Hawaii’s big summer: More flights, bigger planes

Travelers looking to visit Hawaii this summer will have plenty of flight options. Airlines expect high demand to the islands as international borders generally remain closed and pent-up travel demand starts to release with vaccination rates growing. And everyone wants to cash in.

United Airlines is the latest to increase its schedule from the mainland in June, with more that 40 trips on peak travel days. But the carrier is not alone.

Schedule analysis for the week of 21 June 2021 shows seven carriers scheduled to operate in the market.  More than 1100 flights will operate that week, many with larger planes than in prior years. The average capacity per flight exceeds 200 passengers.

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Historically Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines battled over the market, with other carriers playing a lesser role. For Summer 2021, however, United will be the largest airline by both flights and seats. United’s schedule shows 278 flights each way and a total of more than 57,000 seats.

Bringing up the rear is Sun Country with 12 flights that week and just 2,322 seats each way, though that seats per flight number isn’t bad given the carrier only flies the 737-800 to the islands.

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On a seats per flight basis both Hawaiian’s 228 seats per flight matches American Airlines tops United. Delta Air Lines shows 213 seats per flight. Alaska Airlines is scheduled for the third most flights (Hawaiian is second), but it brings up the rear with just 162 seats per flight on average.

Beyond the flights

With the number of potential visitors rising, questions arise regarding lodging, rental cars and other tourist-focused services. Reports suggest some rental car operators are already out of vehicles, and the traffic is nowhere near the peak. Hotels should fare slightly better, though it is unclear if the room rates will rise to meet the demand.