Southwest’s Newly Scheduled 2:45AM Flight from Las Vegas to Honolulu
Southwest has revealed a series of new routes for the spring of 2027. The airline particularly highlights its plans to commence its inaugural ‘reverse redeye’ with a departure time of 2:45 a.m. local time from Las Vegas to Honolulu.
Indeed. While eastbound redeye flights are standard, this is a westbound redeye. Specifically, the flight will leave Las Vegas (LAS) at 2:45AM, arriving in Honolulu at 6:10AM, featuring a block time of 6hr25min. It’s worth noting that just a couple of years ago, Southwest didn’t operate any redeye flights, making the transition from no redeyes to reverse redeyes in such a brief span quite remarkable.
In all fairness to Southwest, the airline is merely mirroring a schedule already in place by Hawaiian, which has a flight departing from Las Vegas at 1:55AM and arriving in Honolulu at 5:25AM. However, Hawaiian utilizes a wide body aircraft with flat beds in first class, as it’s a global carrier accustomed to operating such flights. It simply “feels” different seeing this route on a one-cabin Southwest 737 in contrast to a two-cabin A330.
This is an Incredibly Efficient Schedule, Though Challenging
For both travelers and crew, this schedule sounds downright terrible. It’s one scenario to be on a five-hour redeye from the West Coast to the East Coast that leaves at 9PM. However, to board the flight and take off at 2:45AM, and then endure an even lengthier flight, only to land so early in the morning, is tough.
I can envision many passengers on this flight being tourists heading to Hawaii, and they likely won’t arrange a hotel for the prior night, which may leave them waiting for their room until the afternoon. That’s not an ideal way to kick off a vacation!
To be fair, this routing is also incredibly efficient for travelers aiming to optimize their vacation time. Although, I believe that for most individuals, a “standard” early morning flight (around 7AM) landing around 10AM sounds more enjoyable.
But the primary reason for this route revolves around how well the aircraft is utilized:
- Presumably, the aircraft would otherwise remain on the ground in Las Vegas overnight, so keeping it operational adds to the schedule without requiring additional aircraft; this has been one of Southwest’s objectives with the introduction of redeye flights
- Typically, if an airline intends to provide a morning flight from Hawaii to the mainland (which is a favored schedule among travelers, allowing for afternoon arrivals), the aircraft must overnight in Hawaii, which means parking the plane for over eight hours
- Thus, being able to execute a direct turn in Honolulu with a challenging schedule one way and an optimal schedule the other way presents a nice new alternative
Final Thoughts
While Southwest Airlines has been operating flights to Hawaii for several years with various schedules, the airline’s new reverse redeye from the mainland to Hawaii marks a first. The new Las Vegas to Honolulu flight will depart at 2:45AM, arriving in Honolulu at 6:10AM, boasting a block time of 6hr25min.
Although this schedule is harsh for passengers and crew alike, the utilization of the aircraft is outstanding, as this plane will efficiently turn around and operate a well-timed morning flight back from Hawaii to the mainland, without the need to overnight at the airport.
What are your thoughts on Southwest’s new reverse redeye? Would you contemplate flying it?