Jun 30, 2016, 1:45 pm
Last edit by: thejaredhuang
Best seat advice
See update in post 500
See update in post 690
Best seat on the Island Hopper .. {closed to new posts}
An Island Hopper [Micronesia] Definitive Guide on Where to Sit [UA B737] {this thread}
FAQs derived from findark's post (post #500)
What is the Island Hopper?
The Island Hopper is a United route between Honolulu and Guam, stopping at the islands of Majuro, Kwajaelin, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Chuuk in between. The Island Hopper operates in both directions, and skips Pohnpei on certain days. You are allowed to get off the plane and "transit" at each stop except for Kwajaelin, which is a US Army base.
This route is similar to Alaska Airlines' "milk run" routes in rural Alaska. All of these routes serve as lifelines for the residents living in areas served by the routes, as the sole connection providing supplies and transportation to/from the rest of the world.
What is the Island Hopper schedule (as of 1/14/19)?
UA154 (the full Hopper) departs HNL Mon/Fri and flies HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM.
The shorter UA154 flies from HNL on Wed and does HNL-MAJ-KWA-PNI-TKK-GUM (skips KSA).
UA132 departs Sun and flies HNL-MAJ-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM (skips KWA).
UA193 (GUM-ROR-MNL)departs GUM on the evenings of Tue/Fri and flies GUM-ROR-MNL.
The Hopper arrives around 1800+1, so in order to do the entire flight without a stopover you would need to depart HNL on UA154 on Monday morning.
Should I experience the Hopper?
If you like hopping through short segments, with beautiful island views, as well as a constant parade of amazing cloudscape between islands, the Island Hopper may be for you!
Which direction (west or east) is better?
The prevailing wisdom here seems to be in favor of taking UA154 (HNL-GUM). findark did 155 from GUM to HNL, and I think there were some overlooked benefits. The eastbound Hopper has the advantage of doing all the fun stuff in the morning and afternoon when you're fresh and eager to enjoy. 14 hours onboard a 737 is a long time*, and doing it eastbound you can give in to the exhaustion and conk out for the final MAJ-HNL segment. Even the HNL arrival was actually not too bad - it's only 10:50pm Guam time, so if you head on to a hotel you're pretty much in line for a night's sleep.
The most notable downside of taking the Hopper eastbound is that you visit MAJ in darkness. We ran about 25m late the whole way, and it was full dark by the time we touched down in MAJ. Whichever way you go, don't do it on a Wednesday! Kosrae was my favorite island, and it would be a shame to miss it.
*And, I learned, while the flight mechanic hops off in MAJ and the pilots get to work in shifts, the cabin crew are on duty for the whole 14 hours. They were understandably a bit burnt out by the middle of MAJ-HNL, but were simply outstanding nonetheless - greeting kids and handing out wings as they boarded in MAJ.
What's with the plane configuration?
The Hopper is currently flown by a GUM subfleet 737-800 (currently Version 4 on the United website - Row 1 is set back several inches which yields fewer E+ seats). The seatmap is loaded as the "Asia local" 737 map, which looks roughly like a 737-700. Like with other "generic" maps, it will update to the full seatmap about 4 days before departure, when the additional rows will appear.
1AB are blocked for the augmented flight crew, who change places with the pilots in the cockpit at MAJ. 2AB are also blocked because the crew rest seats at 1AB will recline until almost touching row 2, and it is usually used for crew storage.
Where should I sit?
The key here is understanding approach and wind patterns, along with each airport's runway configuration. The following stops and runways are on the north side of their respective islands:
TKK (4/22), PNI (9/27), KSA (5/23)
The following stops have runways on the south side of their atolls:
KWA (6/24), MAJ (7/25)
The prevailing winds at this latitude blow from the east, so a typical landing goes from west to east (into the wind). Therefore, in order to have best views on final approach and initial takeoff, you want to be on the starboard (right, F) side for TKK, PNI, and KSA, and on the port (left, A) side for KWA and MAJ. If you are flying westbound, or you land backwards at any stop on the eastbound flight, then the flight may need to position into the approach, usually by overflying the island at higher altitude out to sea. In this case, both sides of the aircraft will get views, although the closer views belong to the "correct" side. In my case, we landed "backwards" on 22 at TKK, and used the regular 9, 5, 6, and 7 at the other stops.
