California, the Golden State, is Hawaiian Airlines’ best-served state in the United States. Direct services are in action, from its numerous gateways across the Hawaiian archipelago to at least eight gateways in California. Most of these are served by Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321 aircraft, but on more busy links, such as to Los Angeles and San Francisco, the airline deploys widebody Airbus A330-200s.

Expanding its operations from Hawaii

Hawaiian Airlines started looking to expand its operations in the 1980s. Due to intense competition in the Hawaiian aviation market, the airline started to look at destinations outside the state. In 1985, HA leased two Lockheed L-1011 TriStarts, which were used to launch the first service to Los Angeles. This was the first time Hawaiian Airlines would compete with the larger US legacy carriers. As demand increased for travel, the airline responded and soon added direct flights to San Francisco and other West Coast cities.

Following bankruptcy protection for the airline for the second time in 2003, the airline was looking to rejuvenate itself, and it did so by adding a new route to San Jose, California. This marked the fourth gateway in the Golden State at this time, behind Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and San Francisco.

Recently, Hawaiian Airlines was acquired by Alaska Air Group, with both Alaska Airlines and now Hawaiian Airlines holding a commanding percentage of frequencies between the West Coast and the Hawaiian archipelago. It remains unclear what might change following the airline merger. Still, we do know that Hawaiian Airlines onboard friendly service is a crucial reason behind the airline’s success and why more and more travelers are now visiting the Hawaiian islands with Hawaiian Airlines.

Today, the carrier serves more Hawaiian destinations from the West Coast than any other carrier.

Data for this breakdown has been sourced from Cirium , an online aviation analytics company.

A breakdown of Hawaiian Airlines California services:

Details of Hawaiian Airlines services based out of Californian airports:

Los Angeles (LAX)

When comparing Hawaiian Airlines operations to any other within California, Los Angeles International Airport is at the top. The airline will operate over 180 services this November. They are broken down as follows:

• Los Angeles to Honolulu – three times daily
• Los Angeles to Kona – once daily
• Los Angeles to Lihue – once daily
• Los Angeles to Kahului – once daily

This represents nearly 43,000 seats from Los Angeles and surpasses 110 million available seat miles (ASMs) overall. The airline’s Airbus A330-200 serves all services between Los Angeles and Honolulu, while services to Kona, Lihue, and Kakhului are operated with the Airbus A321.

Long Beach (LGB)

A close neighbor to Los Angeles International Airport is Long Beach Airport. Located in Southern California. Long Beach is a suitable alternative for those looking to avoid the hustle and bustle of LAX. Hawaiian Airlines maintains two routes to LGB from Honolulu and Kahului. Both are served once daily onboard the airline’s Airbus A321 aircraft. Details below:

Oakland (OAK)

Serving the East Bay of metropolitan San Francisco, Oakland International Airport complements the existing operations of Hawaiian Airlines at San Francisco International Airport (SOF). Oakland maintains three direct services to the Hawaiian archipelago, including:

• Oakland to Honolulu – once daily (aircraft deployed fluctuates depending on demand between Airbus A330-200 and A321.
• Oakland to Lihue – once daily (Airbus A321)
• Oakland to Kahului – once daily (Airbus A321)

More than 18,000 monthly seats are on offer from Oakland to Hawaii, representing over 600 per day.

Ontario (ONT)

Serving the eastern suburbs of metropolitan Los Angeles and Orange County, Ontario International Airport maintains one daily flight to Honolulu. Served by the Airbus A321, the flight adds 5,670 monthly seats between the two airports. The route is uncontested, with Hawaiian Airlines as the only airline serving it.

San Diego (SAN)

San Diego International Airport represents Hawaiian’s southernmost services from California to the Hawaiian islands. A once-daily service operates between San Diego, Honolulu, and Kahului. Details below:

San Francisco (SFO)

Hawaiian Airlines operates direct flights to the Hawaiian islands of Oahu (Honolulu) and Maui (Kahului), both of which receive daily services. The direct link between Honolulu and San Francisco is served with the airline’s widebody Airbus A330-200 aircraft, compared to Kahului to San Francisco, which sees the smaller Airbus A321 deployed.

This November, there will be 9,452 seats between SFO and HNL and 5,670 between SFO and OGG. Combined, this equates to 35,931,808 available seat miles (ASMs).

San Jose (SJC)

For San Jose, California, two routes are served to Hawaii: Honolulu and Kahului. Hawaiian Airlines maintains a daily service onboard the carrier Airbus A321 from SJC to HNL, while the link to Kahului is served for six weeks (every day except Sunday).

Sacramento (SMF)

The last Californian connection is to Sacramento International Airport (SMF). Hawaiian Airlines operates four direct links to the Hawaiian islands, with Honolulu, Kona, Lihue, and Kahului services. For services between HNL and SMF, Hawaiian Airlines deploys the Airbus A330-200 on select dates of the week depending on demand; otherwise, it is operated by the smaller Airbus A321. Details for these routes are below:

Flights between Sacramento and Lihui operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, while those traveling between Kona can travel on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.