Southwest Airlines just announced in a FB live video they’ll be starting service to Hawaii in 2018 (pending govt approval). Route info and dates will be released soon. So excited, hopefully this means a reduction in fares!!
The announcement was that they would be selling tickets starting in 2018. That strongly suggests they won't begin flying to Hawaii until 2019.
I think one of SWA's main hubs is BWI, isn't it? I wonder if they'll do nonstop flights out of BWI. That would be a win for us east coasters.
Did they say anything about what type of aircraft they will be flying to Hawaii? With the flight being so long, I really prefer the 2-4-2 seat configuration which I know can be found on the Airbus 330. I think only Delta flies that to HNL currently? Also, I don't think the Southwest planes I've been on have in-seat power and the free entertainment is through your own device. Curious too if they'd have a "first class" depending on the plane type? So many questions! lol!
Southwest only flies Boeing 737s. It is part of their business strategy. Any Southwest pilot can fly any Southwest plane. There are several different variations of the 737.
Initial service to Hawaii is expected to use the Boeing 737-800 series. Once they get them, Southwest intends to switch Hawaii routes to use the Boeing 737 MAX series. The MAX series is more fuel efficient and has a longer range.
According to Wikipedia, the Boeing 737-800 has a range of 3,010 nautical miles (3,464 miles). The 737 MAX has a range of 3,825 nautical miles (4,402 miles).
To put that in perspective, the distance from Honolulu (HNL) to Las Vegas is 2,763 miles. Honolulu to Phoenix is 2,918 miles. Salt Lake City is 2,994 miles. My educated guess is that those airports are the furthest possible until Southwest gets the MAX. While those are in play, expect most of the Hawaii flights to come from secondary airports in California (Oakland, Ontario, Burbank, Sacramento).
With the MAX, they might consider Dallas-Love Field (3,796 miles to HNL), Minneapolis-St Paul (3,972 miles), or Chicago-Midway (pushing it at 4,253 miles). Sadly for you, Baltimore (BWI) is not possible, as it's 4,856 miles.
As for you other questions, I'd say there's zero chance that Southwest will be adding first class. Southwest does offer satellite-based WIFI on their Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. That service includes entertainment. They do not have in-seat power, although that's less of an issue today since many hand-held tablets get great battery life.
Although I looked, I can't find a source that regarding if Southwest's Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will have in-seat power.
Sources:
Aircraft specifics:
http://www.avgeekery.com/breaking-southwest-airlines-announces-hawaii-service-to-begin-in-2018/
Boeing 737 article on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737