aoumd

I'll post this in segments over the next few days, and link from the list at bottom as I do, there's too much to post in one sitting!

Just got back from a most excellent two week vacation with Mrs. Aoumd to Hawaii and Guam. Flights were IAD-LAX-LIH-HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM-NRT-ORD-DCA, with 4 nights each in LIH, HNL and GUM.



PART I: BACKGROUND

One year ago I had attempted to cross "fly across the Pacific on the Island Hopper (UA154)" off of my bucket list, with a fellow FT friend (we also met and befriended a second FTer along the way). When some significant mechanical and crew rest issues affected the flight, the result was a travel adventure which, at the time, I posted to the United board under The IRROPS Saga of UA154 (Island Hopper) of Friday the 13th.

While most passengers would be very, very upset by a 35-hour delay, never making it to their final destination, and getting stranded overnight on the most remote location in United's global network surrounded by the world's largest shark sanctuary (that saying "if you were stranded on a remote island surrounded by sharks..."), for me it made United's "Island Hopper" flight the greatest travel adventure of my life. So much so that I left that trip thinking the exact same thing most kids say at an amusement park: That was a fun ride, can we go on that ride again?!?!

Fast forward throughout the year of 2015. United offered their 50k bonus for the Explorer card, so I opened an account and racked up the sign-up bonus, then Mrs. Aoumd did the same. We both did some mile-earning flying off of the JeffieBucks (United flight vouchers) we scored when I was stranded overnight on that remote island surrounded by sharks due to UA MX ($150), and a much larger amount by Mrs. Aoumd when she VDB'd on an IAD-TPA flight having to stay in IAD for a few more hours ($350). Add in that a Premier friend of ours offered some miles that she had no plans to use as a birthday/Christmas/Hanukkah present, and we had quite a nice stash of United miles (and Chase Ultimate Rewards points which can be transferred into United miles).

Mrs. Aoumd had dreamed of going to Hawaii for a vacation for five years now. We went to Hawaii in 2011, but she had encountered second degree sunburn on the backs of her thighs on her first full day there during a two hour surf lesson when she could not reapply washed-off sunscreen. Unable to sit, the remaining week was spent finding restaurants with bars so she could eat standing up, visiting urgent care clinics for Silvadene and blister drainings, and a whole bunch of other nastiness that caused us to miss the fun of Hawaii. It also made us have to postpone our return on the old Continental by 2 days (with most of the change fee waived via doctor's note). While we had some other vacation priorities (also free on points): Europe in 2014 and Japan in 2015, we knew Hawaii would be next on the list, this time with my better half packing a rash guard and neoprene pants for all water activities! And with many more than enough miles than the 90,000 necessary for two saver award Hawaii round trips, we decided to do something a little bit more:

• IAD-LAX-LIH in United Economy, with a four hour layover in LAX for some In-N-Out Burger (and "go clubbing" with our Explorer Card passes)
• Four nights in Kauai, which has specifically been on Mrs. Aoumd's bucket list for a while.
• LIH-HNL for a quick hop on Hawaiian Airlines, likely our only chance to ride in a 717
• Four nights in Waikiki, getting to do all the things we never got to do in 2011.
• HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM on the Island Hopper, this time in Economy Plus, the triumphant return to the Island Hopper flight!
• Four nights in Guam, getting to see what this corner of the world is like.
• GUM-NRT-ORD-DCA on a BusinessFirst Saver award redemption, with requisite clubbing in GUM, NRT and ORD. Lie-flat seats on the upper deck of a 747-400 for UA 882 NRT-ORD. When we booked we had the lie-flats confirmed, but were waitlisted for C GUM-NRT and F ORD-DCA which made for some nice suspense close-in!

Next up: IAD-LAX-LIH in United Economy

aoumd

IAD-LAX-LIH and Kauai

Thursday, 4 February

United 470 IAD-LAX (757)
United 1227 LAX-LIH (738)
United Economy, rows 23 (UA470) and 24 (UA1227) E/F.




And so the trip began with an early morning Uber ride from home to Dulles International, a quick check of the large suitcase (free thanks to the Explorer card), slow slog through security, wait for the terminal train and long walk to the gate, and we arrive just in time for Group 2 boarding. Flight pushed back on time, and before long we're in the air being served the new United breakfast snack Stroopwafels!



The Stroopwafels tasted better than I had been expecting, but I was somewhat disappointed that we still had to put up with FreshBrew as the conversion to illy's coffee still hasn't occurred yet.