You should absolutely have a window seat - why else are you here?! The best seats are therefore any window in the Business cabin (note that 1A and 2A are blocked), 7AF and 8AF in Economy Plus (10AF has a misaligned window but is okay, the missing window will kill you in 11 and then the wing really starts intruding), and anything nice and far behind the wing in Economy. In this vein, I declined an upgrade on GUM-TKK since only 2E was left, and we flew in 4A/7F, 2F/4A, 2F/3F, 3A/4A, 3A/4A, 2F/7F.
What can I do at the stops?
The best thing to do is get off the plane! You can take tarmac photos and get amazing close-ups of the plane. You will then be shepherded into the gate area, where there are restrooms (some lacking soap and/or towels) and often locals selling souvenirs and snacks. On our trip, the most substantial souvenirs were available at MAJ. If the flight is running late they will make an announcement requesting transfer pax to stay on the plane; however, as obviously savvy travelers who were along for the whole ride and could get on/off quickly with no bags to stow, we got absolutely no pushback from the purser whenever we went outside anyway.
If you do disembark, you are required to take all carry-on baggage with you. They conduct a security sweep onboard the aircraft and will remove unclaimed bags. As is mentioned many times in this thread, KWA is the exception - as it's a US Army base you cannot get off unless ticketed to there. On our flight, we were requested not to take photographs but were allowed to look out the window. I didn't see anything terribly interesting.
You can also use WiFi in the terminal/transit area when you disembark and at some stops you can get your passport stamped. MAJ, PNI, and KSA have confirmed free WiFi. Passport stamps have been confirmed at PNI, KSA, TKK without "exiting" just ask security about getting a stamp at these 3 airports and they should be able to accommodate you.
Should I check my bags?
Yes. As annoying as it was to wait ~10 minutes for our bags in HNL, it was a lot less annoying than having to haul them around each stop, and find bin space again once on board.
What is the food situation?
Going east is a slightly different meal schedule than west. GUM-TKK and KSA-KWA are coded Snack, and MAJ-HNL is Dinner. The first and last meals are reasonably substantial in J (think like a Breakfast and Dinner code) and somewhat small in Y (somewhat less than a meal in int'l Y - was six pieces of fruit and a muffin in the morning, followed by a turkey sandwich for dinner). The middle snack was just a pass of the snack basket up front; neither of us sat in Y that segment but I would guess they just offered almonds. Additionally, every segment they were offering J pax some packaged almonds.
My general verdict is if going the distance in Y, pack some snacks or buy them at the stops along the way. If you're in J then there's enough food for 14 hours of sitting.
And how about IFE?
Look outside! That's actually about all the IFE there is. The GUM fleet has no WiFi and only DirecTV. Note that DirecTV does not work outside of CONUS, so really it just has the 8-10 looping movies of DirecTV (slightly different movie set for an Asian audience). The movie loop resets at each stop, so unless you want to watch the first 1h30 of a movie six times, there's not much use to the IFE. It is at least free in Y. I brought a book and read it for the middle 20 minutes of each segment and until I fell sleep on MAJ-HNL.
Can I get an upgrade on the Hopper?
Empirically, yes! We were offered upgrades of 11/12 eligible segments; I declined a GUM-TKK upgrade to keep my window, and my companion's MAJ-HNL upgrade was eaten by UA IT (agent in MAJ apologized profusely but understandably wasn't going to remove the already-handed-out upgrades to the next 2 pax on the list).
In order to have any shot, however, you need to be able to split the direct flight into six segments. This generally cannot be done on a mileage ticket or a paid through fare, and would need to be done via multi-city ticketing if visiting an island. In my case, I spent a very long time getting an extremely wonderful pmCO agent who was able to hack my ticket together with 9 connections on the way home. As this is also the only way to choose different views for the different approach directions, I recommend asking for this rather than for upgrades. It causes quite the headache for UA systems, but in the end I felt like it was a huge benefit to fly pretty much all of it in J. Absolutely something I credit to the value of being 1K: I was able to ring the 1K desk many times to get agents to deal with the various hiccups that came along with a PNR that had eight tickets and at one point 36 segments attached to it.
The first five Hopper segments (going east) are CPU eligible; MAJ/HNL requires a GPU. We had GPUs on our reservation and did a mixture of advance clearing and clearing at the gates in the islands (where amazingly enough they had the new J BPs waiting!).
Where to stay and what to do in GUM and HNL?
