Hawaiian Airlines to continue flying between Honolulu and Auckland

Alaska Airlines has announced that Hawaiian Airlines, its subsidiary that it closed a merger with in September 2024 and is in the process of combining the two air operators’ certificates (AOCs), will return to flying between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Auckland, New Zealand, during the upcoming winter 2025/2026 season.

The seasonal, thrice-weekly route will resume on November 16, 2025, and will run until April 18, 2026. (Last return flight to Hawaii is scheduled on April 20.) Hawaiian Airlines will deploy its Airbus A330-200 aircraft, equipped with Starlink’s WiFi solution, on the route. The widebodies will have 18 lie-flat business, 68 Extra Comfort (to be rebranded to Premium Class, more akin to economy+ with extra leg room), and 192 economy class seats.

Andrew Stanbury, the Regional Director of the South Pacific at Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines, said that New Zealanders “have long awaited the return of our seasonal service, and our crews are thrilled to welcome them onboard once again with the authentic hospitality and care for which Hawaiian Airlines is known.”

However, now, customers will benefit from the combined Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines network, providing even more travel options for passengers flying from Auckland Airport (AKL) to Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) or from HNL to beyond in the United States, Stanbury said.

According to Cirium’s Diio Mi, while Hawaiian Airlines’ service has been seasonal in the past few years, Air New Zealand has sustained services between HNL and AKL year-round. Similar to the Hawaiian carrier, it has offered thrice-weekly departures.

During the past winter 2024/2025 season, between November 2024 and April 2025, Hawaiian Airlines’ load factors between HNL and AKL were, on average, 76.4%, per Cirium’s Diio Mi, which compiled Department of Transportation (DOT) data.

While load factors do not tell the whole story of whether a route is profitable or not, with higher yields potentially offsetting lower seat occupancy, a deeper look at the DOT’s data showed that during the route’s very first few months in 2024/2025, flights originating at HNL carried more passengers.

Hawaiian Airlines’ load factors on departures from Hawaii fluctuated between 61.3% (November 2024) and 92.7% (January 2025), while on departures from AKL, they had been typically lower, between 57.9% (November 2024) and 82% (December 2024). However, the trend switched in March, and more passengers left from AKL than the number of travelers flying on the airline’s departures from HNL to New Zealand.

The switch coincided with the changing seasons in New Zealand since the country’s summer season runs until February, according to Tourism New Zealand.

Air New Zealand’s flights told a similar story during the same timeframe (November 2024 to April 2025): AKL-bound departures had higher load factors during the southern hemisphere’s spring to summer months, switching to higher HNL-bound cabin occupancy rates when the colder weather rears its head in New Zealand.

However, the Kiwi carrier’s average load factors during the same six-month period were lower: 72.7% versus Hawaiian Airlines’ 76.4%. Air New Zealand, a member of Star Alliance, is also a partner with United Airlines, enabling its passengers to earn loyalty points and currency on flights between AKL and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or San Francisco International Airport (SFO), or between Christchurch Airport (CHC) and SFO.

Cirium’s Diio Mi showed that between November 2025 and April 2026, Air Tahiti Nui, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Qantas, and United Airlines will also fly between the US and AKL.

Air Tahiti Nui stops at Tahiti Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) on its way to the Kiwi airport, while Qantas offers one-stop flights between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Sydney Airport (SYD) via AKL.

(A personal reading recommendation about the latter itinerary: Air New Zealand is getting eaten alive by Qantas to New York, via Analytic Flying)