Are there any direct flights from Hilo or Kona to Lihue, Kauai, or vice versa? From the searches I've done, everything seems to connect in Honolulu.

I believe flights that connect through HNL are the only game in town, look for one that stops in HNL rather than connecting so you do not have to get off the plane.

Wrong - go to Aloha.com and you can see their flight routes. My husband and I, in fact, are flying Aloha in July from Hilo to Lihue on Aloha air (I have my ticket as evidence!).

whoops, I have to "eat my words" just remembered, we're flying from Hilo to Honolulu. (we're travelling to Lihue later that week). Sorry, JohnD

Are you sure you don't stop to pick up more people in Honolulu and keep going?

Reply to dolciani: Have you been to Hawaii? No problem anyway, having admitted to staying at the HBR hotel and liking it, I am no stranger to controversy. Mucho mahalos about the correcction. Aloha!

Also flew on Aloha from BI to Kauai without going through Honolulu. You can grab a flight from one island to another without going to Honolulu. Check out either Aloha or Hawaiian Air for schedules of times.

I just bought tickets from Kona to Lihue last week. Aloha and Hawaiian don't offer any non-stops from Big Island to Kauai. They all stop either in Honolulu and sometimes Maui.
Here are the links to the schedules

http://www.hatimetable.com/hawaiian.pdf

http://www.alohaairlines.com/aq/fs3/Inter060103.pdf

Well Alexis may be right. We flew BI to Lihue right after Sept 11 so everything was crazy anyway. Our flights kept changing so maybe at that time they didn't go to Honolulu but they may do so normally.

If you do stop at least you don't have to change planes.

6-02-03: 5:35 P.M. PST
Just checked Aloha flight schedules...did not see any direct flights Lihue-Kona/Hilo...did not check with Hawaiian.

I have yet to see direct flights without stopping off in HNL first. It keeps me on Kauai every year when I am only in the state for two weeks. Just sucks up too much of my short time in Hawaii. Let us know if this has changed!
Hi SUZIE

No, there are no nonstops between Lihue and Hilo or Kona. Some of the flights are "direct" which means you dont have to change planes when you land in Honolulu; you stay on board while they collect new passengers.

I think it used to be you could fly direct, but with the airline financial troubles, everything has changed. I feel like every week my flight time is changing.

Direct doesn't mean nonstop; it means there is a stop but you dont change planes.

Nonstop means there are no stops. There hasn't been a nonstop from Lihue to the Big Island for at least 5 years.
It is a real pain if you have to be in Kona at 8AM for a business meeting! If you look on the airline skeds, there are hardly even any nonstops between Maui and the Big Island which means you are actually flying in the opposite direction to Honolulu to change planes, then you fly over Maui on the way to the BI.