Got a pretty nice view of the Grand Canyon too:



The flight was early into LAX, where we had a four hour layover from about 12 Noon to 4 PM. Per the advice of friends on and off of FT, I knew there was but one place to go for lunch: In-N-Out Burger! I looked it up on the map and while it seemed walking distance, the maze of sidewalks and dead-ends made it seem like a challenge to walk there. And so, by our scheduled arrival time we were already on the curb getting another Uber for the short hop for food. Lunch was tasty, and I think I can wholeheartedly say that a fast food joint can make burgers from fresh ingredients while enhancing, rather than sacrificing taste.



Having escaped the cold Northeast, where in the preceding two weeks we have had a blizzard and multiple below-20-degree evenings, I wanted to be sure to eat outside in the 60s-and-sunny Los Angeles, so we were fortunate to score an outside table at the In-N-Out. Now what everyone had told me was that In-N-Out Burger was the place to go for good eats near LAX. Nobody ever told us that the restaurant was directly underneath the approach for one of LAX's runways. So over lunch, Mrs. Aoumd and I were treated to watching heavy after heavy after heavy landing at LAX.




Having become familiar enough with the sidewalks around the restaurant, we walked the mile back to the United terminal to stretch our legs, re-cleared security, and made it to the United Club to charge up our devices and enjoy some snacks and drinks before our flight to Lihue. Soon enough it was time to reboard, and after another on-time departure we were soon once again being treated to the afternoon/evening contingent of United's return to free snacks in Economy:



The snack mix was just what was to be expected. Not as tasty as the Stroopwafels but not stale either. They did make one need something to drink, however. The flight felt much longer this time, and Mrs. Aoumd got a little stir-crazy, needing to stretch her legs in the aisle a time or two. I passed the time doing some work with a pen and paper at my seat. But after six hours, we made it early into Kauai and Lihue.



Baggage Claim at LIH is in an open air room with fences blocking off the outside. So it was nice to feel the island breeze without even leaving the airport. Also, at 8:30 PM there were no taxis lined up for passengers, one had to use a courtesy phone on a stand on the curb outside baggage claim to call for a taxi, which is exactly what we did. After a pleasantly short wait, our taxi arrived and we were whisked off to Kauai Shores Hotel in Kapa'a, about 15 minutes away.



Kauai Shores, simply put, was a phenomenal hotel. Has its own beach, the rooms were clean and tidy with their own lanais. Staff was friendly although check-in seems to take a while. All for a very reasonable room rate which we got through Hotels.com. But perhaps the best memories from Kauai Shores were the sunrises, which we woke up every morning to view from the beach:



Next Up: Adventures on Kauai

aoumd

Our four nights and three full days in Kauai were amazing.

On our first day after sunrise, we had breakfast at the Lava Lava Beach Club, a "toes in the sand" dining experience at our hotel in Kapaa. While our hotel was a good bargain for beachfront lodging with good reviews in Kauai, the Beach Club was a bit pricier...but worth every penny. The food there was superb. Mrs. Aoumd particularly liked the muffins they had, and I liked everything I tried there the few times we went there during our stay.



And true to its Hawaiian roots, the check comes in a can of SPAM:



After breakfast, we walked 20 minutes up to a bike shop in downtown Kapaa to rent bikes for the day and enjoy the oceanfront bike path that stretches for five miles north from Kapaa:




We ended up biking about 15-20 miles round trip, with a stop for lunch at the lunch trucks which all park in a lot about mid-trail, and another stop at Kealia Beach, a pit stop at our hotel to swap bags and another stop at the south end of Kapaa, at Lydgate State Park, we returned our bikes and got a taxi back to LIH airport to pick up our rental car for the next three days. In hindsight, with taxi fares the way they are we probably should have picked up the car right away at the airport, as we underestimated the cab fares between the hotel and airport. But all's well that ends well.
One thing we noticed all over Kauai: ROOSTERS! They were EVERYWHERE and we could hear them everywhere. Even saw some souvenir shirts that said “Welcome to KAUAI” with a rooster in place of the letter U:



Our next day started out with a trip to Donkey Beach, one of Kauai's more secluded beaches that for a while in the morning was just us and some surfers:


And the afternoon was a drive to Port Allen for a Captain Andy’s scenic dinner cruise. The original plan was to sail up the Na Pali coast, but high waves forced a detour via the south side of Kauai including Poipu Beach and the land in question from the movie “The Descendants.”



Our last full day in Kauai was spent hiking through Waimea Canyon Park, including to the top of Waipoo Falls. The park is gorgeous, and was even a little chilly in the morning, in the ‘50s! Still much better than the freezing temperatures back home.





Our last morning in Kauai was spent on a surf lesson in Hanalei on the North Shore. The North Shore is beautiful, but I didn’t have my phone with me in the water so no pictures. Then it was off to Lihue to drop off the car and prepare for my first and likely only ever flight on a Boeing 717, the 35-minute hop from Lihue to Honolulu.

