en.Wedoany.com Reported - Southwest Airlines will launch a new year-round route from Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) to Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on August 4, with a westbound maximum block time of nearly six hours and monthly frequencies adjusted based on peak days. This marks the return of direct service on the route since Aloha Airlines operated it in 2005. Adam Decaire, Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Operations Control at Southwest Airlines, stated that renovations at new facilities such as San Diego and Burbank, along with enhanced in-flight experiences, will support the company's continued service to the Southern California and Hawaii markets.
Southwest Airlines will become the second carrier to operate this route in 2026. Alaska Airlines previously launched seasonal direct flights from Burbank to Honolulu on May 13, with service running until August 18 and daily operations during the summer. Alaska Airlines uses the 175-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8, but with a lower-density two-class configuration offering 161 actual seats; Southwest Airlines will have 175 seats. Alaska Airlines' westbound flights have an estimated block time of 5 hours and 50 minutes, with eastbound flights at approximately 5 hours and 15 minutes, both operating as daytime flights.
In addition to the new route, Southwest Airlines launched daily flights from Ontario International Airport (ONT) to Honolulu on June 4, 2026, increasing overall capacity between Southern California and Hawaii. According to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, the Burbank-Honolulu route will operate 4 round trips in August, 16 in September, 5 in October, 19 in November, and 15 in December. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows that in the 12 months ending March 2026, only about 6,000 round-trip passengers traveled between the two airports, but this figure is affected by diversion to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)—Burbank is approximately 30 to 35 miles from LAX, which handles nearly 1.5 million round-trip passengers annually on direct flights to Honolulu.
Alaska Airlines stated upon launching the new route that Burbank is its fourth gateway from the Los Angeles area to Hawaii. The airline already operates flights to Hawaii from Los Angeles International Airport, Long Beach Airport (LGB), and Ontario Airport, and offers Hawaii route services from other California airports such as Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
