Route Reliability

Route reliability

Honolulu (HNL) to Kona (KOA): which airline is most on time?

On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Kona, HI (KOA), September 2025 to August 2026.

Historical performance Official DOT data through August 2026 · Not live flight status

Honolulu, HIKona, HI

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Three-letter airport codes, nonstop U.S. domestic flights. One direction at a time.

Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026

HNL to KOA

Honolulu, HI to Kona, HI

On time
84.1%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
1.4%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
2.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
7,226in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
Southwest Airlines89.7% on time · 1,770 flights

On time more often than the U.S. average, with fewer cancellations.

Compared with all U.S. flights, September 2025 to August 2026. “About average” means within 1.5 points for on time, 0.3 for cancelled and 1 for 60+ minutes late.

Airlines on this route

Ranked by on-time arrival

Airlines from HNL to KOA, September 2025 to August 2026. Rates are shares of all scheduled flights.
Airline On time Cancelled 60+ min late Avg delay when late Diverted Flights
1. Southwest Airlines Most reliable 89.7% 1.3% 1.8% 44 min 0.0% 1,770
2. Hawaiian Airlines 85.6% 1.1% 2.2% 37 min 0.2% 1,760
3. Alaska Airlines 80.6% 1.6% 2.7% 38 min 0.1% 3,696

On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.

What this means

Southwest Airlines has the strongest record on this route.

  • Southwest Airlines had the best on-time record from Honolulu (HNL) to Kona (KOA): 89.7% of its 1,770 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 80.6% for Alaska Airlines.
  • 1.4% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 71), 0.5 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 2.4% of flights, about 1 in 42, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 39 min.
  • Overall, 84.1% of flights on this route arrived on time, 8.5 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, September was the most reliable month on this route (92.8% on time) and January the least reliable (83.2%).
  • Cancellations peaked in March, when 2.2% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (94.2% on time); flights scheduled to depart 4 pm to 5 pm were the least (71.4%).
  • In the other direction, Kona (KOA) to Honolulu (HNL), 82.5% of flights were on time and 1.5% were cancelled. Compare airlines KOA to HNL.

Best and worst months to fly HNL to KOA

Jan 83.2%
Feb 83.7%
Mar 84.1%
Apr 86.4%
May 86.0%
Jun 87.7%
Jul 85.3%
Aug 89.2%
Sep 92.8%
Oct 86.7%
Nov 88.6%
Dec 85.5%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 84.1%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 83.2% 2,024
February 83.7% 1,829
March 84.1% 2,000
April 86.4% 1,863
May 86.0% 1,963
June 87.7% 1,872
July 85.3% 1,921
August 89.2% 1,927
September 92.8% 1,912
October 86.7% 2,002
November 88.6% 1,936
December 85.5% 1,992
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Southwest Airlines September (94.1%) July (86.8%)
Hawaiian Airlines September (92.3%) January (82.7%)
Alaska Airlines June (87.3%) March (75.5%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 94.4%
Oct 88.0%
Nov 86.6%
Dec 80.9%
Jan 81.8%
Feb 82.9%
Mar 76.1%
Apr 82.4%
May 83.6%
Jun 87.2%
Jul 84.1%
Aug 82.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
All airlines combined, September 2025 to August 2026. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Sep 2025 94.4% 570
Oct 2025 88.0% 590
Nov 2025 86.6% 584
Dec 2025 80.9% 607
Jan 2026 81.8% 650
Feb 2026 82.9% 573
Mar 2026 76.1% 627
Apr 2026 82.4% 590
May 2026 83.6% 634
Jun 2026 87.2% 586
Jul 2026 84.1% 598
Aug 2026 82.0% 617

Best and worst departure times

<6a 92.3%
6a 94.2%
7a 93.2%
8a 90.4%
9a 92.3%
10a 84.6%
11a 77.5%
12p 74.3%
1p 74.6%
2p 74.6%
3p 74.4%
4p 71.4%
5p 83.4%
6p 84.8%
7p 81.0%
8p 90.3%
9p 84.1%
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at HNL, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing before 6 am 92.3% 169
Departing 6 am to 7 am 94.2% 672
Departing 7 am to 8 am 93.2% 352
Departing 8 am to 9 am 90.4% 438
Departing 9 am to 10 am 92.3% 768
Departing 10 am to 11 am 84.6% 429
Departing 11 am to noon 77.5% 476
Departing noon to 1 pm 74.3% 362
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 74.6% 662
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 74.6% 268
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 74.4% 355
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 71.4% 301
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 83.4% 727
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 84.8% 276
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 81.0% 253
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 90.3% 473
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 84.1% 245
Woman at an airport window watching a plane take off
Photo: Depositphotos (licensed stock, illustrative only). Credits

Sources & data dates

Source
U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
Period
September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
Data through
August 2026
Processed
2026-11-03
Scope
Nonstop scheduled flights from Honolulu, HI (HNL) to Kona, HI (KOA), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
Method
Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.

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