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UA - LAX-SFO-HIKA-Guam and return via UA Pacific Islands $442 <2.8cps

Old Nov 1, 2017, 8:01 pm
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Last edit by: johnnywho
The fare allows you to travel on the island hopper (UA132/133) westbound and/or eastbound. HKG or MNL are both possible turnarounds and the fare is combinable with NH either way.

Who are going for this run?

UA132
  • Jan 19: westleyl, jayhawk17
  • Mar 18: Mateuszz
  • Mar 31: johnnywho,jetsflier

UA133
  • Jan 21: westleyl, jayhawk17
  • Feb 4: Spectre17, daisyatl
  • Apr 1: johnnywho, jetsflier
  • May 13: sexykitten7
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UA - LAX-SFO-HIKA-Guam and return via UA Pacific Islands $442 <2.8cps

Old Nov 10, 2017, 1:00 am
  #76  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 164
Originally Posted by wkndflyr
Try this itinerary with the westbound Hopper for $649 pp, play around with it in GF to price out other options as you wish (copy and paste-append to a Google Flights search query, the part after /flights/#search; )

Code:
iti=LAX,SFO_HNL_2018-03-17*HNL_GUM_2018-03-18*GUM_HKG_2018-03-19*HKG_LAX,SFO_2018-03-20;tt=m;sel=LAXHNL0UA1170,HNLMAJ0UA132-MAJPNI1UA132-PNITKK1UA132-TKKGUM1UA132,GUMHKG0UA159,HKGNRT0NH812-NRTLAX0UA33;eo=e
For a bit more WiFi along the way (no WiFi on the Hopper), this itinerary is $670 pp (copy and paste-append to a Google Flights search query, the part after /flights/#search; )
Code:
iti=LAX,SFO_HNL_2018-03-17*HNL_GUM_2018-03-18*GUM_HKG_2018-03-19*HKG_LAX,SFO_2018-03-20;tt=m;sel=LAXHNL0UA1158,HNLMAJ0UA132-MAJPNI1UA132-PNITKK1UA132-TKKGUM1UA132,GUMHKG0UA159,HKGSFO0UA862-SFOLAX0UA256;eo=e
It is amazing! Any chance to make this route one day later?
Mateuszz is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2017, 4:39 pm
  #77  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: ORD
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, Bonvoyed Gold
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by Mateuszz
It is amazing! Any chance to make this route one day later?
Not the Hopper part. From what I could determine, only UA132/UA133 trigger this low fare, and those two are only scheduled to run on Sundays as of this writing.

You can extend the Hong Kong stop by another day, and depart HKG on March 21 instead of March 20 for $689pp (copy and paste-append to a Google Flights search query, the part after /flights/#search; )

Code:
r=OW;iti=LAX,SFO_HNL_2018-03-17*HNL_GUM_2018-03-18*GUM_HKG_2018-03-19*HKG_LAX,SFO_2018-03-21;tt=m;sel=LAXHNL0UA1170,HNLMAJ0UA132-MAJPNI1UA132-PNITKK1UA132-TKKGUM1UA132,GUMHKG0UA159,HKGSFO0UA862-SFOLAX0UA256;eo=e
wkndflyr is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2017, 4:43 pm
  #78  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 164
I'm afraid I can not do it. I arrive at JFK by 10 am on March 17. Big risk.
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Old Nov 12, 2017, 6:01 pm
  #79  
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Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Programs: Frontier Gold, DL estranged 1MMer, Spirit VIP, CO/NW/UA/AA once gold/plat/comped gold now dust.
Posts: 37,813
Originally Posted by wkndflyr
Question for those who have flown the Hopper or considered it: how much am I missing by not getting to see Kosrae and Kwajalein?

With Kwajalein not allowing general pax like me without permission to disembark there or photograph there, it comes down to Kosrae which only gets visited two days per week if I understand correctly. UA133 and UA132 seem to be new routes as of January 2018, so I’ll have to return to this thread in January to find out whether the onboard experience is different on the three-stop versus UA154/UA155.

For this Hopper rookie, who may or may not get to redo this trip via the full five-stopper (depends on money, miles and vacation time plus job/family/life), I figure a partial Hopper experience is better than not getting to experience any Hopper at all. Plus, I booked it for Labor Day weekend, and the holiday allows me to take one fewer vacation day from work for the voyage.

I booked it for the joy of flying and a for a little aerial photography, and the three-stopper should provide much of that, I think
KWA is a bit like MAJ from the air, in that the Marshalls are an an atoll nation and uniquely suited to the purpose of being an ABM test site and giant catcher's mitt. The Marshalls are highly endangered from sea level rise and may not be there in 50 years (with people evacuated to Hawaii), so getting there could make for a story for the grandkids. With KWA the stop is no fun, but maybe if you're eagle-eyed and on the side of the plane to do it, you could also see Ebeye. When I went the bridges to try to relieve overcrowding there were still new.

Kosrae has the sleeping giant and an interesting ruins complex, but as I remember the airport is on a strip along the edge with a tiny terminal. I did go there once to stay 3 days...the people are friendly but also (at least then) not that aware of the outside world. Maybe 11 years of more Internet has changed that.

