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American Airlines adds long-haul Hawaii route once again

March 24, 2025
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3 min read
American Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
American Airlines adds long-haul Hawaii route once again
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Hawaii's Big Island may be the next airline network planner battleground.

American Airlines filed plans over the weekend to relaunch service between Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) beginning Nov. 20, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

American's Dallas-to-Kona route will operate seasonally through Feb. 28, 2026. Note that American will operate daily flights on this 3,724-mile route from Nov. 20, 2025, through Jan. 6, 2026, before taking a short six-week hiatus until resuming daily flights again Feb. 12, 2026.

The airline will deploy a 234-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner featuring 20 Flagship Business pods, 28 premium economy recliners, 48 extra-legroom Main Cabin Extra seats and 138 standard economy seats on the route.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier last operated this route in January 2022, according to Cirium schedules.

American's plan to relaunch its Dallas-to-Kona service follows another major expansion on the Big Island.

Last week, Delta Air Lines announced that it, too, would add a new Kona route, this time from Salt Lake City. Delta's service will operate using a Boeing 767-300ER.

Save money: How you can book flights to Hawaii using points and miles in 2025

Wave breaking on Kona coast of Hawaii's Big Island
Wave breaking on Kona coast of Hawaii's Big Island. DG HAYES/GETTY IMAGES

The Big Island may not be as popular with tourists (or airline network planners) as Oahu and Maui, but seeing all the attention it has gotten from the airlines over the past few days is interesting.

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While there may not be a sudden uptick in demand for travel to the Big Island, carriers need to find a home for their wide-body jets during the winter season. That's when transatlantic traffic declines and airlines have spare capacity on their biggest planes.

In recent years, Oceania has proved to be a popular spot to send twin-aisle planes during the Northern Hemisphere's winter season, as have some hot spots in Africa, like Marrakech, Morocco.

But with its appeal to sunseekers, Hawaii has long been a popular bet for airline network planners. As such, it'll be interesting to see how all the new service performs.

In fact, this weekend, American also added a second daily flight from DFW to Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) during the peak winter season. This is seemingly another play to deploy wide-body aircraft on the most appropriate routes this winter.

Ultimately, flyers will be the winners, as new airline service means more competition and, ultimately, more frequent fare wars and upgrade and award availability.

Related reading:

Featured image by ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
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