Southwest Picks Sacramento For Nonstop Flights to Hawaii
DALLAS (CBS13) - Southwest announced Thursday it will offer nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to Hawaii if the plan gets FAA approval.
The Dallas-based airline previously said it would offer the nonstop service, but hadn't disclosed which West Coast airports would provide that service. On Thursday, it announced Sacramento (SMF), Oakland Metropolitan Airport (OAK), San Diego International Airport (SAN), and Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) would be the initial getaway cities.
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Last week, Southwest said the flights would go to four Hawaiian destinations: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu (HNL), Kahului Airport on Maui (OGG), Lihue Airport on Kauai (LIH), and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) on the leeward side of The Island of Hawaii.
"We are honored to have been selected by Southwest to be among the initial mainland gateway airports to Hawaii," said Mark Haneke, manager of air service development and marketing for the Sacramento County Department of Airports. "We look forward to learning Southwest's planned launch dates and routes very soon. We welcome Southwest's new service in addition to our existing nonstop service to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines and to Maui on Alaska Airlines."
Southwest still needs to get regulatory approvals. Dates and ticket prices haven't been disclosed, but Haneke said the service could start as soon as early November.
Southwest Airlines made the news recently after a fatal accident on one of its planes. The airline reports that it has scared some people away from booking flights on the airline.
It reported seeing a "recent softness in bookings following the Flight 1380 accident." And it said that that weakness in bookings will result in slightly lower fare revenue in the second quarter as it tries to keep its planes full.
The airline reported slightly improved earnings in the first quarter, which was completed just before the accident.
On Wednesday, a Southwest Airlines flight heading from Chicago to Newark was diverted to Cleveland on Wednesday, after a window cracked on the plane.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory told CNN that Southwest flight 957 from Midway to Newark landed safely in Cleveland, after a report of an issue with a window aboard the aircraft.