I think this depends on lot on which way you're going. Flying east, we arrived in GUM around 11pm (maximizing time in Tokyo, but not crazy enough for the 2am arrival), and spent the night at the Days Inn Tamuning. It was at the very bottom of my quality standards, but quite affordable and with 9h45 of total ground time all in the dark I did not want to pay double for a beachfront property I would never enjoy.
In HNL, I took up the excellent recommendation in this thread of the Best Western Plaza Honolulu. It was the cheapest of the few airport hotels in HNL. Having cleared customs by 3:45 (we arrived late), it was off to bed quickly. The arrival is only ~11pm Guam time, so I highly recommend going straight to a bed on arrival in HNL. Afterwards, we took advantage of the 24h connect rule to spend the whole day in HNL before continuing on home to SFO. We were pretty exhausted after another redeye home, but the beach time in Hawaii was well worth it, especially after being taunted by all the beautiful mid-Pacific islands.
Big Metal Bird Episode 8: Island Hopper - 2018
See update in post 500
See update in post 690
Best seat on the Island Hopper .. {closed to new posts}
An Island Hopper [Micronesia] Definitive Guide on Where to Sit [UA B737] {this thread}
FAQs derived from findark's post (post #500)
What is the Island Hopper?
The Island Hopper is a United route between Honolulu and Guam, stopping at the islands of Majuro, Kwajaelin, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Chuuk in between. The Island Hopper operates in both directions, and skips Pohnpei on certain days. You are allowed to get off the plane and "transit" at each stop except for Kwajaelin, which is a US Army base.
This route is similar to Alaska Airlines' "milk run" routes in rural Alaska. All of these routes serve as lifelines for the residents living in areas served by the routes, as the sole connection providing supplies and transportation to/from the rest of the world.
What is the Island Hopper schedule (as of 1/14/19)?
UA154 (the full Hopper) departs HNL Mon/Fri and flies HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM.
The shorter UA154 flies from HNL on Wed and does HNL-MAJ-KWA-PNI-TKK-GUM (skips KSA).
UA132 departs Sun and flies HNL-MAJ-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM (skips KWA).
UA193 (GUM-ROR-MNL)departs GUM on the evenings of Tue/Fri and flies GUM-ROR-MNL.
The Hopper arrives around 1800+1, so in order to do the entire flight without a stopover you would need to depart HNL on UA154 on Monday morning.
Should I experience the Hopper?
If you like hopping through short segments, with beautiful island views, as well as a constant parade of amazing cloudscape between islands, the Island Hopper may be for you!
Which direction (west or east) is better?
The prevailing wisdom here seems to be in favor of taking UA154 (HNL-GUM). findark did 155 from GUM to HNL, and I think there were some overlooked benefits. The eastbound Hopper has the advantage of doing all the fun stuff in the morning and afternoon when you're fresh and eager to enjoy. 14 hours onboard a 737 is a long time*, and doing it eastbound you can give in to the exhaustion and conk out for the final MAJ-HNL segment. Even the HNL arrival was actually not too bad - it's only 10:50pm Guam time, so if you head on to a hotel you're pretty much in line for a night's sleep.
The most notable downside of taking the Hopper eastbound is that you visit MAJ in darkness. We ran about 25m late the whole way, and it was full dark by the time we touched down in MAJ. Whichever way you go, don't do it on a Wednesday! Kosrae was my favorite island, and it would be a shame to miss it.
*And, I learned, while the flight mechanic hops off in MAJ and the pilots get to work in shifts, the cabin crew are on duty for the whole 14 hours. They were understandably a bit burnt out by the middle of MAJ-HNL, but were simply outstanding nonetheless - greeting kids and handing out wings as they boarded in MAJ.
What's with the plane configuration?
The Hopper is currently flown by a GUM subfleet 737-800 (currently Version 4 on the United website - Row 1 is set back several inches which yields fewer E+ seats). The seatmap is loaded as the "Asia local" 737 map, which looks roughly like a 737-700. Like with other "generic" maps, it will update to the full seatmap about 4 days before departure, when the additional rows will appear.
1AB are blocked for the augmented flight crew, who change places with the pilots in the cockpit at MAJ. 2AB are also blocked because the crew rest seats at 1AB will recline until almost touching row 2, and it is usually used for crew storage.
Where should I sit?
