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, ....
Apr 10, 2017, 10:57 am
#407
Join Date: May 2006
Location: PMD
Programs: UA*G, NW, AA-G. WR-P, HH-G, IHG-S, ALL. TT-GE.
Posts: 2,911
Yes. But until 6 months ago the plane used to run GUM-HKG-SGN-HKG then parked at HKG until the next SGN run or return to GUM. The crew obviously got a 30-hour rest at SGN, not 6. Therefore GUM-HKG-SGN could be 4 hours late into SGN and not risk anything else. Now you have a plane and its crew doing GUM-HKG-GUM and both HNL-HKG (6 pm GUM) and HKG-HNL (6 am GUM) connecting passengers to take care of.
Apr 10, 2017, 9:48 pm
#408
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ZOA, SFO, HKG
Programs: UA 1K 0.9MM, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, Hertz PC, SBux Gold, TSA Pre✓
Posts: 13,811
To clarify what HkCaGu means:
1. Before HKG-SGN get cancelled, UA uses 2 B738 for GUM-HKG-SGN-HKG-GUM.
When GUM-HKG arrived, that aircraft will operate HKG-SGN instead. For HKG-GUM return, UA used another aircraft for HKG-SGN arrived in the morning. In short, the 2 B738 did the following:
a. GUM-HKG-SGN
b. SGN-HKG-GUM
2. The current situation, with the HKG-SGN cancellation, is simply GUM-HKG-GUM. UA uses 1 B73G/8 for the route. Once it reaches HKG, the aircraft will be prepared to return GUM same night of its arrival, which is similar to the domestic turnover.
1. Before HKG-SGN get cancelled, UA uses 2 B738 for GUM-HKG-SGN-HKG-GUM.
When GUM-HKG arrived, that aircraft will operate HKG-SGN instead. For HKG-GUM return, UA used another aircraft for HKG-SGN arrived in the morning. In short, the 2 B738 did the following:
a. GUM-HKG-SGN
b. SGN-HKG-GUM
2. The current situation, with the HKG-SGN cancellation, is simply GUM-HKG-GUM. UA uses 1 B73G/8 for the route. Once it reaches HKG, the aircraft will be prepared to return GUM same night of its arrival, which is similar to the domestic turnover.
Apr 10, 2017, 10:22 pm
#409
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,429
How easy is it to SDC onto 154? Whenever I plan on booking it it's always $500 more than 204. I read somewhere (either SDC thread or this one) that someone was able to do it but it required a little push since the agent seemed to think the person was unique for wanting to do 5 stops.
In the morning had an opportunity to leave many hours earlier and do the Island Hopper. Sadly, I chose to spend a few hours in Honolulu, which wasn't all bad, but still regret it ...
Apr 10, 2017, 10:43 pm
#410
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: 7,763
When I misconnected 154 -> 159, I asked to be rebooked UA GUM-SPN connecting to OZ SPN-ICN-SGN. Spent a Saturday evening on Saipan, which was quite a unique experience.
Jun 3, 2017, 9:22 am
#411
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 695
I am only seven weeks-or-so away from *finally* doing the IslandHopper as part of a larger ticket which I booked before the new stopover rules etc... went into effect late last year, and am super excited! My flights will be:
ROR-YAP-GUM on UA186 (that departs at 00:20 and arrives into GUM at 05:02)
GUM-TKK-PNI on UA176 (that departs at 19:51 and arrives into PNI at 00:48)
PNI-KSA-KWA-MAJ-HNL on UA155 (that departs at 13:44 and arrives into HNL at 02:50)
(and then a 12hr layover in HNL before flying onto EWR)
Basically, a *lot* of flying! For the people who flew eastbound as well, for the PNI-HNL, I should be sitting on the left-hand side? I currently have 30A assigned, but am wondering if it might be worthwhile to pay $112 for E+ (I have no status), at which point I can choose L/RHS of the plane?
Also, any advice on what to do for those 14 hours in PNI, most of which are overnight, would be very welcome ;-)
ROR-YAP-GUM on UA186 (that departs at 00:20 and arrives into GUM at 05:02)
GUM-TKK-PNI on UA176 (that departs at 19:51 and arrives into PNI at 00:48)
PNI-KSA-KWA-MAJ-HNL on UA155 (that departs at 13:44 and arrives into HNL at 02:50)
(and then a 12hr layover in HNL before flying onto EWR)
Basically, a *lot* of flying! For the people who flew eastbound as well, for the PNI-HNL, I should be sitting on the left-hand side? I currently have 30A assigned, but am wondering if it might be worthwhile to pay $112 for E+ (I have no status), at which point I can choose L/RHS of the plane?
Also, any advice on what to do for those 14 hours in PNI, most of which are overnight, would be very welcome ;-)
Jun 3, 2017, 12:10 pm
#412
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: LAX/FAO
Posts: 355
I'm doing a similar trip a week or two after you. We're flying UA116 HKG-GUM 10:45pm-5:45am, spending 14 hours there then taking UA176 but we're spending the night in TKK (I've since read not-so-great things about Chuuk at night and wish I'd gone on to PNI). Then taking UA155 the next morning to HNL and we'll leave HNL at 8:45pm for LAX.
