Originally Posted by
JetSetDave
Have you completed this itinerary, if so, what was your overall experience? I am contemplating a similar itinerary back to HNL when I return from Papua New Guinea and Australia. However, I read a few reports on TripAdvisor that some passengers didn't receive their luggage until 1.5 days later on Polynesian Airlines from FGI to PPG. Cant imagine missing the twice weekly flight to HNL due to delayed luggage.
Yes, I did. It was a fantastic trip! It is a little risky to count on inter-island travel schedules in this part of the world. I was lucky that everything in my itinerary was pretty much on schedule. It is smart to build some wiggle room into your schedule if you can. I wouldn't plan on flying HNL- PPG the day after you arrive in PPG for example. I'd give yourself at least 2 nights in PPG.
The HNL-PPG flight was a full red-eye on a very very old 767, so not much to write home about. But, the ability to see Samoa and American Samoa on my way to HNL was worth every hassle.
There are several flights a day FGI-PPG on two airlines. I took Talofa, which is the smaller airline, and the operations left a lot to be desired... but that's kind of how it is in the Pacific ("Island Time"). I got my luggage and we were only delayed about 90 minutes, it was fine. I don't know how booked these flights tend to be, but it certainly seems like there are some options if a flight gets delayed or canceled, or luggage is delayed. Of course, if there are weather problems, there might be no flights for a long period of time.