Hawaiian Airlines is adding direct flights from Sacramento to these two Hawaiian islands
Hawaiian Airlines is adding direct flights from Sacramento International Airport to Lihue on Kauai and Kona on Hawaii Island.
Service to Lihue will start on May 24 and to Kona on May 25, the airline announced on Wednesday.
The Hawaiian Airlines website shows tickets start at $199 for one way to Lihue and $276 to Kona. Depending on the day of travel, tickets can exceed $400 for one way. Round-trip fares are doubled.
The airline will fly to Lihue four times a week and Kona three times a week.
Sacramento area residents now have to travel to the Bay Area for nonstop service to those destinations.
Sacramento International has had nonstop service to Kona before. Alaska Airlines started service in 2018 only to abandon the route a year later. More recently, Southwest Airlines began nonstop service to Kona in 2021 but by 2022 had canceled the service.
The Hawaiian Airlines service to Lihue is the first time an airline has served that destination from Sacramento International.
Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram said in an interview that Sacramento is one of the carrier’s strongest West Coast markets, citing the success of daily service to Honolulu and Maui.
He said he is confident the new service to Kauai and Hawaii Island will be a success.
He said the new service to those destinations isn’t flying seven days a week because demand is less than to Honolulu and Maui.
“Getting the frequency right is important,” he said.
Ingram also said travelers over the last six to eight weeks have been returning to Maui following the devastating fire in the city of Lahaina. He said passenger loads from Sacramento to Maui are getting back close to pre-fire levels.
