How long are inter-island flights in Hawaii?

Though the only way to travel between Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii (Big) Island is by air, the flights are brief. In fact, you’ll probably spend more time driving to the airport, parking, going through airport security and boarding than you’ll spend in the air.

The Hawaiian Islands are not very far apart. The biggest distance – from Kauai to Hawaii (Big) Island – is only 305 miles per Google. A direct Hawaiian Airlines flight from Kauai’s LIH airport to the Big Island’s KOA airport takes about 55 minutes from gate to gate. Actual in air time is less than that.

Hawaiian Airlines provides the most inter-island flights and seats at the time of writing this article in May 2018. Hawaiian Airlines is the only inter-island airline that flies to all the Hawaiian Islands. Their aircraft is significantly larger with more storage space than the other options.

With Hawaiian Airlines being the largest inter-island service provider, we queried their site with a number of inter-island flight combinations to find the average, non-stop flight length. Here are the results.

Kauai (LIH) non-stop to :

• Oahu ~ 35 minutes
• Maui ~ 49 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Kona ~ 55 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Hilo ~ 2 hours (No non-stops available)

Oahu (HNL) non-stop to:

• Kauai ~ 35 minutes
• Maui ~ 39 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Kona ~ 47 minutes
• Hawaii (Big Island Hilo ~ 55 minutes

Maui (OGG) non-stop to:

• Kauai ~ 49 minutes
• Oahu ~ 39 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Kona ~ 35 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Hilo ~ 40 minutes

Hawaii (Big) Island Kona (KOA) non-stop to:

• Kauai ~ 55 minutes
• Oahu ~ 47 minutes
• Maui ~ 35 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Hilo ~ 2 hours (No non-stops available, but of course, this travel is drivable.)

Hawaii (Big) Island Hilo (ITO) non-stop to:

• Kauai ~ 2 hours (No non-stop is available.)
• Oahu ~ 55 minutes
• Maui ~ 40 minutes
• Hawaii (Big) Island Kona ~ 2 hours (No non-stops available, but of course, this travel is drivable.)

We haven’t listed flights to and from the islands of Lanai (LNY) and Molokai (MKK.) If you’d like to search for those flights times, you can use the Hawaiian Airlines flight search feature. There are a few smaller airports that we have not listed. We have only listed the major airports that have the most flights and services. These airports are also ones that most visitors are likely to use.

Where possible, we listed the direct, non-stop, inter-island flights. To save time, you should seek the non-stop options. Otherwise, you’ll likely have a layover in Honolulu or Maui that can add an hour or more to your travel time.

Overall, inter-island flights are pleasant. We always try to get a window seat to enjoy the island scenery from above.

—

Related article: How long are flights to Hawaii from around the world.