NEXT UP: Flying on the rare 717, LIH to HNL!

aoumd

Monday, 8 February

Hawaiian 344 LIH-HNL (717)

Economy, Row 25 Seats A/B

Check-In online was fast and simple for an airline that was new to me, Hawaiian Airlines. We did have to pay a bag fee for our large checked bag, $25 (which must be making a ton of money for Hawaiian Airlines given how short these inter-island flights are!

Waiting at the gate was just like waiting for any other major US airline. However, boarding seemed to go very quick for a mainline aircraft, which I was pleasantly surprised about given how a disproportionately high number of people at the terminal were likely infrequent-flying vacationers who always seem to require a bit more time than those who fly more often.



Once on board the aircraft, I was surprised that there was sufficient bin space for all, but I guess that’s the advantage of 3x2 seating on a mainline aircraft as opposed to 2x2 seating on a mainline aircraft. Pretty much ALL announcements, from safety briefings to in-flight to landings, were automated. I think I maybe only heard a live crewmember’s voice once over the PA system. Secondly, these aircraft are used in short-hop inter-island service and Hawaiian knows it, so the seats do not recline and actually are among the thinnest seats, with the smallest tray tables, I have been yet to encounter. They were perfectly fine and comfortable for our 35 minute hop to Honolulu, but frankly they would be miserable for a flight to the mainland:



The aircraft layout was a bit different, a relatively new plane with 3-2 seating means fewer middle seats and two-seaters on a narrowbody mainline jet in addition to the apparently higher amount of bin space per passenger. And the rear emergency exit of the plane was not a pair of aft doors on either side, but a pressurized plug door going straight out the rear of the aircraft. Fortunately it wasn’t used during our flight.

In the air, the flight attendants served a brief drink service, with juice and water in one of those small cups with the foil tops that you may remember from elementary school. Nothing fancy but a nice touch for such a short flight.



While approaching Honolulu we also saw some of the construction for the upcoming Honolulu Rapid Transit rail project:



And with that, another on-time flight. Honolulu is one of my favorite airports, because the perfect climate enables an open-air terminal, and also the perfect weather enables a beautiful garden as a waiting area:



After retrieving our bags we were off in a taxi for the hop over to the Aqua Palms for four nights on Oahu!

NEXT UP: Oahu and Waikiki

aoumd

After the short hop on the Boeing 717 to Honolulu, we checked into the Aqua Palms Hotel. We got a most excellent rate at this hotel on RocketMiles.com, low $100s per night and 4,000 Amtrak GuestRewards points to boot. The hotel was clean and room was great. The pool was being renovated but we didn't need the pool when the ocean was blocks away, and the staff were great.

Our first afternoon and evening in Honolulu was spent just bumming around Waikiki. As much as people like to say they come to Hawaii to escape the hustle and bustle, Waikiki is one of my favorite places on Earth. It's just as vibrant, walkable and ALIVE as Manhattan, but the weather is always perfect and there's a world-class beach across the street.



Then it was time for a Hawaiian Classic, LOCO MOCO: Hamburger patty, soft boiled eggs, gravy and rice. Just what the cardiac ward ordered!



Our next day in Oahu was spent on a bus tour around the island, making stops at beautiful points such as the Pali Lookout en route to the Polynesian Cultural Center.



The Polynesian Cultural Center works off of a great business model which Brigham Young University and the Mormon community in Hawaii have developed: Pacific Islanders from the Polynesian Islands who otherwise could never afford college get to come to school at BYU-Hawaii for free in exchange for a) working part-time at the Center, educating the world about their home islands, and b) promising to head back to their home island with their degree after graduation to help their communities.

Walking around the Hawaiian Village within the Center, I noticed this poster of Hawaiian Royalty: King Kamehameha, King Lunalillo...and a CO (or was it CS) DC-10?!



One of the more interesting highlights from our evening at the PCC: As part of the Luau dinner, the MC noted that "On the American mainland we tell kids not to play with, but in American Samoa they give kids fire to play with!" And proceeded to have a 10 year old boy come onto the stage and spectacularly and skillfully perform a live fire show:



The next day we rode TheBus up to the North Shore. The waves were high. REALLY high. So high in fact that surf experts all over the world were thinking that this could be the first time in years that the surf got high enough for the world's best wave riders to compete in the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau competition, held only when the waves on the North Shore get above 40 feet. The competition was on, then called off at the last minute. Still, we thought it might be interesting to mosey on over to the North side of the island, where the beaches were closed off due to the high surf and we saw house-sized waves.



Our last day in Oahu was spent snorkeling Hanauma Bay, home to lots of marine wildlife. To preserve its delicate ecosystem and coral, the bay is closed on Tuesdays, while the rest of the week visitors must watch a video on protecting the bay before they are allowed onto the beach. The bay is definitely worth a visit, and a snorkel!



