I had always wanted to do the Pacific Island Hopper after reading about it many years ago. It was operated by Continental Micronesia, and after the merger, by United Airlines. One of the best and probably the only practical way to experience this was with an award redemption ticket using miles. I have been collecting miles on United MileagePlus for quite some time and this was one of the best ways to use them.
Award tickets were bookable when I made the reservation from India to Micronesia but as the date got close, these itineraries stopped coming up in the search and United also bumped up the miles needed for redemption for almost all sectors. So I’m glad that I booked when I did.
After extensive research and award availability searches, I was finally able to zero in on our travel plans. United MileagePlus has a nice benefit called the Excursionist Perk, a free one-way award within select multi-city itineraries. With that, I was able to book award tickets from India to the Marshall Islands and to Saipan and then back to India for 136600 miles. The journey from the Marshall Islands to Saipan cost us 0 miles thanks to the Excursionist Perk!
Our first flight would be on Thai Airways on Saturday 28th September leaving Mumbai at 11:55 PM and reaching Bangkok at 05:35 AM. There we would connect to a Thai Airways flight at 07:25 AM reaching Manila at 11:45 AM. We had a long layover in Manila for 10 hours 25 minutes. That night we would fly United Airlines from Manila at 10:25 PM, reaching Guam at 04:15 AM and onwards at 6:50 AM, reaching Majuro at 07:20 PM.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAT 28 SEP | TG 318 | Mumbai, IN (BOM) | 23:55 | Bangkok, TH (BKK) | 05:35 AM (+1) | Thai Airways |
| SUN 29 SEP | TG 620 | Bangkok, TH (BKK) | 07:25 AM | Manila, PH (MNL) | 11:45 AM | Thai Airways |
| SUN 29 SEP | UA 184 | Manila, PH (MNL) | 10:25 PM | Guam, GU, US (GUM) | 04:15 AM (+1) | United Airlines |
| MON 30 SEP | UA 155 | Guam, GU, US (GUM) | 07:55 AM | Majuro, MH (MAJ) | 07:20 PM | United Airlines |
After spending 4 days in the Marshall Islands, for the next part of our journey we would travel from the Marshall Islands to Saipan via Pohnpei. We would leave from Majuro at 11:10 AM on Saturday 5th October on United Airlines reaching Pohnpei at 02:40 PM. After about 10 hours 05 minutes in Pohnpei, we would take the United Airlines red-eye flight leaving at 12:45 AM and reaching Guam the next morning at 03:45 AM on Sunday 06th October, and then connecting onwards at 08:00 AM reaching Saipan at 08:50 AM.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAT 05 OCT | UA 154 | Majuro, MH (MAJ) | 11:10 AM | Pohnpei, FM (PNI) | 02:40 PM | United Airlines |
| SUN 06 OCT | UA 176 | Pohnpei, FM (PNI) | 12:45 AM | Guam, GU, US (GUM) | 03:45 AM | United Airlines |
| SUN 06 OCT | UA 174 | Guam, GU, US (GUM) | 08:00 AM | Saipan, MP, US (SPN) | 08:50 AM | United Airlines |
After spending 2 days in Saipan, we would start our return journey to India. We would leave from Saipan at 09:50 AM on Tuesday 8th October on United Airlines reaching Guam at 10:35 AM. After 8 hours 35 minutes in Guam we would then connect onwards at 07:10 PM and reaching Tokyo at 10:00 PM and connecting onwards to Thai Airways flight at 12:20 AM reaching Bangkok the next morning at 04:50 AM. With 14 hours 45 minutes in Bangkok, we would take the Thai Airways flight at 06:55 PM reaching Mumbai at 09:55 PM.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUE 08 OCT | UA 76 | Saipan, MP, US (SPN) | 09:50 AM | Guam, GU, US (GUM) | 10:35 AM | United Airlines |
| TUE 08 OCT | UA 849 | Guam, GU, US (GUM) | 07:10 PM | Tokyo, JP (HND) | 10:00 PM | United Airlines |
| WED 09 OCT | TG 661 | Tokyo, JP (HND) | 12:20 AM | Bangkok, TH (BKK) | 04:50 AM | Thai Airways |
| WED 09 OCT | TG 317 | Bangkok, TH (BKK) | 06:55 PM | Mumbai, IN (BOM) | 09:55 PM | Thai Airways |
I booked the award ticket on the united.com website. Our initial outbound flights were on Singapore Airlines but we hadn’t flown Thai Airways since 2007 and wanted to try that; it would also give us more time in Manila. So we switched to Thai Airways on the outbound segments as well. With this, we were all set for our trip to Micronesia, thanks to United MileagePlus.
136600 miles redeemed | 18 segments
5 countries | 2 airlines