Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
This isn't how AS runs SEA (as a connecting hub for everywhere). Outside of Alaska and some PNW locations it's terribly geographically inefficient to force everyone to go 1000 miles out of the way north to then proceed south to HNL. Generally their pricing on those isn't even competitive (and why would they expect it to be when AA, UA, DL and WN can all route a passenger more efficiently though DFW/PHX/LAX, IAH/DEN/SFO/LAX, SLC/LAX and SJC/SAN/LAS).
Actually one of the things I like about AS ex-HNL is that it's generally reasonable to connect anywhere on the west coast for flights going farther east. The longest (HNL-SEA) and shortest (HNL-SFO) HNL-west coast routes are less than 300 miles difference, and you gain some of that back on the connecting flight if headed somewhere in the northeastern quarter of the country. For me, that's one of the positives of this transaction: more workable flight options on more routes will make it that much easier to pick one's desired combination of schedule, comfort, and price.