Oh, you lucky ducks from the West Coast! Do you know that you have some excellent direct flight options for getting to Hawaii’s Big Island?
Here’s a list of direct flight options that will get you to the Big Island without the hassle and time of connecting in Honolulu.
Seattle:
- Alaska Airlines flies direct to Kona
Bay Area:
- Alaska Airlines flies direct from both Oakland and San Jose airports to Kona
- United Airlines flies direct from San Francisco to Kona
- Continental Airlines flies direct from San Francisco to Hilo
Los Angeles:
- Continental Airlines flies direct to Hilo
- United Airlines flies direct to Kona
- American Airlines flies direct to Kona
- Delta Airlines flies direct to Kona
Phoenix:
- US Airways flies direct to Kona
Portland:
- Alaska Airlines flies direct to Kona seasonally
I’d like to highlight that there’s a couple of direct flights into Hilo on Continental Airlines. One option we’ve really liked doing for our Big Island vacations is flying into Hilo to start our vacation for a few days before heading over to the Kona side for the rest of our vacation. We then fly from Kona back home. This plan has been a convenient time saver and we’ve paid the additional rental car fee (usually $50) for this convenience. See my article: Hawaii’s Big Island – Where to Stay.
When you’re choosing your flights to Hawaii, which do you prioritize – schedule with direct flights or price no matter the schedule?
Sheila Beal
1 comment
Price is huge, of course, but we always have to account for scheduling, too.
We can fly to/from either Seattle or Portland, but we live several hours inland from those two cities. So, either we add an extra puddle-jumper flight between home and those airports, or we have a 3-4 hour drive before and after.
Either way, scheduling can be tough. Hawaiian Airlines, for example, flies direct into both Portland and Seattle, but the return flights usually land too late at night to catch a puddle-jumper … and too late at night for us to want to drive home. Shame, too, cuz I’d love to try that airline at some point.