On Friday, Hawaiian Airlines announced a new flight which will become the longest domestic flight within the United States. The airline will begin flying between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Honolulu International Airport (HNL) on April 4th, 2019. The service will mark the first nonstop flight between Boston and Hawaii.
Details of the New Route
- The route will operate 5 times weekly in both directions:
- HA89 Boston (BOS) 8:55 am Departure → Honolulu (HNL) 2:35 pm Arrival
- HA90 Honolulu (HNL) 1:45pm Departure → Honolulu (HNL) 6:00am (+1) Arrival
- Service begins on April 4th, 2019 and will be operated by a double aisle Airbus A330-200
Our Analysis
As we say with all new routes, more competition only bodes well for travelers as it should ultimately drive prices down. Fares to the Hawaiian islands have been incredibly cheap in 2018. With Southwest Airlines expected to announce their service to the islands soon, this is a trend we see continuing well into 2019. Unlike many other domestic routes, Hawaii is dominated by leisure travelers who are much more price sensitive than those traveling for business.
Hawaiian will be catering to leisure travelers and is offering promotional fares for $617 economy fares to celebrate the announcement of their new service. According to the Boston Globe, Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram said the airline's success on their New York JFK to Honolulu nonstop route led them to launch this new service from Boston.
Bottom Line
More routes from the mainland US to Hawaii are always welcome news. Hopefully Hawaiian continues to expand their nonstop service to Honolulu as this will certainly put pressure on the US mainline carriers (Delta, American & United) to keep their pricing lower.
Lead Photo (CC BY 2.0): Tomás Del Coro
