Hawaii ETOPS approved by FAA
Feb 13, 2019, 9:55 pm
#106
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 96
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/...awaii-flights/
Vegas has to be at the edge of the 737Max range i assume
Vegas has to be at the edge of the 737Max range i assume
Feb 14, 2019, 1:39 am
#107
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Feb 14, 2019, 2:56 am
#108
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,286
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/...awaii-flights/
Vegas has to be at the edge of the 737Max range i assume
Vegas has to be at the edge of the 737Max range i assume
While serving Hawaii from LAS would seem to be a no-brainer, I suspect, should it happen, it's at least two years away.
Lots of trial balloons up right now.
Feb 14, 2019, 6:27 am
#109
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Feb 14, 2019, 1:29 pm
#111
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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It's on the flight now.
https://www.flightradar24.com/SWA8725/1f801de4
Same as flight#8725. It's on the way to HNL now.
https://www.flightradar24.com/SWA8725/1f801de4
Same as flight#8725. It's on the way to HNL now.
Feb 14, 2019, 4:11 pm
#112
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Blue Ridge, GA
Posts: 5,511
Southwest is going to get this. It's hard to find any ETOPS certification ever being denied.
Of course engine failures have to be independent and contained. Otherwise, people swim. There's no proving run through volcanic ash.
Of course engine failures have to be independent and contained. Otherwise, people swim. There's no proving run through volcanic ash.
Feb 14, 2019, 11:52 pm
#114
Join Date: May 2006
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If true, it will be quite an interesting day for a proving flight tomorrow. Forecast calls for a 200-knot + subtropical jet stream coming out of Hawaii direct towards the Bay Area. This is quite extreme even for the southern jet stream. Headwind city going all the way to the islands while there should be some rather quick flights coming back to the mainland.
It's been tried. It's bad for the windows.
Feb 15, 2019, 1:50 pm
#115
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It's on the flight now.
https://www.flightradar24.com/SWA8725/1f801de4
Same as flight#8725. It's on the way to HNL now.
https://www.flightradar24.com/SWA8725/1f801de4
Same as flight#8725. It's on the way to HNL now.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/southw...awaii-flights/
Feb 16, 2019, 6:25 pm
#117
Join Date: May 2006
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Feb 17, 2019, 1:28 pm
#118
Join Date: Feb 2004
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simulated a decompression or failure requiring 10k altitude shortly after equal time point. my guess is FAA was likely looking for pilots to calculate extra fuel burn and declare diversion to the correct alternate. hardly a surprise.
spent 3hrs on the ground in ITO. perhaps left the plane with the valet and had a nice lunch somewhere on the island?
Maintenance did a bang up job--the "wounded bird" had no trouble reaching 30k feet from ITO-HNL.
first WN Hawaii intra-island flight:
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA8725/history/20190217/0439Z/PHTO/PHNL
spent 3hrs on the ground in ITO. perhaps left the plane with the valet and had a nice lunch somewhere on the island?
Maintenance did a bang up job--the "wounded bird" had no trouble reaching 30k feet from ITO-HNL.
first WN Hawaii intra-island flight:
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA8725/history/20190217/0439Z/PHTO/PHNL
Feb 17, 2019, 9:46 pm
#119
Join Date: Feb 2007
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According to Yahoo Finance posted today:
"Southwest Airlines completed the tabletop exercises a few days ago, according to USA Today. This move allowed it to advance to the next stage of validation flights, which will test the full range of ETOPS procedures. The first of those flights occurred on Feb. 14. The carrier plans to operate a single validation flight every day until it receives the final sign-off from the FAA.
Once it has FAA approval in hand, it will take Southwest only a day or two to load its schedules for Hawaii service and begin ticket sales. Barring any unanticipated disruptions, that should happen before the end of February.
The main constraint is completing the additional training that pilots need to operate ETOPS flights. Management seemed to indicate on Southwest's fourth-quarter earnings call that it would take as much as six months to get a full complement of pilots trained. That said, the carrier could begin operating a few flights using management pilots several weeks after receiving ETOPS authorization and then expand its flight schedule significantly as soon as April. Doing so would allow Southwest Airlines to benefit from the typical surge in passenger volumes around Easter.
Given that Southwest's initial validation flights have operated between Oakland and Honolulu, it seems like a good bet that Oakland-Honolulu will be the first Hawaii route to be launched. (Oakland is also home to the only Southwest Airlines crew base in California.) Next, the carrier will probably branch out with flights from Oakland to its other Hawaiian destinations -- Kahului, Kona, and Lihue. And by the summer, Southwest will probably begin at least limited service to Hawaii from the three California gateway cities it has announced -- Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose.
Southwest Airlines hasn't given any hints about pricing yet. However, with the carrier looking to gain share rapidly in what is already a competitive market, vacationers will probably be able to find some incredibly cheap fares for travel to Hawaii later this year."
"Southwest Airlines completed the tabletop exercises a few days ago, according to USA Today. This move allowed it to advance to the next stage of validation flights, which will test the full range of ETOPS procedures. The first of those flights occurred on Feb. 14. The carrier plans to operate a single validation flight every day until it receives the final sign-off from the FAA.
Once it has FAA approval in hand, it will take Southwest only a day or two to load its schedules for Hawaii service and begin ticket sales. Barring any unanticipated disruptions, that should happen before the end of February.
What can travelers expect?
Typically, airlines don't begin service on new routes until several months after they announce the route and begin ticket sales. However, Southwest is targeting a faster timetable for ramping up its Hawaii flights, mainly because there is a huge amount of pent-up demand for this service.The main constraint is completing the additional training that pilots need to operate ETOPS flights. Management seemed to indicate on Southwest's fourth-quarter earnings call that it would take as much as six months to get a full complement of pilots trained. That said, the carrier could begin operating a few flights using management pilots several weeks after receiving ETOPS authorization and then expand its flight schedule significantly as soon as April. Doing so would allow Southwest Airlines to benefit from the typical surge in passenger volumes around Easter.
Given that Southwest's initial validation flights have operated between Oakland and Honolulu, it seems like a good bet that Oakland-Honolulu will be the first Hawaii route to be launched. (Oakland is also home to the only Southwest Airlines crew base in California.) Next, the carrier will probably branch out with flights from Oakland to its other Hawaiian destinations -- Kahului, Kona, and Lihue. And by the summer, Southwest will probably begin at least limited service to Hawaii from the three California gateway cities it has announced -- Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose.
Southwest Airlines hasn't given any hints about pricing yet. However, with the carrier looking to gain share rapidly in what is already a competitive market, vacationers will probably be able to find some incredibly cheap fares for travel to Hawaii later this year."
Feb 17, 2019, 11:33 pm
#120
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,286
According to Yahoo Finance posted today:
Southwest Airlines hasn't given any hints about pricing yet. However, with the carrier looking to gain share rapidly in what is already a competitive market, vacationers will probably be able to find some incredibly cheap fares for travel to Hawaii later this year."
Southwest Airlines hasn't given any hints about pricing yet. However, with the carrier looking to gain share rapidly in what is already a competitive market, vacationers will probably be able to find some incredibly cheap fares for travel to Hawaii later this year."
Southwest is smart enough to realize that pent-up demand from their own customers will drive sales regardless of fare.
Points. Companion Pass.
I expect that there will be a few discounted fares available, which will give them a low price point that they can advertise. But that bucket will be extremely limited, and many, many more passengers will actually pay quite a bit more.
It will be very interesting to see.