I enjoy flights that are geographically interesting. For a long time, I've been wondering what the longest route within the US is.. so I did a little research, and came up with this: Saipan to Puerto Rico.
My route for today, Maps generated by the
Great Circle Mapper - copyright ©
Karl L. Swartz.
And whom better to take this trip on, than my beloved United Airlines (don't forget to imagine my cough when I said "beloved").
The itinerary, which cost me my first child's college education, is as follows:
The craziest US-domestic route I could think of
Five flights, 48 hours of travel, and 9,872 miles - here we go!
Flight #1: Saipan to Guam, both of which are US territories in the western Pacific ocean. In fact, we are just over 3 hours from Manila, vs. 11+ hours to the US mainland. UA117 only took 30 minutes in the air, and we reached a cruising altitude of 18,000 feet on a 737.
Full of positive vibes while boarding UA117 from SPN to GUM
Next, it's time for a 22 hour layover in Guam - I tried to avoid this, but flights on these islands are scarce, and beggars can't be choosers. So I booked the Days Inn by Wyndham, about a 20 minute walk from the airport for the night (a very sweaty walk, as I would later find out).
I walked around the beach and main strip of hotels, but not much going on here - few people around, and many stores & restaurants permanently / temporarily closed (effects of Covid, I suppose).
Beautiful Guam
Next morning - flight #2 at 8:30am, the highlight of aviation in Guam - a Boeing 777 serves United's flight 200 to Honolulu. And this flight was packed down to the last seat.
UA200: A 777 from GUM to HNL
This flight took 7 hours, and to my utter shock, we got served breakfast! Whaaaat?
Free food on United - what craziness is this?
We crossed the international date line, and landed in Hawaii one before departing from Guam - cooool, this is the flight I want to take January 1st, in order to celebrate NYE twice.
My layover in Honolulu was chaotic - my checked bag took an eternity (I had to take it through customs, but no immigration check), and finding the right terminal for my connecting flight was non-intuitive. To make up for it, the United Club lounge was decent. Though after not having been to a lounge at either SPN or GUM (all closed), my standard was low.
United Club Lounge at HNL
Next, UA534 from HNL to LAX took 4 hours and 15 minutes on another 777 and was entirely uneventful. I slept the majority of the flight.
4 hours of sleep on this route
Alright, who's ready for a layover at LAX (me, me, me)! I can't pinpoint what it is, but I always love being at LAX. Maybe it's the memories I have here, maybe it's the great lounges, I don't know exactly what, but let me transit at LAX, and I'm a happy camper.
Does anybody know why the United Club lounge here (near gate 71A) serves so much better food and more variety than the vast majority of other Club Lounges in the US? It's not a Polaris lounge, otherwise I wouldn't even be able to get in (I'm using SQ Gold status to access the lounge).
Breakfast at the LAX United Club Lounge - love it!
Flight #4 was probably the most boring of the five; a regular US mainland flight between two United hubs - LAX to IAH. Consequently, I slept for the entire flight, even if those United economy seats don't make for the most comfortable sleep (not complaining, it can get a lot worse).
My quick hop into the Club Lounge at IAH was disappointing (compared to LAX), and I was only let in after a long back-and-forth with the lounge attendant whether I was entitled to enter. Long story short: she stated I cannot enter, since I am collecting miles for this flight on my UA account (where I only have silver), not the SQ account where I have gold.
And last but not least UA335: just under 4 hours from Houston to San Juan. By this time, my sleepiness had really caught up with me, and I have very little memories of the flight. I probably ate those United Biscoff cookies, and at some point we landed in San Juan.
Finally: UA335 from IAH to SJU
There we go - I made it! 5 flights in United economy, I am surprised I could still walk.
How do I feel about United? Well... I haven't flown them since I moved to Singapore four years ago, and SQ has become my status quo. Taking 5 flights with United made me realize how spoiled I've become, to the point where I would even complain about SQ.... nope, not anymore! I've seen the bottom of the barrel, and will appreciate the loving SQ service once again.
I'm partially kidding here, United wasn't all that bad. You can sink lower. The United planes were nice, flights were on time, no cockroaches onboard, lounges were good... it's just the attitude of service that has room for improvement.
Complaining is human nature... But all in all, I had a great trip! I traveled from almost-Asia but the US, to the Caribbean US, 5 United domestic flights.
What interesting routes have you taken? Looking for fun ideas for another day.
p.s. for those interested, here is my video report of this trip:
Cheers