TL;DR: If you have a choice sit on the left side row 10A or forward. Right side OK if you can't get left side.

For those of you that don't know, UA runs a very unusual operation between GUM and HNL -- there's a non-stop on the 777, but there's also a 14.5 hour 737 flight that goes through the Federated States of Micronesia... stopping at Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk.

One might think you're crazy to fly for 14.5 hours in a 737 instead of 8 hours in a 777, but lots of flyertalkers do it. There's even an FT DO later this year to ride the Island Hopper. Right now there are 30 people interested.

The normal TRs have pretty much covered the experience, but when I went the one thing I couldn't find was detailed information on where to sit, especially going Island to Island, for the best views.

So I talked took detailed notes and put it all together. Here's my 'where to sit' TR.

This assumes you're going eastbound, which is the direction you want to go (since it's entirely in daylight). Which side has the really good views depends on which way you land ( e.g. which way the winds are blowing ), so I've tried to provide some detail in case you want to bug the pilots and then switch to an empty seat at the last minute.

HNL->MAJ. Right side. Depending on which way you take off from HNL, you'll get great views of Oahu. As you head southeast, Kauai is also off the right side. Arriving in MAJ is a bit of a crapshoot. The runway is roughly east/west, at the south end of the atoll. So if you land to the east, you won't have great views going in, but you'll get stunning views going out. If you land to the west, you'll have great views of the main part of the island coming in, and great views of the outer islands going out.

MAJ->KWA. Right side. You'll get great views of MAJ going out, no matter what direction you take off. If you land to the west at KWA, you'll see Kwaj & Ebeye on final. If you land to the east, they'll likely fly you around the south end of the island before making the 180* turn eastbound, so you'll get a fantastic view of the whole atoll.

KWA->KOR. Left side. If you takeoff to the east, you'll have an amazing view of Kwaj and Ebeye on the left as you leave. The right side isn't bad here either, because you get a great view of the entire atoll as you climb out. It's the largest coral atoll in the world, so it deserves to be seen from the air. If you takeoff to the west, the left side is pretty bad.... you get to see the army golf course and then the water. Landing on Korase however, the left is probably your best bet. The airport is at the north end of the island, so you'll either have the island off your left as you land (landing to the east) or you'll see it as you descend before making the turn to the west.

KOR->PNI. Left side. Since the airport is on the north side of the island, you're guaranteed to get a good view on climbout, either immediately (westerly takeoff) or after the turn ( takeoff to the east ). PNI's airport is also on the north end of the island, so you have the same setup: a left side window gets you either the island as you land, or the island on descent.

PNI->TRK. Left side. Another airport at the north end of its island, so same deal as KOR and PNI. Great views on the left either on final, or on descent before making the 180* turn.

TRK->GUM. Left side. With the TRK airport on the north end, you get good views either departing or in the turn. The GUM airport is in the middle of the island, so you get good views landing regardless.

OTHER NOTES

Check Seatguru You ideally want to be either forward of the wing, or far behind the wing. However, on some of the planes they use, 11A doesn't have a window at all ( 11F does ). I would avoid 11A just in case they switch planes on you at the last minute. I would say 'behind the wing' really starts about row 28, and farther back is better.

If you're thinking about doing this 'just for fun', think carefully. I'm glad I did the entire route, but I was also actually going to micronesia (so I stopped half way through). If you're doing it as part of some crazy routing, you may want to look into non-stops. This is a LONG flight...it feels a lot longer than its 14.5hrs given that you're constantly stowing your gear, putting your tray table & seatback up, landing, getting off the plane, getting back on the plane, and taking off again. I'm not saying don't do it... just know what you're getting into.

They'll let you off the plane at each stop, and you can go to the transit area. Highly recommended, if only to stretch your legs. Most of the islands have folks selling handmade jewelry and things, and by western standards its very cheap. I bought an X-mas ornament at each stop, so every Christmas I'll remember the flight.

Bring food. This flight has the unique distinction of being the only flight in the United system (I think) where they serve three meals in coach. However, 'meals' is a bit of a misnomer... 'breakfast', served out of HNL, is sausage and some eggs, or french toast, along with a little bit of fruit. 'Lunch', served out of KWA, is a small turkey and cheese sandwich with some fruit and a piece of chocolate. 'Dinner' is the same sandwich as lunch, minus the fruit. You'll get hungry, and while there are food places in every terminal but TRK, the offerings are meager. That being said, stop and get the fish jerky from the stand in MAJ.

If you want to make every stop, don't go on Wednesday. They skip Korase on Wednesday ( actually Thurs in Korase, but the flight leaves HNL on Wednesday before crossing the date line)