Reference
Inter-island flights
Every inter-island flight flown over six months, from the federal database that records them one row at a time. How long they take, how often they go and how often they do not.
Everyone asks how long the flight is and almost every answer is somebody's memory of one. This is all 88,387 of them from January through June 2026, out of the US Department of Transportation database that carriers are required to file. A census rather than a sample. Nothing here is modeled.
The flight out takes about 38 minutes longer than the flight home. It is the jet stream. The prevailing winds over the Pacific run west to east, so you fight them going out and ride them coming home. Nobody mentions this when selling you the ticket. On ATL to OGG it is 99 minutes.
That holds on 66 of the 68 city pairs flown in both directions, and the other two are not exceptions. They are Guam and Pago Pago, the only airports here that sit west and south of Hawaii, so flying to Hawaii from either means flying east with the wind rather than west into it. Both are faster on the way out. Counted by which way the aeroplane is actually pointing it is 68 out of 68, and the map makes that obvious in a way this paragraph cannot.
Getting there
All 28 mainland airports with a nonstop, with the flight out and the flight home side by side. Air time rather than the schedule.
| Route | Miles | Out | Home | Difference | Flights a day | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX to Honolulu | 2,556 | 5h 22m | 4h 52m | +30 min | 15.4 | 78% |
| SEA to Honolulu | 2,677 | 5h 37m | 5h 10m | +27 min | 8.1 | 72% |
| SFO to Honolulu | 2,398 | 4h 58m | 4h 36m | +22 min | 7 | 80% |
| LAX to Kahului | 2,485 | 5h 13m | 4h 46m | +27 min | 6.3 | 82% |
| LAS to Honolulu | 2,762 | 5h 52m | 5h 11m | +41 min | 6.2 | 80% |
| SEA to Kahului | 2,639 | 5h 34m | 5h 9m | +25 min | 5 | 81% |
| SAN to Honolulu | 2,614 | 5h 36m | 5h 1m | +35 min | 5 | 76% |
| SFO to Kahului | 2,338 | 4h 55m | 4h 35m | +20 min | 4.7 | 88% |
| LAX to Kona | 2,504 | 5h 14m | 4h 50m | +24 min | 4.4 | 84% |
| LAX to Līhuʻe | 2,615 | 5h 28m | 5h 3m | +25 min | 4.2 | 82% |
| SEA to Kona | 2,688 | 5h 39m | 5h 17m | +22 min | 3.9 | 81% |
| PHX to Honolulu | 2,917 | 6h 11m | 5h 24m | +47 min | 3.8 | 82% |
| SFO to Kona | 2,368 | 4h 58m | 4h 42m | +16 min | 3.4 | 86% |
| SEA to Līhuʻe | 2,700 | 5h 40m | 5h 11m | +29 min | 3 | 79% |
| SAN to Kahului | 2,540 | 5h 23m | 4h 51m | +32 min | 2.7 | 83% |
| PHX to Kahului | 2,844 | 5h 59m | 5h 19m | +40 min | 2.5 | 88% |
| SFO to Līhuʻe | 2,446 | 5h 7m | 4h 47m | +20 min | 2.5 | 88% |
| PDX to Honolulu | 2,603 | 5h 31m | 5h 2m | +29 min | 2.5 | 72% |
| SLC to Honolulu | 2,994 | 6h 20m | 5h 39m | +41 min | 2.5 | 76% |
| SJC to Honolulu | 2,417 | 5h 9m | 4h 41m | +28 min | 2.2 | 82% |
| DFW to Honolulu | 3,784 | 7h 43m | 6h 37m | +66 min | 2.1 | 73% |
| LAS to Kahului | 2,695 | 5h 42m | 5h 8m | +34 min | 2 | 87% |
| PDX to Kahului | 2,561 | 5h 24m | 4h 58m | +26 min | 2 | 87% |
| SMF to Honolulu | 2,462 | 5h 14m | 4h 41m | +33 min | 2 | 79% |
| LGB to Honolulu | 2,569 | 5h 28m | 4h 54m | +34 min | 2 | 85% |