And with that our time in Oahu came to a close, and it became time for one of the better #AvGeek parts of the trip:

NEXT UP, HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM on United 154, the world famous Micronesian "Island Hopper!"

Shuttle_Endeavour

Thank you for taking the time to write this report, I am really enjoying it and it is giving me ideas for places to see when I visit Hawaii this summer.

I am looking forward to the remainder of your report.

wtcmor

Really enjoying this too

aoumd

The next part of our vacation was the all-day flight from Honolulu to Guam aboard the world's most interesting, unusual and unique commercial airline flight: United 154, the Micronesian "Island Hopper."

For those who may not be familiar, the Island Hopper is a thrice-weekly "all stops local"/"milk run" of a flight between Honolulu and Guam, bringing passengers and mail to five tiny islands along the way, which have little other access to the outside world: Majuro, the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, US Army Kwajalein Atoll/neighboring civilian Ebeye Island, as well as Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk (formerly Truk Island) in the Federated States of Micronesia. A Boeing 737-800, which looks more at home on US domestic flights, flies Transpacific on this mission where there are no 737 maintenance bases, no crew bases, not even control towers. A second set of pilots and an on-board mechanic fly every Island Hopper flight, with the plane receiving authority to occupy sections of Pacific airspace from FAA Oakland Center, half a world away.

Our Island Hopper adventure started at online check in 24 hours before departure. The hotel front desk at Aqua Palms Waikiki was more than happy to print out our boarding passes for us, but somehow I don't think they were expecting to print out 12 pages for two passengers on a direct flight between two US airports:



But then it was off for our last full day in Waikiki:



After a good night's sleep, Island Hopper day was upon us! We set the alarm clock for 4:30 AM for our 7:25 AM departure, and were in a taxi at around 5:20 AM for a quick haul to the airport. By 5:45 we were at the check-in desks to check our suitcases. For this 14-hour 737 flight, we checked our suitcases. Apparently there was some confusion with the check in agents as to whether or not we needed to clear agriculture, as those heading to the US needed to clear ag, but not those heading internationally. We were of course on an international flight which ultimately ended up back on US Soil after touching down in two foreign countries. In the end, we went through agriculture, and were quickly back at the desk to check our bags.



As we checked our bags, we saw someone next to us bring more standard checked baggage for the Island Hopper: a suitcase or two, and five huge Igloo coolers. The Igloo coolers are stuffed coming out of the islands with fresh fish, which locals catch and sell on Hawaii or Guam. Coming back home, the islanders pack their coolers with meats sold on Hawaii or Guam but not otherwise available on their home islands, reselling the meats back home.



Once through bag check and security, we walked around Honolulu's open air terminal and found our bird at Gate 11, UA 737-800 Ship 296, which would be our ride across the Pacific today. A most usual aircraft on the world's most unusual flight:



Boarding began a few minutes earlier than the time printed on our boarding passes, the crews needing every minute to figure out how to play the game of Tetris in the cargo hold between all those Igloo coolers, passenger suitcases, mail going to/from the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, and spare parts which the 737 carries as it flies to islands with no jet maintenance facilities. With most of the passengers boarded, an announcement was made indicating that we were having quite an opposite problem to what most 737 flights on the mainland encounter: while most flights in the US operate with overstuffed overhead bins and few checked bags thanks to fees, the Island Hopper had an overstuffed baggage hold and room left in the overheads. So much so that the ramp agents had to bring back up a dozen bags and hand them to flight attendants to place in the overhead bins!

Pushback was on or close to the 7:25 AM advertised, where we got to see the Guam Hub/Micronesia version of United's safety video, with smaller visuals and subtitles in four different languages: Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English, with the language of the majority of Guam's tourist visitors, Japanese, on top:



Guam-based 737s are a little different than the United 737's you see on the mainland, and not just because of the safety videos or because they're used on unusual missions such as United's Island Hopper flights. All of the rest of the on-board signage is different too:




Also, the first two pairs of BusinessFirst seats on the port side of the aircraft are blocked out for pilot use, with the first row of seats being a special type of BusinessFirst seat that can recline flat for when in pilot use, but only have regular recline when not in pilot use. These seats do not have IFE, and so when they're used on non-Island Hopper flights, passengers on the upgrade list are cleared into them at T-60 when the GA can ask the passenger if they'd be interested in upgrading if the seat they upgrade to has no IFE.

