(Traveled 05/12/23 FR @ 2:00pm): Sometimes you wanna get away from the southwest and roam elsewhere and at great prices!
I recently had the pleasure of flying with Southwest Airlines LIH on my way to Honolulu HNL from Los Angeles LAX with this layover. Generally speaking, Southwest Airlines has been my favorite domestic carrier for years (I wished they flew internationally!). Routes to the Hawaiian Islands was a fairly new development for the airline with more expansion to come. So, how was my first time flying with them to Hawaii out of the island of Kauai!?
PURCHASE
One-Way Airfare ($123.30): Since this was a layover, the original ticket fare was purchased out of Los Angeles LAX. However, I would imagine the fare from Lihue to Honolulu would be cheaper than this. I normally didn't book one-way flights mainly because of the usually less advantageous fare versus roundtrip airfare, but I wasn't quite sure when I wanted to return back to California from Hawaii. Since I booked the flight one month before its departure, I felt this fare was reasonable within my comfort level of $150.00 for any domestic air travel during the medium season (Memorial was two weeks away). On an afternoon layover flight that arrived in Honolulu around 3:00pm the same day, it was all good https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=o-3Wd435kZM70m3_FEpJKg&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw!
Checked Luggage - 1 Piece (FREE): Actually... your first two checked luggages were always free - hooray!
FLIGHT EXPERIENCE
~Check-in: I checked-in online 24-hours prior, had my QR code boarding pass on their app, and traveled with only a checked luggage and backpack, so I was ready to go! Because this was a layover and my luggage was being transferred through to its final destination, I didn't have to deal with security checkpoints and the necessary TSA pleasantries. When it was time, passengers were queued-up in order of their boarding letter and number (i.e. A/B/C and 1/2/3, etc.). The flight was bumpy at times but arrived on-time at our final destination.
~Seats: Come on, it was the same sardine can like all airplanes these days, so unless you were in Business or First Class you got to know your neighbors to the left, right, front, and back of you!
~In-flight Meals (Varied; n/a this instance): Because of the extremely short flight and minor turbulence, no drinks or snacks were handed out.
~Lavatory: I got my business done at the one in the back of the plane. Plenty of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues... but could've been cleaned more often.
~Service & Amenities: All uniformly-dressed flight attendants were adequate and spoke perfect English. None of the seats had video monitors for movie/show watching, music listening, and games playing. The seats themselves were roomy enough. No blankets, headphones, or pillows were provided. Again, because of the flight turbulence, the drink/snack cart didn't come around which was fine in this case. There were no carry-on baggage fees.
PARKING (Varied; N/A this instance)
I was traveling through and had no need to park. However, the airport offered onsite parking structures with rates that ranged from FREE to $15.00/daily maximum. Because this was located within the main terminal of departing flights, you had to already be an outgoing or incoming passenger to even get here, so parking would be a moot point.
ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE
In this instance, I was in the main terminal (I believed there was only one) Gates 7-8 where the waiting area was a bit congested and tight due to its lack of room and size, with several long rows of seats, and generally a dated appeal. There were sufficient places to sit throughout the terminal with plenty of natural and electric lighting. Once on the airplane (Boeing 737 MAX8), it seemed like any other, so nothing really needed to be said or seen here.
ATTIRE
Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops. I liked to be unencumbered and unfettered, so the least amount of clothing, especially while I traveled through an airport, the better!
OVERALL
My one-way layover flight on Southwest Airlines out of Lihue LIH was fine and got me to Honolulu safely which truthfully was all that mattered to me on any domestic flights. I wished there were seat video monitors that helped pass the time. In any case, I'd fly and recommend them again. I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $123.00 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, they accepted my credit card of choice...AMEX! 4.0 STARS read more