The inaugural flight of Southwest Airline’s new direct route between Las Vegas and Hilo touched down Thursday at the Hilo International Airport.

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The inaugural flight of Southwest Airline’s new direct route between Las Vegas and Hilo touched down Thursday at the Hilo International Airport.

Passengers getting off the plane were greeted with leis and a lively celebration featuring music, drinks and tables stocked with macadamia nuts and other local treats.

The flight marks the first time East Hawaii has had a direct connection to the U.S. mainland since United Airlines ended its Hilo to Los Angeles service in January 2023.

Annette Tirrell was the first passenger off the plane Thursday and said she was thrilled by the addition of the new flight.

“I was so saddened when United stopped their flight, and then you’d have to go to Kona or stop off in Honolulu,” she said. “So, I’m very excited, and it was a wonderful plane ride today. We had so much fun.”

Tirrell, who is from Hilo but now lives in San Antonio, Texas, said she typically visits her hometown once a year. But, with the new connection making the journey a little easier, she might try to come more often in the future. She said she planned this trip around the new route.

“When I was booking the tickets, and I saw it was the inaugural flight, I went, oh, I want to be on that one,” she said.

Jessica Johansen, another passenger, who also grew up in Hilo and now lives in Vegas, said the flight felt like a joyful homecoming.

“I feel like there were a lot of people from Hilo on that flight, so it kind of felt very local and familiar and friendly, and everybody was relaxed, and the flight crew was amazing,” she said. “They went above and beyond. They did trivia, they played games — all Big Island inspired. They had umbrellas for our drinks.”

Johansen said the festive atmosphere made the approximately five and a half hour long journey fly by.

“It was more than five hours, and it literally felt like an hour hanging out with your friends and family,” Johansen said.

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The inaugural flight was a mix of those with ties to Hilo, like Johansen and Tirrell, and tourists.

Passengers Audrey and Eli McElroy, a couple from Oregon traveling with their young daughter, said they wanted to celebrate their 10-year anniversary with a trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. They said they were unaware of the significance of the flight when they booked the tickets, but that it was a welcome surprise when they found out midflight.

“We had no idea,” Eli McElroy said. “We had a connecting flight, and we were running to get onto this one, and then they started playing games and making announcements halfway through.”

Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda was at the airport to greet the nearly 160 passengers and announce a proclamation declaring Aug. 6 “Southwest Day.” He said he hopes the new flight will open up travel options for locals and visitors alike.

“Now, we don’t got to fly through Kona, we can just go direct through Hilo, everybody!” he said during a speech at the celebration, noting that many connecting flights pass through Vegas. “So, that’s not just Vegas people coming to Hilo now, that’s everybody coming to Hilo.”

According to estimates, the Las Vegas area has over 50,000 Hawaiian residents, making it one of the largest populations of Hawaiians living outside the islands, earning it the nickname the “Ninth Island.”

Southwest Hilo Station Manager Chris Whelan said this makes it a good fit for the new route.

“There’s so many Hawaiians in the Vegas area, everybody has family there … ,” he said. “I’m just so excited for everybody to have easier access, not to have to fly to Honolulu or drive to Kona.”

Southwest Regional Manager Regiane Santos said she hopes the new route serves as a gateway from Hilo to Vegas and beyond.

“It’s a big deal for East Hawaii, it truly is,” she said at the event Thursday. “It’s about opening the doors to over 100 connections on the mainland. So, we’re not only connecting Las Vegas to Hilo; we’re connecting the whole country.”

Southwest’s Hilo to Las Vegas flights are currently scheduled to operate three times a week on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, with flights departing from Vegas in the morning and landing around noon and red-eyes from Hilo leaving in the evening and landing around 5:00 a.m. the following day.

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Email Grace Inez Adams at [email protected].