With Alaska Air Group having acquired Hawaiian Airlines, we’re seeing the company take an updated approach to how it uses the Hawaiian fleet. Along those lines, plans have just been announced to suspend three “underperforming” legacy Hawaiian routes.
In this post:
Hawaiian Airlines shifts Honolulu route network
As of mid-November 2025, Hawaiian Airlines plans to cut three routes out of Honolulu (HNL), including the 4x weekly flights to Boston (BOS), 3x weekly flights to Fukuoka (FUK), and 5x weekly flights to Seoul Incheon (ICN). These are all routes operated by the Airbus A330-200.
The company emphasizes that travelers can continue to reach all three destinations with connections, and passengers confirmed on flights that are canceled can be rebooked on other flights, or receive a refund.
As it’s described, these routes are being cut in order to redeploy capacity in higher demand (and presumably more profitable) markets. Out of Honolulu (HNL), we’re going to be seeing a fifth daily flight to Los Angeles (LAX), a fourth daily flight to Seattle (SEA), an additional 1x weekly frequency to Papeete (PPT), and an additional 2x weekly frequencies to Sydney (SYD).
Here’s how Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague describes this:
“It’s always a difficult decision to suspend a route, especially in cities like Seoul, which we have enjoyed serving for over 14 years. However, despite our team’s best efforts, soft post-pandemic travel demand from Asia combined with various market challenges have persisted in Seoul, as well as in Fukuoka and Boston, both of which we entered in 2019. We remain committed to continuing to provide robust Hawaiian Airlines service between Asia and Hawai‘i through our nonstop Japan flights, and via one-stop connections to and from Incheon and beyond with our global partner airlines. These adjustments will ensure we are meeting strong demand for travel to Hawaiʻi – both internationally and domestically – while providing all our guests access to more destinations.”
My take on Hawaiian Airlines’ unsexy network updates
With these changes, Hawaiian Airlines is essentially taking two dots — Boston and Fukuoka — off the map, and both of these are routes that were launched in 2019. Meanwhile Seoul Incheon service is being shifted to Seattle (SEA), where the airline is setting up a long haul hub.
We’re primarily seeing these services replaced with fourth and fifth daily flights to existing destinations, which also feed into Alaska’s network. Each of these cuts makes sense:
- Fukuoka (and Japan more broadly) to Hawaii has become an extremely challenging market post-pandemic, due to the decrease in Japanese travelers (largely due to the weak JPY)
- Seoul Incheon to Hawaii is a very competitive market, with service from Asiana, Korean Air, and Air Premia, all of which have stronger name recognition in South Korea
- Boston to Honolulu was the longest flight in the United States, and the economics of that are just really challenging; Delta also operated this flight for one season, but cut it
The reality is that Hawaiian lost money for years prior to being acquired by Alaska, due to the challenging operating environment. Alaska Air Group’s goal has been to make the carrier’s operations profitable in record time, and I think these changes are the perfect example of working toward that.
Sure, simply adding even more flights to Los Angeles and Seattle might not excite us, but it pays the bills better than an 11+ hour Boston to Honolulu flight with $299 fares.
Bottom line
Hawaiian Airlines is continuing to update its route network, and is cutting flights from Honolulu to Boston, Fukuoka, and Seoul Incheon, all of which have reportedly been unprofitable for some time.
Now that the company is part of Alaska Air Group, capacity can be deployed a bit more strategically, giving the additional mainland flying options. The biggest change we’ll see is additional flying from Honolulu to both Los Angeles and Seattle. While not objectively very exciting, that’s where there’s more money to be made, so you can’t blame the company…
What do you make of Hawaiian Airlines’ network updates?
When I worked at Hawaiian they were doing well and adding secondary routes in APAC like TPE and CTS.
Granted that the TPE foray was more about aircraft maintenance, it still showed that HA was willing to grow its footprint.
I will be interesting to see if JFK stays especially with plenty of Alaska and Oneworld connections available.
Bos-Hnl is almost always full this is just another example of alaska air making hawaii a connection destination rather than providing direct routes for the residents and tourists hawaiian airlines was previously serving. More to come im sure.
“Is always full” has little to do with profitability. If airlines made every flight $10 they’d never have an empty seat, right?
BOS-HNL is a long flight and the longer a flight the more expensive it is to operate
This is all the beginning of the end for Hawaiian, it's network, and its brand. What will emerge is a much smaller subsidiary, with a focus back to its core routes (West Coast to Hawaii that compliments AS service, with fewer wide bodies but for the largest markets), some Hawaii-Mainland flights further afield, with the bulk of Honolulu long haul intercontinental shifting to Seattle. The Hawaiian brand will be much more niche in the future.
as I have said would happen, AS would start to cut HA"s core network which AS said they would preserve as part of the agreement with the state of Hawaii.
HA was a money-losing airline and the notion that shifting a Narita flight from HNL to SEA wasn't going to fix the problem.
Japan has been a huge drag on Hawaii tourism since before covid because of the strong dollar. Japan has become much...
as I have said would happen, AS would start to cut HA"s core network which AS said they would preserve as part of the agreement with the state of Hawaii.
