I had always wanted to do the Pacific Island Hopper after reading about it many years ago. It was operated by Continental Micronesia (which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines) and, after the merger, by United Airlines. One of the best—and probably the only practical—ways 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 closer, these itineraries stopped appearing in the search results. United also increased the miles needed for redemption across almost all sectors. I am 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 useful benefit called the “Excursionist Perk”, which offers 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, then to Saipan, and finally back to India for 136,600 miles. The journey from the Marshall Islands to Saipan cost us 0 miles thanks to the Excursionist Perk!
Our first flight will be on Thai Airways on Saturday, September 28th, leaving Mumbai at 11:55 PM and reaching Bangkok at 05:35 AM. There, we will connect to a Thai Airways flight at 07:25 AM, reaching Manila at 11:45 AM. We have a long layover in Manila of 10 hours and 25 minutes 🔗. That night, we will fly United Airlines from Manila at 10:25 PM, reaching Guam at 04:15 AM, and continuing at 06:50 AM to reach 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 four days in the Marshall Islands 🔗, we would travel from the Marshall Islands to Saipan via Pohnpei. We would leave Majuro at 11:10 AM on Saturday, October 5th, on United Airlines, reaching Pohnpei at 02:40 PM. After a layover of 10 hours and 05 minutes in Pohnpei 🔗, we would take a United Airlines red-eye flight leaving at 12:45 AM and reaching Guam at 03:45 AM on Sunday, October 6th and then connect at 08:00 AM to reach 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 two days in Saipan 🔗, we would start our return journey to India. We would leave Saipan at 09:50 AM on Tuesday, October 8th, on United Airlines, reaching Guam at 10:35 AM. After 8 hours and 35 minutes in Guam 🔗, we would connect at 07:10 PM, reaching Tokyo at 10:00 PM, and then connect to a Thai Airways flight at 12:20 AM to reach Bangkok the next morning at 04:50 AM. After 14 hours and 45 minutes in Bangkok 🔗, we would take a 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 them; this choice also provided more time in Manila. We switched to Thai Airways for the outbound segments as well. With this, we were all set for our trip to Micronesia, thanks to United MileagePlus.
136,600 miles redeemed | 18 segments
5 countries | 2 airlines
