Route Reliability

Route reliability

Honolulu (HNL) to Lihue (LIH): 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 Lihue, HI (LIH), September 2025 to August 2026.

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

Honolulu, HILihue, 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 LIH

Honolulu, HI to Lihue, HI

On time
82.4%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
1.5%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
2.9%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
7,699in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
Southwest Airlines92.0% 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 LIH, 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 92.0% 0.3% 2.2% 55 min 0.0% 1,770
2. Hawaiian Airlines 85.2% 1.0% 2.2% 38 min 0.2% 1,977
3. Alaska Airlines 76.7% 2.3% 3.5% 39 min 0.1% 3,952

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 Lihue (LIH): 92.0% of its 1,770 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 76.7% for Alaska Airlines.
  • 1.5% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 67), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 2.9% of flights, about 1 in 34, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 41 min.
  • Overall, 82.4% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.8 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 (81.9%).
  • Cancellations peaked in May, when 2.6% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (93.8% on time); flights scheduled to depart 3 pm to 4 pm were the least (67.1%).
  • In the other direction, Lihue (LIH) to Honolulu (HNL), 82.6% of flights were on time and 1.7% were cancelled. Compare airlines LIH to HNL.

Best and worst months to fly HNL to LIH

Jan 81.9%
Feb 83.6%
Mar 83.1%
Apr 83.6%
May 83.9%
Jun 86.1%
Jul 85.6%
Aug 88.6%
Sep 92.8%
Oct 88.1%
Nov 89.2%
Dec 85.8%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 82.4%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 81.9% 2,140
February 83.6% 1,919
March 83.1% 2,101
April 83.6% 1,981
May 83.9% 2,100
June 86.1% 2,018
July 85.6% 2,097
August 88.6% 2,084
September 92.8% 2,054
October 88.1% 2,104
November 89.2% 2,087
December 85.8% 2,120
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Southwest Airlines September (94.7%) January (86.2%)
Hawaiian Airlines September (92.2%) January (81.6%)
Alaska Airlines June (82.7%) March (69.2%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 91.8%
Oct 91.6%
Nov 86.4%
Dec 78.7%
Jan 80.5%
Feb 78.0%
Mar 72.6%
Apr 79.6%
May 79.4%
Jun 84.8%
Jul 84.2%
Aug 81.5%
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 91.8% 625
Oct 2025 91.6% 640
Nov 2025 86.4% 646
Dec 2025 78.7% 657
Jan 2026 80.5% 691
Feb 2026 78.0% 587
Mar 2026 72.6% 634
Apr 2026 79.6% 609
May 2026 79.4% 660
Jun 2026 84.8% 627
Jul 2026 84.2% 664
Aug 2026 81.5% 659

Best and worst departure times

<6a 93.8%
6a 93.5%
7a 90.0%
8a 90.2%
9a 90.7%
10a 86.9%
11a 76.9%
12p 70.6%
1p 72.8%
2p 70.7%
3p 67.1%
4p 70.4%
5p 85.8%
6p 79.8%
7p 80.5%
8p 89.8%
9p 81.4%
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 93.8% 195
Departing 6 am to 7 am 93.5% 658
Departing 7 am to 8 am 90.0% 452
Departing 8 am to 9 am 90.2% 368
Departing 9 am to 10 am 90.7% 789
Departing 10 am to 11 am 86.9% 449
Departing 11 am to noon 76.9% 372
Departing noon to 1 pm 70.6% 248
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 72.8% 805
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 70.7% 338
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 67.1% 359
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 70.4% 405
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 85.8% 711
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 79.8% 491
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 80.5% 353
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 89.8% 362
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 81.4% 344
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 Lihue, HI (LIH), 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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