It's confirmed: Southwest Airlines will fly to Hawaii

Southwest Airlines has confirmed that it plans to fly to Hawaii, probably beginning next year – a decision that could bring sharply lower fares for all travel to the islands. Since the airline started to take delivery of new Boeing 737MAX 8 aircraft, there has been widespread speculation that it would use the planes – which can fly 500 nautical miles farther than its 737-800s – to begin service. And now the company has announced its intention to do just that. Southwest said it will seek FAA approval to gain ETOPS certification for its new 737s – a regulatory requirement for flying them to Hawaii. Assuming it gains that approval, Southwest said it “plans to begin selling tickets in 2018 for service to Hawaii”. However, the company hasn’t yet said which airports will get the new flights – only that “service details are to be announced at a later date.” <br/>