| OAK to Kahului | 2,348 | 4h 57m | 4h 36m | +21 min | 2 | 86% |
| OAK to Honolulu | 2,409 | 5h 7m | 4h 41m | +26 min | 2 | 79% |
| JFK to Honolulu | 4,983 | 10h 26m | 9h 2m | +84 min | 1.9 | 73% |
| DEN to Honolulu | 3,365 | 6h 48m | 6h 4m | +44 min | 1.9 | 81% |
| OAK to Līhuʻe | 2,456 | 5h 8m | 4h 46m | +22 min | 1.8 | 84% |
| ORD to Honolulu | 4,243 | 8h 31m | 7h 25m | +66 min | 1.6 | 77% |
| DFW to Kahului | 3,710 | 7h 33m | 6h 29m | +64 min | 1.5 | 71% |
| SMF to Kona | 2,435 | 5h 8m | 4h 46m | +22 min | 1.4 | 87% |
| SMF to Kahului | 2,403 | 5h 4m | 4h 40m | +24 min | 1.3 | 79% |
| SJC to Kahului | 2,355 | 5h 1m | 4h 36m | +25 min | 1.3 | 82% |
| ANC to Honolulu | 2,777 | 5h 44m | 5h 27m | +17 min | 1.3 | 76% |
| ONT to Honolulu | 2,603 | 5h 31m | 5h 1m | +30 min | 1.1 | 82% |
| DEN to Līhuʻe | 3,414 | 7h 10m | 6h 26m | +44 min | 1.1 | 89% |
| DEN to Kahului | 3,302 | 6h 40m | 5h 56m | +44 min | 1 | 89% |
| PHX to Kona | 2,860 | 6h 1m | 5h 22m | +39 min | 1 | 88% |
| PHX to Līhuʻe | 2,979 | 6h 18m | 5h 34m | +44 min | 1 | 86% |
| LGB to Kahului | 2,498 | 5h 19m | 4h 46m | +33 min | 1 | 88% |
| SLC to Kahului | 2,935 | 6h 9m | 5h 29m | +40 min | 1 | 86% |
| ATL to Honolulu | 4,502 | 9h 24m | 8h 3m | +81 min | 1 | 79% |
| DEN to Kona | 3,329 | 6h 49m | 6h 5m | +44 min | 1 | 87% |
| SAN to Līhuʻe | 2,676 | 5h 45m | 5h 10m | +35 min | 1 | 83% |
| PDX to Kona | 2,607 | 5h 28m | 5h 7m | +21 min | 1 | 86% |
| SAN to Kona | 2,556 | 5h 25m | 4h 55m | +30 min | 1 | 80% |
| PDX to Līhuʻe | 2,630 | 5h 34m | 5h 4m | +30 min | 1 | 85% |
| MSP to Honolulu | 3,972 | 8h 16m | 7h 15m | +61 min | 1 | 82% |
| LAS to Kona | 2,718 | 5h 46m | 5h 9m | +37 min | 1 | 88% |
| LAS to Līhuʻe | 2,817 | 5h 58m | 5h 19m | +39 min | 1 | 92% |
| IAH to Honolulu | 3,904 | 8h 1m | 6h 58m | +63 min | 1 | 75% |
| GUM to Honolulu | 3,801 | 6h 38m | 7h 15m | -37 min | 1 | 82% |
| DTW to Honolulu | 4,475 | 9h 17m | 8h 2m | +75 min | 0.9 | 78% |
| PAE to Honolulu | 2,694 | 5h 50m | 5h 13m | +37 min | 0.6 | 82% |
| SMF to Līhuʻe | 2,508 | 5h 15m | 4h 54m | +21 min | 0.6 | 87% |
| IAD to Honolulu | 4,816 | 10h 8m | 8h 39m | +89 min | 0.6 | 80% |
| ORD to Kahului | 4,184 | 8h 28m | 7h 17m | +71 min | 0.6 | 81% |
| DFW to Kona | 3,724 | 7h 34m | 6h 28m | +66 min | 0.5 | 85% |
| ATL to Kahului | 4,431 | 9h 28m | 7h 49m | +99 min | 0.5 | 82% |
| SLC to Kona | 2,966 | 6h 27m | 5h 31m | +56 min | 0.5 | 74% |
| EWR to Honolulu | 4,962 | 10h 24m | 8h 51m | +93 min | 0.4 | 78% |
| SJC to Kona | 2,384 | 5h 2m | 4h 36m | +26 min | 0.4 | 81% |
| SJC to Līhuʻe | 2,465 | 5h 13m | 4h 44m | +29 min | 0.3 | 83% |
| BUR to Honolulu | 2,562 | 5h 21m | 4h 52m | +29 min | 0.3 | 91% |
| PPG to Honolulu | 2,599 | 4h 59m | 5h 15m | -16 min | 0.3 | 85% |
| ANC to Kona | 2,875 | 5h 45m | 5h 34m | +11 min | 0.2 | 59% |
Between the islands
The flight is about half as long as the schedule says. Honolulu to Kahului is 22 minutes in the air and 44 minutes in the timetable. Across every route the gap averages 18 minutes, and it is taxi time at Honolulu rather than flying. Both numbers are below, because quoting the air time makes a hop sound trivial and quoting the block time makes it sound like a real flight.