Takeoff from Honolulu was beautiful:


Because the Island Hopper has the unusual circumstance of being an international flight at intermediate stops, but begins and ends its direct flight in the US, it is also likely one of the last direct United flights between two US airports to still offer complimentary meal service in coach. Breakfast was served shortly after take off from Honolulu:



For this flight, we purchased our way up to Economy Plus and were glad we did for two reasons. First, with 14 hours of flying on a given day, we were glad to have the extra legroom. But also, being in the second row of E+ (the first row with a seat in front of us to store our belongings underneath), we could also get off of the plane faster to maximize our time stretching legs at the intermediate island stops. The first leg from Honolulu to Majuro is the longest, at 4.5 hours. After Majuro, each remaining leg is roughly 60-90 minutes. On this long first leg, my better half watched The Intern on the IFE screens while I did some reading, but later on my better half began to do some reading herself: Simon Winchester's new book Pacific, about the last 65 years of history in the Pacific, and the geopolitical climate that is likely to shape its future. The first few sentences of the book, and indeed the entire prologue, were very relevant to the flight we were on:




After 4.5 hours we landed in Majuro. Majuro is the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and is shaped in a "C" tilted 90 degrees counterclockwise. It's about 30 miles long but only a couple hundred feet wide, enough for one two lane road, one house or business on one side, and one house or business on the other. The airport is on one of the widest sections of the island.





So we land early into MAJ and proceed to the transit terminal (basically you just go straight into the departure gate area) but first this selfie:


Majuro International Airport is not Dulles. You don't have to walk a marathon from the curb to the gate, and there's only one gate. There are exactly two concessions past security: a woman who sells jewelry from a fold out table in the seating area, and Snack Time. Snack Time sells snacks, sandwiches, alcohol and even souvenir T-shirts, as well as the local Marshallese newspaper:



Snack Time, along with the concessions in KSA and PNI (which I'll get to when we get there), are critically important to anyone flying the entirety of the Island Hopper. In the past year, United has gone to a single global configuration of Boeing 737-800, including the Micronesia flights (excepting the modification they must make for the pilot rest seats, which have to do with pilot rest regulations and the FAA waiver this flight operates under for pilot hours). The FAs told us that when the galleys got smaller and the plane got heavier with 2,000 pounds of IFE under the new config, something had to come out in order for the Island Hopper to make it off the ground on Kosrae (KSA)'s 5,700 foot runway. That "something" was the sandwich service around the middle of the trip. As a result, while there's a free breakfast HNL-MAJ and a free sandwich TKK-GUM, there's no food service (not even a BOB pass for purchases) MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK.

After about 20-25 minutes in the terminal at MAJ, we were boarded back to the aircraft. The podium at MAJ is a little different than your normal United airport, with no scanners and a fold out table where outbound boarding passes are placed for enplaning passengers. Boarding passes are checked visually but not scanned for reboarding.



Taxiing down the runway (there are no taxiways on these islands) we passed Air Marshall Islands (CW)'s hangar, with both of the airline's aircraft in the shop. CW has not flown in a long time. From what I've gathered on and off of FT, it sounds like maintenance and state of good repair issues on both its aircraft and the outer island runways it serves (often dirt surfaces that haven't been well-surfaced) are mired in local politics which prevents it from either getting public funding to get back into the air nor being able to charge fares that would allow it to raise that money privately. If anyone here knows more I'd sure like to learn more. Makes me wonder if a seaplane operation would work better out here given how many of the issues come from bad runway conditions at the other islands, and how nearly all of CW's destinations are atolls with protected lagoons.



After MAJ was the 46-minute flight to Kwajalein. Kwajalein (KWA) is the air strip at US Army Kwajalein Atoll, but also is the departure point for civilians going to nearby Ebeye Island, the second most populous island in the Marshall Islands after Majuro. Because the plane lands on a US Army base (and one that does more sensitive work at that), the FAs announced that pictures were not allowed at Kwajalein, so no photos from there. Passengers also must stay on board the aircraft, no transiting stretch of the legs in Kwaj. The landing and takeoff in Kwajalein are beautiful and it definitely pays to sit on the right side the way the plane angles in and out. One difference I noticed this year versus last: the baggage loader at KWA appears to be a United Airlines white baggage loader now, whereas in the past it was a US Army camo green baggage loader.

Soon enough we were back in the air for the segment to Kosrae (KSA), a little ahead of schedule. Two of the four pilots for our flight were kind enough to help deplaning/transiting passengers take pictures posing in front of the Kosrae International Airport sign:



KSA is an interesting airport. It's terminal isn't even structurally a building, with open air sides it is more like a gigantic hut with a chain link fence serving as a wall. Its one terminal room is entered by enplaning passengers prior to arrival when they must pass through security, and then the security equipment is pushed to the side and the door as the ticketing area locked when the plane arrives. Passengers can transit here and mix with the enplaning passengers to stretch their legs:





The FAs advised us that KSA has some of the juiciest tangerines anywhere on earth, as well as some great banana chips, and with the discontinued midflight service it was definitely worth it. Combined with some other snacks we were able to obtain we improvised our second meal service on the flight.



