Originally Posted by
DELee
Uh, there's an awful lot to unpack in your post.
If a flight is delayed or cancelled - are you referring to the whole flight between HNL-South Pacific Islands-GUM? Or if the flight you're on between islands is delayed or cancelled? If you've read upthread, then either can and has happened - that's partly why each flight has a mechanic onboard as part of the crew complement. Generally, you can work with UA to rebook the next available flight but even pre-pandemic you're not guaranteed the next flight simply because of how often the planes flew the route.
Is it very likely the case - uh, no. Historically, again reading this thread, UA needs the planes to fly since that's how they make money.
Glad you want to experience the Island Hopper - many FlyerTalkers do as well.
You don't want to get stuck on an island when your destination is Guam - then I'd advise to skip the Island Hopper and fly directly to GUM if that's what you want to do.
David
This is just one persons opinion, so take it with the proverbial grain of salt:
Having taken the island hopper on about 40 separate segments in 2018-2019 plus hops to Yap, Palau and Manila. The only IROPS I remember experiencing is once the flight out of KWA was overbooked and they were offering a couple $3,000 travel certificates to bump folks. Another time they missed the landing at TKK (bad weather, only tried once) and continued to GUM (my destination). As far as I know everyone going to TKK was put on the eastbound hopper the next morning and the next westbound hopper had to pick up 2x the usual pax.
The way I figure, if you have a HNL to GUM ticket on the hopper with no real layovers then you’re essentially attached to that aircraft. United would much rather have their aircraft on HNL or GUM than any of the hops along the way, so if anything happens, they’re gonna do what they can to get the plane (i.e. you) to one of those two locations rather than leave it at a stop along the way. I’d think you’re pretty safe. If you have a “change planes” layover, you roll the dice, I think your chances are good that everything will go off as scheduled, but keep in mind all these little stops revolve around the hopper. If your outbound plane doesn’t arrive, that likely means that the hotel will have an open room for you because of it.