The key here is understanding approach and wind patterns, along with each airport's runway configuration. The following stops and runways are on the north side of their respective islands:
TKK (4/22), PNI (9/27), KSA (5/23)
The following stops have runways on the south side of their atolls:
KWA (6/24), MAJ (7/25)
The prevailing winds at this latitude blow from the east, so a typical landing goes from west to east (into the wind). Therefore, in order to have best views on final approach and initial takeoff, you want to be on the starboard (right, F) side for TKK, PNI, and KSA, and on the port (left, A) side for KWA and MAJ. If you are flying westbound, or you land backwards at any stop on the eastbound flight, then the flight may need to position into the approach, usually by overflying the island at higher altitude out to sea. In this case, both sides of the aircraft will get views, although the closer views belong to the "correct" side. In my case, we landed "backwards" on 22 at TKK, and used the regular 9, 5, 6, and 7 at the other stops.
You should absolutely have a window seat - why else are you here?! The best seats are therefore any window in the Business cabin (note that 1A and 2A are blocked), 7AF and 8AF in Economy Plus (10AF has a misaligned window but is okay, the missing window will kill you in 11 and then the wing really starts intruding), and anything nice and far behind the wing in Economy. In this vein, I declined an upgrade on GUM-TKK since only 2E was left, and we flew in 4A/7F, 2F/4A, 2F/3F, 3A/4A, 3A/4A, 2F/7F.
What can I do at the stops?
The best thing to do is get off the plane! You can take tarmac photos and get amazing close-ups of the plane. You will then be shepherded into the gate area, where there are restrooms (some lacking soap and/or towels) and often locals selling souvenirs and snacks. On our trip, the most substantial souvenirs were available at MAJ. If the flight is running late they will make an announcement requesting transfer pax to stay on the plane; however, as obviously savvy travelers who were along for the whole ride and could get on/off quickly with no bags to stow, we got absolutely no pushback from the purser whenever we went outside anyway.
If you do disembark, you are required to take all carry-on baggage with you. They conduct a security sweep onboard the aircraft and will remove unclaimed bags. As is mentioned many times in this thread, KWA is the exception - as it's a US Army base you cannot get off unless ticketed to there. On our flight, we were requested not to take photographs but were allowed to look out the window. I didn't see anything terribly interesting.
You can also use WiFi in the terminal/transit area when you disembark and at some stops you can get your passport stamped. MAJ, PNI, and KSA have confirmed free WiFi. Passport stamps have been confirmed at PNI, KSA, TKK without "exiting" just ask security about getting a stamp at these 3 airports and they should be able to accommodate you.
Should I check my bags?
Yes. As annoying as it was to wait ~10 minutes for our bags in HNL, it was a lot less annoying than having to haul them around each stop, and find bin space again once on board.
What is the food situation?
Going east is a slightly different meal schedule than west. GUM-TKK and KSA-KWA are coded Snack, and MAJ-HNL is Dinner. The first and last meals are reasonably substantial in J (think like a Breakfast and Dinner code) and somewhat small in Y (somewhat less than a meal in int'l Y - was six pieces of fruit and a muffin in the morning, followed by a turkey sandwich for dinner). The middle snack was just a pass of the snack basket up front; neither of us sat in Y that segment but I would guess they just offered almonds. Additionally, every segment they were offering J pax some packaged almonds.
My general verdict is if going the distance in Y, pack some snacks or buy them at the stops along the way. If you're in J then there's enough food for 14 hours of sitting.
And how about IFE?
Look outside! That's actually about all the IFE there is. The GUM fleet has no WiFi and only DirecTV. Note that DirecTV does not work outside of CONUS, so really it just has the 8-10 looping movies of DirecTV (slightly different movie set for an Asian audience). The movie loop resets at each stop, so unless you want to watch the first 1h30 of a movie six times, there's not much use to the IFE. It is at least free in Y. I brought a book and read it for the middle 20 minutes of each segment and until I fell sleep on MAJ-HNL.
Can I get an upgrade on the Hopper?
Empirically, yes! We were offered upgrades of 11/12 eligible segments; I declined a GUM-TKK upgrade to keep my window, and my companion's MAJ-HNL upgrade was eaten by UA IT (agent in MAJ apologized profusely but understandably wasn't going to remove the already-handed-out upgrades to the next 2 pax on the list).
In order to have any shot, however, you need to be able to split the direct flight into six segments. This generally cannot be done on a mileage ticket or a paid through fare, and would need to be done via multi-city ticketing if visiting an island. In my case, I spent a very long time getting an extremely wonderful pmCO agent who was able to hack my ticket together with 9 connections on the way home. As this is also the only way to choose different views for the different approach directions, I recommend asking for this rather than for upgrades. It causes quite the headache for UA systems, but in the end I felt like it was a huge benefit to fly pretty much all of it in J. Absolutely something I credit to the value of being 1K: I was able to ring the 1K desk many times to get agents to deal with the various hiccups that came along with a PNR that had eight tickets and at one point 36 segments attached to it.