Beverages, on the other hand, were provided across all six segments of the Island Hopper.

Next up on our flight was Pohnpei (PNI), the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia. Here we disembarked along with our pilots again, and we got to chat with the pilots for a few minutes. Turns out we were all from the DC area; both of these pilots (who were good friends) were originally based in IAD. One of them transferred to GUM for the tropical weather, while the other followed suit after seeing his buddy's work schedule flying the Island Hopper. Island Hopper pilots are based in GUM, do the 14 hour mission one way (alternating sets of pilots), have two nights held away in HNL, and fly 14 hours back, about once every other week. They posed for a photo with us, and even spent a few minutes showing us around the aircraft during the stop. Also, note: the airport restroom here was much nicer than those on some of the other islands.



Next up after Pohnpei was Chuuk (TKK), formerly Truk Island of World War II infamy. The island is now a world-famous dive spot for shipwreck divers, as much of the Japanese Navy was sunk here during World War II. The descent in to TKK is amazing as you see a lot of small islands in Chuuk Lagoon. The weather was overcast, so it wasn't conducive to spectacular photos, but it was beautiful to see out the window nonetheless.

The airport is slowly being rebuilt, and was in bad shape when I was there my first time on the Island Hopper, but seemed a little better now, with one exception: the sign has completely faded away in the past year:



As this is the last stop before GUM, this was our last one-gate terminal:



While on Chuuk, we also saw Air Nauru, the one other airline out in this part of the world, occupying the other stand at TKK. Air Nauru flies to Nauru, and has a schedule that offers connectivity to Australia, so while they offer a competing option inter-island, they don't necessarily compete with United for travel to/from the US.



The last leg to Guam was also memorable. The second meal service, with a sandwich and nuts was on this leg. I also enjoyed an adult beverage, my first for the flight, a Baileys on the rocks (my flying drink, for some reason). As we descended into GUM, the pilots came on the PA and when thanking us for flying United, made special mention "to those of you who have flown us all the way from Honolulu, thanks for joining us on the amazing adventure."



Guam, while part of the US, also has its own separate customs, and you must fill out a very different looking Customs form:


Landing in GUM was close to schedule, just within the FAA 15-minute tolerance. Compared to my 35-hour delay last year this was as good as it gets.



Customs and immigration was quick, and the taxi dispatcher even offered to take our photo with the sunset at the airport as our taxi rolled up to go to the Hotel Nikko. WE MADE IT!

aoumd

Thanks!

Thanks! Just posted the Island Hopper and will try to get Guam and the return home up soon. This weekend's been busy and I've had two work trips in the past week!

GRALISTAIR

On my bucket list too - love the Trip Report OP ^

LondonElite

Very cool. Thanks for the TR. I'd like to take that flight one day.

aaron1262

Thanks for the report. I'm currently planning my island hopper itinerary. Looking to build a stopover on pohnpei to break up the journey. Hopefully I can make it work!

aoumd

GUAM

After landing on the Island Hopper, we spent four nights where America's Day begins, Guam.

We stayed at the Hotel Nikko, which was GREAT! It had pretty much everything. I booked the room on hotels.com and selected the "Free Breakfast" room option after seeing it was priced at or below what breakfast for two out would likely cost. Little did I know that meant we were getting a premier room with club access! So yes we did have access to the breakfast service in the club each morning, but also free drinks, appetizers and dessert in the club each evening. The Hotel Nikko's lounge had a massage chair and its own business center in addition to the main business center outside, and in addition to the usual couches and tables of a lounge.

Our hotel room was great. Sitting area, daily complimentary bottled water in the Premier room, complimentary beer upon check-in, but most importantly, the number one design feature of a hotel room that I want more than anything else: PLUGS THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE FROM THE NIGHTSTAND!


The view from our hotel balcony:


And the very Japanese breakfast in the lounge, reflecting the majority of Guam's tourist's tastes:


Outside, Hotel Nikko has a pool, but more importantly, is on Gun Beach, which Mrs. Aoumd and I found was less busy and a bit nicer than the main beach along Tumon Bay.


Hotel Nikko also has a nature trail which had lots of beautiful (but hard to photograph) butterflies, some lizards, and this fellow:


In the water, Guam was home to some of the best snorkeling Mrs. Aoumd (who has lots more experience than I have) has ever seen. In addition to Gun beach, outside of our hotel, we met up with a friend who works in the Navy on Guam and took us snorkeling on Gab Gab Beach, where we saw all sorts of great marine life until the really really big fish started to circle and follow us and we figured it would be best to get out of the water. The next day Mrs. Aoumd went for another surfing lesson, this one three hours long for only $99 (a bargain compared to Hawaii). Turns out her instructor was from Kosrae, in Island Hopper country!