HA was a money-losing airline and the notion that shifting a Narita flight from HNL to SEA wasn't going to fix the problem.
Japan has been a huge drag on Hawaii tourism since before covid because of the strong dollar. Japan has become much more of a US point of sale market for all carriers.
BOS-HNL didn't make money for AS or DL; DL blinked first and AS' presence in BOS is now even smaller.
good for AS in making the right calls to get rid of HA's money-losing routes.
Now they face the big task of taking on a whole lot more established carriers on international routes from SEA.
Flew TPE-SEA last week on DL. Flight had 50 passengers. DL crew mentioning repeatedly how much the airline doesn't make money in SEA and some routes could be cut.
first, neither DL's or no other airline's employees outside of a relatively few headquarters employees know how much an airline makes on any route or hub.
second, DL isn't cutting SEA-TPE which simply says they have the pockets to sustain even weak routes.
and third, as much as anyone wants to think otherwise, AS has a pretty long history of cutting routes post mergers - they exited huge portions of Virgin America's network and...
first, neither DL's or no other airline's employees outside of a relatively few headquarters employees know how much an airline makes on any route or hub.
second, DL isn't cutting SEA-TPE which simply says they have the pockets to sustain even weak routes.
and third, as much as anyone wants to think otherwise, AS has a pretty long history of cutting routes post mergers - they exited huge portions of Virgin America's network and then have cycled through a bunch of routes even that AS has started and exited.
as much as you or want to throw rocks, it was a given that AS would cut much more extensively to HA's network and that is now happening.
Oh wise one. How on earth did you ever predict that Alaska would redirect HA assets to more profitable flying off Alaska’s superior hub structure?
How are you so wise…? Lol
I have said so in multiple places over quite a period of time, including as part of the discussions about AS on CF.
And I didn't call AS' hub structure superior, max. They have a strong hub. A - as in one - strong hub. which is also a detriment given the airport is landlocked and someone else is laying claim to part of the space at that hub.
oh, and I have repeatedly...
I have said so in multiple places over quite a period of time, including as part of the discussions about AS on CF.
And I didn't call AS' hub structure superior, max. They have a strong hub. A - as in one - strong hub. which is also a detriment given the airport is landlocked and someone else is laying claim to part of the space at that hub.
oh, and I have repeatedly noted that AS cut a large part of Virgin America's network every time someone talks about how great AS' international expansion would be. AS is doing the same thing as they did with Virgin America.
Hawaii asked for assurances that AS would keep HA's Hawaii network intact, AS gave those assurances and AS is now backtracking. It certainly wasn't a legal agreement but the notion that AS was going to go from a bunch of low-performing strength markets from HNL to a strong international hub at SEA, an airport that is highly competitive was, still is, and will be more than a stretch
It isn't a surprise that, in your fixation with me, you missed the bottom line in all of the AS rah-rah dance.
the way you waste your day replying and dreaming about Delta...
You don't even comprehend what I write and go off on tangents...
Yes, Tim. Alaska does have a superior hub network to HA.
There's nothing smart about predicting AS would redirect widebody assets. It was kind of obvious. Alaska never promised to protect Hawaiian's international route network.
your hypocrisy has no match, max.
talking about me replying while you sat breathlessly waiting for me to reply so you could is the height of hypocrisy.
whether it was obvious or not, nobody and esp. not you, said that AS would redirect a large number of HA's assets. In fact, people were quite content to say that AS had done what needed to be done when HNL-NRT was redirected to SEA even as I...
your hypocrisy has no match, max.
talking about me replying while you sat breathlessly waiting for me to reply so you could is the height of hypocrisy.
whether it was obvious or not, nobody and esp. not you, said that AS would redirect a large number of HA's assets. In fact, people were quite content to say that AS had done what needed to be done when HNL-NRT was redirected to SEA even as I said that wouldn't fix the problem.
Your real problem is that you can't stand that someone else understands and speaks to the airline industry while you just sit in the bushes attacking me.
Of course SEA is a superior hub to HA. but that's not what you said the first time.
and SEA is only a SINGLE superior hub.
none of which changes that AS made promises - unwritten I am sure - about keeping HA's resources in Hawaii and they are now backtracking on that promise.
21 paragraphs on this article alone this morning, Tim.
Keep it up, loser. You're only proving my point.
And no, you were certainly not the only one predicting AS would redirect HA widebodies. lol. There were entire articles and podcasts on the topic. Stop being such an obvious and stupid loser.
the topic is AS' cuts to HA's network, Max, not your fixation with me.
the fact that you wake up EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. looking for an opportunity to crAAp on whatever I have to see IS the problem.
which makes you, not me, the loser.
and feel free to link to one of those podcasts that talked about specific cuts that entail 4 widebodies worth of HNL flying, Max.
lol. you're funny and you really do have the lamest comebacks. Try harder.
Not everything is about you nor are my posts every morning but it's nice to know you wake up dreaming about me and what I may write about you that day. ;) Get a life.
25 paragraphs now.