Others may have a different take, but when I first went in the late 90s with CO (and before going back to visit the places), I thought MAJ and PNI were the best stops.
johnnywho and wkndflyr like this.
RustyC is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2017, 7:47 pm
  #80  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: ORD
Programs: AA Plat, UA Silver, Bonvoyed Gold
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by RustyC
KWA is a bit like MAJ from the air, in that the Marshalls are an an atoll nation and uniquely suited to the purpose of being an ABM test site and giant catcher's mitt. The Marshalls are highly endangered from sea level rise and may not be there in 50 years (with people evacuated to Hawaii), so getting there could make for a story for the grandkids. With KWA the stop is no fun, but maybe if you're eagle-eyed and on the side of the plane to do it, you could also see Ebeye. When I went the bridges to try to relieve overcrowding there were still new.

Kosrae has the sleeping giant and an interesting ruins complex, but as I remember the airport is on a strip along the edge with a tiny terminal. I did go there once to stay 3 days...the people are friendly but also (at least then) not that aware of the outside world. Maybe 11 years of more Internet has changed that.

Others may have a different take, but when I first went in the late 90s with CO (and before going back to visit the places), I thought MAJ and PNI were the best stops.
Thank you for your feedback and for sharing your experience!

I'm looking forward to traveler reports from the new three-stop Hopper when it begins flying in January. I've been reading the big Micronesia thread and it seems like UA154/UA155 tend to run a bit late - sometimes late enough that transiting passengers are asked to remain onboard at KSA. Perhaps having fewer scheduled stops will keep these new Hoppers on-time, which would be a plus.

It will be interesting to hear whether UA133 is less crowded than UA155 since 133 doesn't stop at KWA, and likewise for the westbound counterparts. As an eastbound traveler, it'll be nice to arrive in MAJ an hour and a half earlier on 133 versus 155; if the flight is on-time we'll be able to see the atoll in daylight.
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Old Nov 18, 2017, 5:05 am
  #81  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: MUC
Programs: A3 *Gold, AA Plat, AB Plat, Hilton Dia
Posts: 272
throw away the last segment

Originally Posted by notsosmart
The fact that UA doesn't allow HNL stopovers on these GUM fares is infuriating. I guess you can throw away the last segment, and then buy a separate o/w fare to LAX, but that sort of defeats the purpose.
I read somewhere that you should check in your luggage (and only keep a small piece of hand luggage) or otherwise it would be a hassle because you have to go through security numerous times.

What happens, if one wanted to throw away the last segment. Wouldn't the luggage be checked through all the way to LAX?
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Old Nov 18, 2017, 5:24 am
  #82  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 164
I booked it finally. HKG-LAX set for September, will be useful for another RTW Thanks guys!
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Mateuszz is offline  
Old Nov 18, 2017, 6:25 pm
  #83  
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Originally Posted by Mateuszz
I booked it finally. HKG-LAX set for September, will be useful for another RTW Thanks guys!
What price did you get and what itin? I'm looking at it around that time too.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 3:01 am
  #84  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 164
Please take a look here: https://www.google.com/flights/?curr...9-17;tt=m;eo=e
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 5:19 am
  #85  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: HEL
Programs: *G, used to be with TK but left due to their corruption and political ties
Posts: 4,394
Flight cancelled

Just noticed that the island hopper has been cancelled on my day and I've been transferred to the direct B777 HNL-GUM. I haven't checked my alternatives yet, anyone else had this schedule change?
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 8:58 am
  #86  
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Posts: 2,097
Originally Posted by Gnopps
Just noticed that the island hopper has been cancelled on my day and I've been transferred to the direct B777 HNL-GUM. I haven't checked my alternatives yet, anyone else had this schedule change?
Thanks for the heads up. They did the same thing to me on my March 4 HNL-GUM. Now I get to spend exactly 50 minutes on the ground in GUM and miss the 3 islands I wanted to see. Wonder if they will give a cash refund?
dogcanyon is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2017, 9:37 am
  #87  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 47
Originally Posted by Gnopps
Just noticed that the island hopper has been cancelled on my day and I've been transferred to the direct B777 HNL-GUM. I haven't checked my alternatives yet, anyone else had this schedule change?
Interesting. My island hopper on April 1 appears to be unchanged at this time. I'll definitely be checking on it a lot now though. Mine is the eastbound hopper, so perhaps that's why.
jetsflier is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2017, 1:48 pm
  #88  
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Posts: 2,097
It looks like all of the 2018 Sunday 3 stop island hopper flights (both eastbound and westbound) before March 25 have been cancelled.
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Old Nov 20, 2017, 3:44 am
  #89  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 164
I just refund ticket without problem.
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Old Nov 20, 2017, 8:51 am
  #90  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: HAM
Posts: 1
Originally Posted by dogcanyon
It looks like all of the 2018 Sunday 3 stop island hopper flights (both eastbound and westbound) before March 25 have been cancelled.
Yes, I Was on UA132 on 11th of March from HNL to GUM via the islands. And just got a Schedule Change and am now booked on UA201 going directly to Guam some hours later and then connecting to HKG

For those who were allready in the call-center. Any chance here to have something special routing-wise as a goodwill from UA (like maybe a short stay in Guam.. Or maybe a short stay in HNL I'm well aware that the fare was cheap and it's Booking Class K but so far I was impressed with UA and their 24hrs rule and their german Hotline. But I guess everything would kill the fare..)

I have a Award Ticket HKG-FRA-HKG with a 30 day stay and am based in Germany. And the Island Hopper and the fare gave me the idea to make two short RTW Trips out of this one. so i was only lacking a return ticket from Germany to LAX. But w/o the Island Hopper I'm not sure if it's worth it

thanks in advance. also for the OP for posting this.

Last edited by derherrimmerhin; Nov 20, 2017 at 8:59 am Reason: added a thanks. and stuff.
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