After an annual shareholder meeting in Phoenix on Wednesday, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly met with reporters. “We’re deciding what our plans are for 2018 and Hawaii is important to us,” Kelly said when asked about the possibility of adding service to Hawaii next year.

Southwest Airlines has recently cleared a few hurdles that were formerly barring the airline from adding flights to Hawaii. Southwest now has over water certification for the Gulf of Mexico and has recently updated their reservation system to allow for overnight flights. Adding flights to Hawaii would require several additional steps, including certification for flights over the Pacific.

However, Kelly did add that service to Hawaii is “pretty high on the priority list.” While we may not have flights on Southwest to Hawaii next year, we can certainly count on them in the near future.

Southwest is keeping the their options open for 2018. “We have not decided exactly what we want to do for 2018 yet,” Kelly told reporters. The airline focused on flights to Dallas in 2015, adding international flights from Houston in 2016, and adding a new international terminal at the Fort Lauderdale Airport in 2017.

The airline will use the new Boeing 737 Max for service to Hawaii. This new plane offers an extended flight range, perfect for crossing the Pacific to the remote Hawaiian islands. The first Boeing 737 Max will join Southwest’s fleet in October, with plans to add 13 more by the end of the year.

When Southwest does add flights to Hawaii, they will initially only be available from airports on the West Coast, where the new Boeing 737 Max fleet will be located.

Looking for a flight from Phoenix to Hawaii? Both American and Hawaiian Airlines offer nonstop flights from Phoenix Sky Harbor.