About the seats, I'm crazy enough to be doing this with two kids in tow. I wanted to be in front of the engines so I paid for E+ (no more status for me since I don't fly for work anymore ). I booked 7A&B (mechanic sits in 7C) and put my 10 year old in 7F so we can get pictures on both sides. Past trip reports say it depends on the leg and which direction the plane is landing (depending on winds)s so I'm just covering both sides. From what I've read the flights are mostly full of locals that don't care about the views so you may be able to find someone willing to switch sides with you.
About the seats, I'm crazy enough to be doing this with two kids in tow. I wanted to be in front of the engines so I paid for E+ (no more status for me since I don't fly for work anymore
). I booked 7A&B (mechanic sits in 7C) and put my 10 year old in 7F so we can get pictures on both sides. Past trip reports say it depends on the leg and which direction the plane is landing (depending on winds)s so I'm just covering both sides. From what I've read the flights are mostly full of locals that don't care about the views so you may be able to find someone willing to switch sides with you. I am only seven weeks-or-so away from *finally* doing the IslandHopper as part of a larger ticket which I booked before the new stopover rules etc... went into effect late last year, and am super excited! My flights will be:
ROR-YAP-GUM on UA186 (that departs at 00:20 and arrives into GUM at 05:02)
GUM-TKK-PNI on UA176 (that departs at 19:51 and arrives into PNI at 00:48)
PNI-KSA-KWA-MAJ-HNL on UA155 (that departs at 13:44 and arrives into HNL at 02:50)
(and then a 12hr layover in HNL before flying onto EWR)
Basically, a *lot* of flying! For the people who flew eastbound as well, for the PNI-HNL, I should be sitting on the left-hand side? I currently have 30A assigned, but am wondering if it might be worthwhile to pay $112 for E+ (I have no status), at which point I can choose L/RHS of the plane?
Also, any advice on what to do for those 14 hours in PNI, most of which are overnight, would be very welcome ;-)
ROR-YAP-GUM on UA186 (that departs at 00:20 and arrives into GUM at 05:02)
GUM-TKK-PNI on UA176 (that departs at 19:51 and arrives into PNI at 00:48)
PNI-KSA-KWA-MAJ-HNL on UA155 (that departs at 13:44 and arrives into HNL at 02:50)
(and then a 12hr layover in HNL before flying onto EWR)
Basically, a *lot* of flying! For the people who flew eastbound as well, for the PNI-HNL, I should be sitting on the left-hand side? I currently have 30A assigned, but am wondering if it might be worthwhile to pay $112 for E+ (I have no status), at which point I can choose L/RHS of the plane?
Also, any advice on what to do for those 14 hours in PNI, most of which are overnight, would be very welcome ;-)
Jun 3, 2017, 7:40 pm
#413
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,439
Yeah, Pohnpei over Chuuk seems to be a wise choice, just from things I've read alone.
Now, has anyone found any saver business award space on ANY leg of the island hopper? A while back there used often be availability on individual legs but not the entire route (normally missing HNL<>MAJ) or something. Now, I can't find availability on any single leg in business saver, even GUM<>TKK. Has anyone had better luck?
Now, has anyone found any saver business award space on ANY leg of the island hopper? A while back there used often be availability on individual legs but not the entire route (normally missing HNL<>MAJ) or something. Now, I can't find availability on any single leg in business saver, even GUM<>TKK. Has anyone had better luck?
Jun 4, 2017, 9:29 am
#414
Join Date: May 2006
Location: PMD
Programs: UA*G, NW, AA-G. WR-P, HH-G, IHG-S, ALL. TT-GE.
Posts: 2,911
But if you overnight in Pohnpei, you won't see Chuuk during the day! You're not missing the view of any island from the air!
Jun 4, 2017, 10:01 am
#415
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: LAX/FAO
Posts: 355
Yes, that was exactly my line of thought as I chose TKK over PNI! I'm sure it will be fine. There's a hotel across the street from the airport so we'll go straight there when we land ~10pm and hopefully have a little time to look around in the morning.
Jun 4, 2017, 3:52 pm
#416
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 695
When I check my bags in at ROR for my ROR-EWR legs on UA186, UA176, UA155 & UA14, will I be able to check it all the way through despite having three layovers of > 12hours each? And is ROR via all the those places considered a domestic flight, or do I need to pass through CBP at some point before arriving in EWR?
Jun 8, 2017, 11:56 am
#418
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: LAX/FAO
Posts: 355
Neat little story about the island hopper, the different islands it flies to, the crews etc:
https://hub.united.com/united-island...edium=referral
https://hub.united.com/united-island...edium=referral
Jun 10, 2017, 9:58 am
#419
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: CLE
Programs: UA Gold, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,661
At some point, I'll post a trip report (I'm still getting over jet lag, though). Stopped for 4-8 days at each island other than Kwajalein. Added Saipan to the mix. Met a couple of guys diving at Chuuk who called the flight a "bus." When I told them that people take the Island Hopper for fun, they were aghast. To each his/her own, I suppose.
