Delta, American to expand air service to Kona at the end of the year

Expanded airline service from two U.S. mainland cities to the Big Island will be starting at the end of the year.

On Nov. 20, American Airlines will resume its seasonal direct flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport.

And starting on Dec. 19, Delta Airlines is adding a new winter flight, direct from Salt Lake City, Utah to Kona.

Currently, Delta only has two direct flights to Kona, from Seattle and Los Angeles, each operating once a day. This new flight, which will continue through March 28, 2026, will be operated on the Boeing 767-300ER.

This winter, American will operate more than 270 peak daily departures to popular beach destinations across Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America from the U.S., offering more than 15 daily flights between the continental U.S. and Hawai‘i, according to a press release from the airline.

This includes resuming expanded daily service from Dallas-Fort Worth to Kona, with a Boeing 787-8, to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday. American will also resume its second daily service to Kahului, Maui, starting Nov. 20, with aircraft Boeing 777-200 and a 787-8.

This complements recently announced winter daily service between Chicago and Honolulu, that starts on Oct. 26 on the Boeing 787-8.

Delta also is expanding its seasonal service from Salt Lake City to Maui, starting on Oct. 6, four times a week, and increasing to daily service in November.

Delta will also offer nonstop flights to Maui from Atlanta, starting Nov. 6 with Airbus A330-300.

The airline will offer a second daily flight from Atlanta to Honolulu for the holiday peak, from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5 on the 767-300ER.

Delta also will start service from Minneapolis to Honolulu, with an upgraded aircraft to A330-300 from Nov. 6 through March 28, 2026.

Amid these seasonal increases in flights to Kona, the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation will continue its paving work to Runway 17-35, which was forced to shut down last year due to cracks in the asphalt.

The project involves construction and repair to the 11,000-foot runway’s asphalt and cement pavement and making necessary upgrades to meet Federal Aviation Administration criteria.

According to the state, crews installed a temporary aircraft navigations system in February, which reduced the length of the runway to 7,000 feet, allowing them to repair both asphalt concrete and cement concrete.

Runway 17-35 is the airport’s only runway. It was paved 30 years ago.

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded two grants totaling $64.7 million to the state Department of Transportation for the Runway 17-35 Rehabilitation Project, which will continue through April 2026.