICED!! Yes it's beautiful but they're tired of tourists and it shows. Our ticket handler ( older gentleman), was extremely rude and conducted himself unprofessionally. Horrendous person. His picture is enclosed. I couldn't get his name, because he almost made me miss my flight because of His mistake.

Trevor C.

Total organized confusion we couldn't tell what groups they were calling or when? It seemed liked everyone flying that day got in line at the same time and just waited.

Leaving Maui after a jump from Honolulu.
Thomas B.

We left Oakland 9 days ago. And coming and going we had a seamless trip. The aircraft were super clean, the staff was pleasant and inviting, and handicaped accessible was always a priority. Flights were on time. The only complaints we ever heard was due to bad customer planning ahead to be slowed down by security and not the Airlines. The snacks were ok, and the services were honed down by Covid Regs. I like Southwest. I get what I pay for, I arrive on time, and I am treated with respect. Not bad at all. I will continue to fly with them. On this leg of the flight from Maui, we happened to get a flight attendant that changed up the informational in-flight reminders in a humorous way while still getting his point across. Bravo. It got us to relax and enjoy.

Lacie O.

People will speak negatively when they don't get their way in some instances. I appreciate this airline. Southwest deserves 5 stars in my opinion because when you approach people with a positive attitude, you will get what you receive. The flight attendants were amazing, caring, and kind. I could tell one was having a hard day but nothing a kind "hello" and smile couldn't fix Flying can be stressful and at times they are seen as the bad guys but they are just doing their job. My 1 year old and I had an amazing experience. I will be recommending to friends in Maui who need time away with ohana to heal, like us. MAHALO SOUTHWEST

Waiting for the crew
Nicholas A.

If you have or are having problems with Southwest in Maui it is most likely due to the airport's lack of infrastructure. I've had delays upon delays with the local airlines. So, to blame Southwest for my woes may not be accurate. Coming from Honolulu, aside from checking in baggage, I have had no problems with Southwest.

Hello again Bay Area.
Maria P.

YAY! Southwest is here and they're finally bringing some much needed competition to the islands in terms of airline carriers and I honestly couldn't be happier. My BFF joked about going to Trader Joe's a few months back and just by chance I managed to score some cheap seats to San Francisco for a quick weekend-ish trip when they first released their tickets. So, LOTS of things to know before you go: 1. There's no assigned seating which may be completely foreign to a lot of people, but it is somewhat similar to the direction other airlines are heading. That means ALL seats are available to passengers. Upon check-in, you get a "boarding order" and you get on the plane in that order. You get to pick whatever seat, wherever you want on the plane. The boarding order is A1-60, B1-60, then C1-60 and you line up accordingly. The lower your boarding number the more choices you'll have when on the plane. The good outweigh the bad and generally if you're traveling with another person or as a family you'll have no trouble sitting together if you're all in Group A or B. If you're in Group C, you may have to get creative ;) Usually people are nice and they don't mind moving, especially if you're with a child. Just don't be a jerk and try to save all the seats or overhead bin and you'll be golden. OR check-in early and by early I mean exactly 24 hours before your flight. You can also pony up an extra $15+ to get early-bird check-in 36 hours before your flight. 2. There's no tv screens. There is however in-flight entertainment provided via their Southwest app. So, you'll need to download their app before you fly! They had about 40 movies to choose from, live TV, music stations, beverage menu, flight status, etc. all available on their app. 3. They surprisingly had in-flight wifi for $8 for 24 hours of access. iMessage and Whatsapp could also be used for free as well. Not too shabby! 4. No meals are provided, at least not from Maui to the West Coast. They do however provide a bag of snacks which was filled with crackers, cheese, fruit snacks, & pretzels. They also gave Milano cookies and came by once or twice for beverages. They don't have food/beverage carts, so service can be interrupted if there's a lot of turbulence on the flight. Eat a meal or bring a snack before you board! 5. Changing tables for the kiddos are on the bathroom to the right if you're facing the tail of the plane. It's a budget airline so really, I wasn't expecting many frills! Not that my expectations were low, but I was actually pleasantly surprised with everything that we encountered. The space was way more spacious than many of the airlines I've been on lately. The seats were ok, not the comfiest, but fine, and I'll take space to spread out and stretch my legs any day! The service was also good & flight attendants were friendly. I don't really need much, but I was really impressed by this one flight attendant that was directing a mama who was holding her baby superman style to the bathrooms behind us and said, "Oooh, you're definitely going to need help with that! Let me finish this real quick and I will come and help you." The baby had completely blown out (poooop!) his diaper & if you're a mom, you know how challenging this can be to tackle in a small airplane bathroom! I've done it. It's not fun. I've even sat through a flight with my kiddo's blown out diaper leaking onto my lap, lol. If that's not great service, I do not know what is. Speaking of babies, there were noticeably A LOT more kids on my flights than normal. Perhaps it's the time of year or the fact that Southwest has made Hawaii more accessible/affordable to families now, but it may be something to consider if that's not your jam. Overall, I would fly with them again and they're offering good perks for Hawaii folks at the moment. Take advantage while you can! If there's one piece of advice that I could offer... the fake flowers in the hair and fake maile leis. Please, if you're going that route, do it right or don't do it at all. Tourists may not notice, but as someone who grew up in Hawaii, it just looks tacky. Partner with a local farm, florist, or artisan and do fresh flowers/leis, support the local community. That extra touch makes all the difference.

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Kahului Airport - Southwest wing is newer and looks nicer than the Hawaiian Airlines wing

Kahului Airport

3.2(1.2k reviews)
0.1 mi

MAUI - took a trip to Maui in my birthday month . Landed at OGG airport and it immediately…read moretransports you back in time . It's an open air old school airport with the island breeze flowing through and lots of travelers coming through . Staff is not as friendly and you would expect. A bit on the pushy side actually !! Bag came a bit late but the Uber pick up was very close and we got on our way shortly after. On our way out was the longest line and heard it can get to a 3 hour wait !! Still too small and they may have to think of an expanding soon!!

STILL Maui No Ka Oi!…read more Finally, FINALLY got to go back home after nearly a decade of being too busy with life in Vegas! Wanted to take the wifey on a much-delayed quick mini honeymoon to early celebrate our upcoming 15th wedding anniversary! PLUS it was a great time to finally see Mom again at home! Kahului Airport (or the OGG) is still basically the same as my last visit! No frills type of airport - safely land & the payoff is the lovely view of the island of Maui...and the smell of paradise! Worth it if you ask me! Oh, and now they've got a California Pizza Kitchen too now in the terminal's food court - only one on the entire island! I don't care if the Kahului Airport hasn't been fully modernized yet to today's standards and I don't care if there's no slot machines by the gates (HA!) - I love when I fly back into this place! It indeed truly still feels like HOME to me! Stay the same, my nostalgia thanks you!

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Kahului Airport - Corridor at Kahului Airport

Corridor at Kahului Airport

Kahului Airport - Beautiful View

Beautiful View

Kahului Airport - Renovations

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Renovations

Southwest Airlines - airlines - Updated May 2026

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