Through Honolulu
These run like a shuttle. Kahului to Honolulu alone is 27.2 flights a day.
| Route | In the air | Scheduled | Flights a day | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului to Honolulu | 24 min | 43 min | 27.2 | 81% | 1.3% |
| Honolulu to Kahului | 22 min | 44 min | 27.2 | 81% | 1.2% |
| Līhuʻe to Honolulu | 21 min | 40 min | 21.1 | 81% | 2.3% |
| Honolulu to Līhuʻe | 23 min | 43 min | 21 | 81% | 2% |
| Kona to Honolulu | 31 min | 50 min | 20.2 | 82% | 1.6% |
| Honolulu to Kona | 28 min | 48 min | 20.2 | 83% | 1.4% |
| Honolulu to Hilo | 36 min | 55 min | 17.6 | 82% | 1.7% |
| Hilo to Honolulu | 38 min | 57 min | 17.5 | 80% | 1.7% |
Between the neighbor islands
The same aircraft, a fraction of the frequency. Kahului to Hilo is 0.9 flights a day, which means missing one costs you the day rather than an hour.
| Route | In the air | Scheduled | Flights a day | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului to Kona | 21 min | 37 min | 4 | 78% | 0.1% |
| Kona to Kahului | 19 min | 37 min | 4 | 84% | 0.1% |
| Līhuʻe to Kahului | 34 min | 50 min | 4 | 79% | 0% |
| Kahului to Līhuʻe | 35 min | 51 min | 4 | 68% | 0% |
| Kona to Līhuʻe | 41 min | 57 min | 1 | 94% | 0.6% |
| Līhuʻe to Kona | 39 min | 53 min | 1 | 72% | 0% |
| Hilo to Kahului | 25 min | 41 min | 0.9 | 85% | 0% |
| Kahului to Hilo | 25 min | 39 min | 0.9 | 60% | 0% |
What the numbers say
The longest flight in the country lands here
JFK to Honolulu is 4,983 miles. That is the longest domestic route in the United States. The next several are also Hawaii routes. Nothing else in the country is far enough from anything to compete, which is the whole point about this state that a map flattens: the nearest continent is five hours of flying and there is no second option if you miss it.
Everything goes through Honolulu
The 8 Honolulu legs run between 17.5 and 27.2 flights a day. Every route that skips Honolulu runs 4 a day or fewer, and half of them run about once. Maui to Hilo is 0.9 flights a day.
That is the practical difference between a plan and a wish. Moving between two neighbor islands usually means routing through Oʻahu whether the map suggests it or not. If you are counting on the one direct flight there is no second one.
About one flight in five arrives late
On-time here is the DOT's own definition, arriving less than fifteen minutes behind schedule, which is what every published on-time figure means. The Honolulu routes sit around 80 to 83 percent. That is a normal domestic number and it is also the reason a same-day connection to a flight home is a bad idea: a fifth of the time, the hop that was supposed to give you three hours of margin gives you two.
The worst route in the set is Kahului to Hilo at 60 percent, and it happens to be one of the ones that runs about once a day.
Cancellations are rare
Under 2.3 percent on every Honolulu route and effectively zero between the neighbor islands, where the schedule is thin enough that there is little to cancel. Weather closes these routes far less often than visitors expect.
Only two airlines fly these
Alaska, operating as Hawaiian and Southwest flew every one of these. Hawaiian's flights file under Alaska's code because Alaska Air Group completed the acquisition in September 2024 and the two airlines received a single FAA operating certificate in October 2025. You still book Hawaiian, and the brand still exists. The operator on the certificate is Alaska.
Methodology
Source is the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance. Every flight a reporting carrier operates is one row, with its scheduled time, its actual times, its arrival delay and whether it was cancelled. We read January through June 2026, kept the flights with a Hawaii origin and a Hawaii destination, and published medians. A route needed at least 20 measurable flights to appear.
Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi are not here, and they do have flights. Only carriers above the DOT reporting threshold file this data, and Mokulele, which serves both islands, is below it. Their absence from this page is a gap in the federal data and not a gap in the air service. Nothing on this page should be read as describing them.
Medians rather than means, because a single four-hour weather diversion moves an average and tells a reader nothing about the flight they are booking.
For the crossing that is not a flight, see the Lānaʻi ferry, and for whether a second island is worth the day at all, see island hopping.
Download as CSV: mainland routes or inter-island, two of six datasets published as files. Both carry the source and check date in every row.