The latest edition of Big Metal Bird explores United’s historic Island Hopper route between Guam and Honolulu.
Three times per week, a United 737-800 takes off from Honolulu just as the sun begins to rise, making five stops enroute to Guam:
- Majuro
- Kwajalein
- Kosrae
- Pohnpei
- Chuuk
The journey is retraced in the opposite direction under the darkness of night.
This flight is a lifeline to the Marshall Islands and Federated Sates of Micronesia, delivering food, supplies, and mail. It’s a also a lot of fun to fly.
Ground stops are one hour or less and United carries a second pair of pilots and a mechanic with spare parts to fix any minor maintenance issues that may arise. If a flight does have a more serious mechanical issue, a back-up must be flown in from Guam…leaving passengers often to go home with United staff. Tourist infrastructure is very limited on these islands.
Here’s United’s new video about the service:
You can also read more about the service here.
I flew the Island Hopper in 2013 from Honolulu to Guam and had a great experience after an initial upgrade snafu. Here’s some pictures from my journey:
CONCLUSION
My westbound trip on the Island Hopper is still one of my fondest memories of all my years of flying. For av/geeks, consider this flight a pilgrimage that must be done at least once. You will not regret it. I hope to take my son on it one day…and yes, I’ll be sitting next to him.
This year United celebrates the route’s 50th anniversary. That is quite a legacy.
Have you flown the United Island Hopper? Did you enjoy it? Honestly, I loved it…even if 14 hours is a long time to be on a 737-800!
Nice! I take that flight from HNL, but only as far as Kwaj, every couple of years for work. The “security” search of the cabin while on the tarmac in Majuro is always an interesting experience.
This is now 4 times a week.
Waiting on my approval to visit a friend in Kwaj, but starting in Guam and going back to Guam so get to do both directions in daylight!
I’m hoping to do this once my son is a little older and would appreciate the experience. Hopefully it sticks around until then!
Maybe we can do that trip together with our sons one day!
In 1984 I took that flight from Hawaii to Palau, with an overnight and connection in Guam, during the day….then at night on the return flight when it was Air Micronesia..on possibly a 727. It is one of the most memorable flights I have ever been on. Sadly, it is no longer possible or even the same anymore.
On the flight from Honolulu to Guam, we left in the morning and would land on another island every hour or two. Except for Johnson Island and Kwajalein, we could get off the plane and walk around for 20-30 minutes. It was great because people from each of the islands would come and greet the plane and we could buy souvenirs. By the time the flight ended in Guam, it was starting to get dark. Even though it was a lot of flight time, I did not feel tired because it was interesting and I was able to walk around every time we reached an island. The next day, the next flight continued on to Yap and then Palau. On the return flight from Palau, it might have started in the evening and continued onward into the night….but people still came out to greet the plane even at night. The flight ended in Hawaii in the morning.
Now there are other ways to get to Palau…such as from Asia…on China Airlines and Asiana…but for the other islands United is the only option. It is shame what United is doing to what is one of the most memorable flights there is.
Thanks for sharing your memories Franklin. I’ve also flown from Manila to Palau to Guam on United. I love that part of the route map. Locals also came and greeted my flight as well. Such a wonderful experience. My only regret is that I did not get a passport stamp at every stop.
I did it eastbound in 2014 and loved it. I broke it up with stops in Pohnpei and Majuro though. Unfortunately, I was on the Pohnpei to Kwajalein route, so looks like I’ll have to do it again sometime so I can go through Kosrae. 😉
I flew this trip both ways three times … and I can never get enough of it.
I flew it westbound in 2013 (I even split my segments!). What a great trip. The stops were too short, though! I can’t wait to do it again.
We flew on Air Mic back in late 70’s, early 80’s in both directions when it stopped at a few other locations as mentioned by someone above. Spent part of our honeymoon en route to Guam and stayed at the resort on Pohnpei. Always good experiences at these Friendly islands with locals greeting flight. Landed on coral strips and had to sometimes chase pigs off runway on Chuuk. Ah, the good old days……