Traveling between Kona and San Diego just got a little more direct thanks to the addition of a new route by Alaska Airlines.
Starting today, Alaska Airlines will offer thrice-weekly service between Kona International Airport and San Diego International Airport, Alaska Airlines Kona Station Manager Peggy Nakagawa said Wednesday. The permanent flight will use a dedicated Boeing 737-800 aircraft that seats up to 147 passengers, she said.
The route will operate Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays. Flights out of Kona leave about 9 a.m. and arrive in San Diego about 4:30 p.m. The returning flight from San Diego will arrive in Kona about 10 p.m.
“We are excited to have this new route on board,” Nakagawa said, later noting the airline has been planning the route for about a year. “And we look forward to flying all of our passengers to the mainland.”
Big Island Visitors Bureau Executive Director Ross Birch said the new route is good news for not just Kona, but the entire island.
“This just isn’t a San Diego flight, this is the first time that the San Diego market has had a direct flight into Kona,” said Birch, who will be on the first flight returning from San Diego to Kona on Thursday evening, which already sold out. “It’s huge for both markets.”
The bureau will continue to partner with Alaska Airlines to promote the new route. Birch said demand already exists for direct flights between the West Coast, and that airline “hubs” there are “cranking” thanks to people being able to travel more because of economic improvements.
With the addition of the route, Alaska Airlines now will offer not only five permanent direct flights from Kona, but also direct service between San Diego and each of the four main Hawaiian Islands, Nakagawa added. The Kona-dedicated plane, outside of its Thursday, Saturday and Monday service to San Diego, will fly to the Bay Area.
Seasonal flights between Kona and Portland, Ore., and Kona and Anchorage, Alaska, will end in April.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.