The first five Hopper segments (going east) are CPU eligible; MAJ/HNL requires a GPU. We had GPUs on our reservation and did a mixture of advance clearing and clearing at the gates in the islands (where amazingly enough they had the new J BPs waiting!).
Where to stay and what to do in GUM and HNL?
I think this depends on lot on which way you're going. Flying east, we arrived in GUM around 11pm (maximizing time in Tokyo, but not crazy enough for the 2am arrival), and spent the night at the Days Inn Tamuning. It was at the very bottom of my quality standards, but quite affordable and with 9h45 of total ground time all in the dark I did not want to pay double for a beachfront property I would never enjoy.
In HNL, I took up the excellent recommendation in this thread of the Best Western Plaza Honolulu. It was the cheapest of the few airport hotels in HNL. Having cleared customs by 3:45 (we arrived late), it was off to bed quickly. The arrival is only ~11pm Guam time, so I highly recommend going straight to a bed on arrival in HNL. Afterwards, we took advantage of the 24h connect rule to spend the whole day in HNL before continuing on home to SFO. We were pretty exhausted after another redeye home, but the beach time in Hawaii was well worth it, especially after being taunted by all the beautiful mid-Pacific islands.
Big Metal Bird Episode 8: Island Hopper - 2018
They just did a video in the Micronesia island hopper flight which is pretty interesting
https://youtu.be/TPueM5OF1Wc
https://youtu.be/TPueM5OF1Wc
UA's Micronesia Island Hopper - consolidated questions, advice, ....
Mar 30, 2016, 8:45 am
#301
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: CLE
Programs: UA GS+LT UC, AA EXP+LT PLT, Fairmont LT PLT, Marriott PLT, Hilton DIA, Hyatt Glob, Avis CHM
Posts: 4,671
Mar 31, 2016, 6:31 pm
#302
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: JRF
Programs: AA Gold, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond, National Executive Elite
Posts: 1,784
Thanks for all the advice!
How are the beaches there? No chain properties anywhere, nearest ones are in Guam and Saipan has one Hyatt. Is it worth it taking the Island Hopper back? Or is it so tiring I'm better off with a direct flight from GUM to HNL?
Unfortunately, I only snorkel. Spouse use to dive a long time ago but she's out of practice too. I'm just looking at extending it from HNL to ROR (HNL -> GUM -> ROR) now and it's STILL only 25k! That opens up the option of putting YAP as the stop. Would this be better then any of the stops on Island Hopper?
But no beaches, right?
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if history was different and the Marshall Islands, FSM, and Palau all ended up staying with the US like Guam and Northern Marianas...
I stayed a night in MAJ on United's dime when UA154 broke down and was put up in the Lojkar apartels. Not sure if they have a website but they have a Facebook page with a phone number. There's also the Robert Reimers which I hear is good, we didn't stay there but we ate in their Tide Table restaurant which is the best restaurant on MAJ, and the pilots stayed at the Reimers hotel. Not sure if there are any major chain properties on these islands.
4) The eastward UA155 is daylight for most of its run GUM-TKK-PNI-KSA-KWA, sun sets around MAJ, darkness MAJ-HNL, so it's daylight most of the way...you just get back to HNL at like 2 or 3 AM.
4) The eastward UA155 is daylight for most of its run GUM-TKK-PNI-KSA-KWA, sun sets around MAJ, darkness MAJ-HNL, so it's daylight most of the way...you just get back to HNL at like 2 or 3 AM.
The flight crew on 154 universally agreed that Palau was the most beautiful place any of them had ever been, FWIW. Manila wasn't far away and can be useful if you're booking a paid flight as it seemed to be on sale, and opened options for an ultimate destination of Hong Kong for us (via Cathay). Seoul and Tokyo were others we looked at.
Going strictly by looks from above, Pohnpei looked the most interesting. Kosrae - which we missed when we were rebooked to Wednesday's flight which doesn't stop there - got a nice writeup in this article that interested me. I think I a lot will depend on if you're a diver
Going strictly by looks from above, Pohnpei looked the most interesting. Kosrae - which we missed when we were rebooked to Wednesday's flight which doesn't stop there - got a nice writeup in this article that interested me. I think I a lot will depend on if you're a diver
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if history was different and the Marshall Islands, FSM, and Palau all ended up staying with the US like Guam and Northern Marianas...