While I didn't take pictures in the water, I did find something rather interesting while out and about on Guam. Having grown up in New Jersey, I rode the bus into New York City growing up in the 1990s. The buses used were MC-9As, a special version of the Motor Coach Industries standard issue of the era with a humped front for an electronic destination sign. New Jersey Transit retired all of those buses around the year 2000 when their current fleet was delivered, and I thought I'd never see one of them again...UNTIL I GOT TO GUAM, and saw this in a parking lot. The humped destination sign was painted over, but in the right light I could actually see where the New Jersey Transit logo was stripped off the front:


Going around the island of Guam, I felt like I was in two worlds, and in more ways than one. On the one hand, I was still in the United States. Yet outside the touristy areas, the local villages and communities seemed more like something you'd find on a Caribbean island or in the Bahamas, very obviously not the wealth of the US Mainland. Something else: I'm an American whose family is part Japanese, and Guam is as close to "Japanese America" as you'll get:



And because guns are pretty much non-existent in Japan, there are all sorts of gun clubs (indoor shooting ranges) in Hawaii and Guam to cater to Japanese tourists who want to shoot:


Three more shots of Guam, first Tumon Bay (the water was clear, but mostly SHALLOW!):


And then a "Fiesta Plate" of Chomorro Barbecue, some local flavor:


And then sunset on the beach. Hotel Nikko has these covered lounge platforms near (but not on) the beach, where Mrs. Aoumd and I relaxed for our last sunset in Guam and snapped the photo below.



The location was perfect because shortly after we could see from our platform not one but two evening shows, one at the open air theater next to our hotel, and the other as part of the dinner theater our hotel offered. The open-air architecture of Guam made that a nice perk, being able to watch from a free (for guests) part of our hotel property!

Our trip was great, but all good things must come to an end. And with 24 hours left before our flight home, I was already off to the races trying to learn the world of upgrade waitlists, and getting ready for over 20 consecutive hours of free meals and drinks between premium cabins and airline clubs. That comes next on the conclusion of this trip report, GUM-NRT-ORD-DCA, including the upper deck of a 747!

aoumd

THE RETURN HOME

When I made the bookings several months ago, I had the opportunity to get a saver Business Class award GUM-NRT-ORD-DCA. We were confirmed in BusinessFirst lie-flats on the upper deck of a 747, UA882, NRT-ORD. This would likely be my only chance to fly upstairs on the Queen of the Skies as more and more airlines retire the 747 from active service, and I eagerly looked forward to the flight!

However, we couldn't get into Business/First for the short segments GUM-NRT or ORD-DCA. I was able to get into F right away ORD-DCA, but my better half wasn't able to get award space there, and neither of us could GUM-NRT. (Had it become an issue I would have given my better half the seat up front). But I knew to get waitlisted for C/F with my saver award, and called United to get waitlisted. 2-3 weeks before departure, Mrs. Aoumd was confirmed in F and we got her seat right next to mine for the ORD-DCA flight. And then came T-24 hours, time to check in.

I received an email shortly before the check-in window opening from United, indicating that while they could not confirm me into Business Class for the GUM-NRT, I had been placed on the waitlist for the same day upgrade. When we got to the airport, the agent at the counter told us that we had very good odds, for a very interesting reason. If you recall from the post on the Island Hopper, UA154 has those special pilots' rest seats which can recline all the way for pilot rest, or a normal amount when in passenger service. Well, those seats don't have IFE, so 1AB and 2AB have no IFE. As a result, UA blocks those seats out from bookings on ALL GUM 738 FLIGHTS, releasing them for the GAs to clear the waitlist with at T-60 minutes, as they can bring people to the podium and make sure that the customer is okay with no IFE in exchange for the upgrade. Great way to make a lot of passengers' days and manage expectations.

GUM is laid out a little differently than most major airports in two ways. First, being a major vacation and shopping hub for Asian tourists whose money the island definitely needs, the airport was designed very smartly. When you clear security, you must walk through the aisles of Duty Free Shopping before you can get to the gates. For about 100 feet, you feel like you're in a department store, before turning towards the gates. I can't seem to find the best picture of this, but the displays come closer to you than what I do have a photo of here, it's much more in your face than other airports.


Secondly, there's this big partition. It appears that GUM was built with the idea that passengers could use the terminal as a big transfer area, but then some regulation put an end to such transfers because these barriers were placed to keep deplaning passengers on a direct path to Customs and Immigration, and away from enplaning passengers. The barriers are moved so that when a plane comes in on the "departures" side of the terminal, they can be arranged to keep deplaning passengers on a direct path to Customs.


So after a bit of walking (which included Mrs. Aoumd taking a peek at the cute aquarium in the DFS area), we arrived at the United Club for some clubbing, the first of many lounges we would enjoy as we made it some 8,500 miles and 22 hours without having to pay for a morsel of food or drop of alcohol between our hotel's club breakfast, the airport lounges and premium cabins on our flights. The agents at the GUM UC were excellent and also said that past history indicated that the odds were ever in our favor of getting the upgrade at T-60.


At T-60, we moseyed on over to our departure gate where we were almost immediately called to the podium and upgraded into 2AB. And a few short minutes later, we boarded UA Ship 299 for the short four hour flight to NRT. Our flight had been scheduled to be on Ship 296, the same 738 we had flown in on the Island Hopper, but that got swapped out at the last minute. After an on-time departure, we were soon in the air and bidding farewell to 12 days in island paradise, to be replaced with 8,000 miles of airborne paradise in International BusinessFirst and related premium cabins.


The cabin crew came through with a tasty meal service, I had the beef and was glad it had a side salad:


After four hours of over water flying, we landed in NRT. Unlike the last time I landed in NRT on UA196 a year ago, this time we had a short and sweet taxi to the gate, about 5 minutes versus over 20 last time! We arrived at the gate well ahead of schedule, which meant more time for clubbing in Tokyo! (No, not THAT kind of clubbing in Tokyo...).

Our first stop after clearing transit passenger formalities was the ANA Lounge. This is one of the more impressive airline club facilities I have ever been in.

Upon entering the lounge, we saw that as part of the ANA/STAR WARS JET promotion there is a Star Wars arcade game at the lounge entrance:


For food and drink, there's a fully staffed kitchen preparing udon, ramen and curry dishes, the first two we enjoyed shortly after entering:


Additionally there is a generous buffet of Japanese and other foods to nosh on. The beer was from an auto-pour dispenser that tilts the glass to just the right angle to pour beer.


If you need more alcohol, there's also a sake bar:


If you need to relax after all that alcohol, there's massage chairs:


After having way too much fun in the club, we headed off to our flight, UA 882, with my first, and likely only, chance to fly on the upper deck of a 747:


The Upper deck featured lie-flat seating which, while it does not have direct aisle access, was great for couples because it provided two seaters that were actually next to each other:

To the left of the seats in the photo is an open compartment door. I really liked how the curvature of the walls on the upper deck created a place where one could essentially have an "overhead bin" that one could access from the window seat without getting up. We put our belongings in the side compartment, for easy access throughout the flight.

We were provided with United's Cowshed amenity kits, which were great although we probably would have picked a color other than beige for the exterior:


After takeoff, we were served dinner by the two FA's working upstairs. Turns out they're husband and wife, and the wife just might have held the record for world's longest commute for many years when she was based in NRT but lived near EWR!

Here's a course of the Japanese dinner:


And the main course of the #murican dinner:


And the signature United BusinessFirst sundae for dessert:


After dessert, it was time to use the IFE to watch Amy Schumer's HBO special, and then time for some ZZZs. I slept 3 hours or so on this flight which is probably more than any other flight I've ever been on.

After waking up, we had a breakfast service (United advertises the meal on this flight as "Dinner" but the breakfast, with an omelette, is quite substantial too!) and soon after we were on our descent into Chicago:


After landing in Chicago we went through Customs and Immigration, which was pleasantly fast. The new scanner/machine-based system at ORD (IAD has this too) makes re-entry a breeze compared to the previous hour-long waits in line, especially when you can't use a phone to text whoever may be meeting you on the other side. The Customs agent was a bit surprised we were returning from a vacation in GUM, as he only has seen people on business or military travel come in from a NRT transit after originating a trip in GUM.

Re-checking our bags post-Customs was a breeze as well, and thanks to an early arrival, we had just enough time to enjoy the United Club in ORD for one last lounge on our adventure:


And then it was off for the final leg of our trip: ORD-DCA in F on one of United's newest birds, a United Express E175. Our seats had the latest F design, which we found comfortable for a short hop like ORD-DCA:


However, the REAL highlight on our flight home ORD-DCA was our exceptional FA in F. She found a way to turn almost any passenger interaction with anyone in her cabin, no matter how small, into a positive one, anticipated every need, and seemed to have a smile the entire time. Her attitude set a positive atmosphere across the entire F cabin for the entire flight. We wrote United corporate after the flight to commend her as this was a phenomenal level of customer service.

Arrival into DCA was on-time, although getting our bags took a little while as the screens did not show which carousel they would arrive into. We were glad to be home, but even happier to have had such a spectacular two weeks in paradise, both on the ground and in the air.

GoAmtrak

Great report, my friend! Felt like I was right there with you guys. ^ That 747 photo at NRT is stunning. I also find it ironic that the exceptional FA wasn't even a United employee.