Mar 31, 2016, 7:29 pm
#303
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: DC Suburbs
Programs: DL Gold, Hilton Gold, Carnival VIFP Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 459
I don't remember there being much in the way of beaches on the parts of MAJ proper I spent time in, but I think some of the places around it might have some beaches.
Apr 1, 2016, 4:16 pm
#304
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: USA
Programs: UA Platinum
Posts: 108
Hard to tell from above what one actually does below but I think for me I'd concentrate on researching those two.
Apr 1, 2016, 7:39 pm
#305
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SEA/ORD/ADB
Programs: TK ELPL (*G), AS 100K (OWE), BA Gold (OWE), Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat
Posts: 7,764
HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-YAP-ROR
Stopover in KSA, destination as ROR, and as many <24 hour connections as you can fit.
GUM is thoroughly skippable..
Apr 1, 2016, 8:18 pm
#307
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SEA/ORD/ADB
Programs: TK ELPL (*G), AS 100K (OWE), BA Gold (OWE), Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat
Posts: 7,764
Apr 15, 2016, 5:14 pm
#308
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: DC Suburbs
Programs: DL Gold, Hilton Gold, Carnival VIFP Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 459
<Speculation based on observations> I think the REASON that UA is so strict about the check in is because the ramp agents have to play one heckuva game of Tetris with everything going into the baggage hold. And it's not just for baggage either. Mail, shipments, critical kit of spare 737 parts, etc. all pack every square inch of the hold, to the point where on my last Island Hopper flight UA removed (and presumably rescreened for TSA-prohibited in-cabin items?) 12 suitcases out of the overfilled luggage hold, to put into the cabin and store in the overhead bins! The opposite of any other direct flight between two US airports. As for cutting off passengers who don't plan to check bags, my guess would be they can't risk the game of Tetris being rearranged by someone who has to gate-check a bag, as the amount of work that would have to be re-done could delay departure. </Speculation>
Jun 19, 2016, 10:15 am
#309
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: Landry's President's Club, Marriott Silver, Awesomeness EXPLT
Posts: 20,420
Is it a legal award routing to book something like this using the island hopper?
EWR-HNL-GUM-HKG(Stopover)-SIN-MEL and then a AKL-XXX-EWR?
Thinking about this for next year and seeing availablity,but having trouble pulling it for Jan.
Cheers
Howie
EWR-HNL-GUM-HKG(Stopover)-SIN-MEL and then a AKL-XXX-EWR?
Thinking about this for next year and seeing availablity,but having trouble pulling it for Jan.
Cheers
Howie
Jun 23, 2016, 5:01 am
#311
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: Star Alliance G*, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium,
Posts: 3,585
reward travel - actual experience
Howie, I am not sure about this? I managed to book HNL-GUM-ROR-MNL rtn. for 60K - but - when I tried certain routings via Japan it was a no go (exceeded mileage levels). If Japan is too far, I am reasonably certain AKL is beyond the max - esp. if you are starting in EWR?
Jun 26, 2016, 11:43 pm
#313
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Oakland CA
Programs: DL Gold, AS MVPG, Globalist
Posts: 1,008
An Island Hopper [Micronesia] Definitive Guide on Where to Sit [UA B737]
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)
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)
Jun 27, 2016, 7:03 am
#314
Join Date: Mar 2003
Programs: former MD-88 jumpseat Medallion. DL FO, AA PLT PRO. Marriott LT Plat.
Posts: 752
I'm going in 2.5 weeks ... have seat 2F the whole way. I don't really feel like calling UA to split out the segments, as right now it's sold as HNL-GUM direct. I'll probably get bored with 14 hours in the same seat more than I care about which island has better views, but whatevs.
Really sad I can't make the FT DO in October as I had already booked this before they started planning the DO! oh well.
Really sad I can't make the FT DO in October as I had already booked this before they started planning the DO! oh well.
Jun 30, 2016, 1:16 pm
#315
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: Landry's President's Club, Marriott Silver, Awesomeness EXPLT
Posts: 20,420
Howie, I am not sure about this? I managed to book HNL-GUM-ROR-MNL rtn. for 60K - but - when I tried certain routings via Japan it was a no go (exceeded mileage levels). If Japan is too far, I am reasonably certain AKL is beyond the max - esp. if you are starting in EWR?
Cheers
Howie