St. Paul Airlines Island Hopper Tour
By Eric Eder - MIA Hub Manager
Hello one and all and welcome to a unique opportunity to visit some small but very interesting islands in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands!
Not only do I have a fascination with aircraft and aviation, I’ve recently gone down a rabbit hole and have started exploring what avgeeks consider “bucket list flights.” The following set of flights are ones that definitely fall into that category. If you’ve never heard of the United Island Hopper, check out this interesting video from one of my favorite travel vloggers Noel Philips: https://youtu.be/WYk-fYfpzK8
In honor of the United Island Hopper, which has been in continuous operation since 1968, I would like to present to you the St. Paul Airlines Island Hopper! Okay, it's just the United Island Hopper with a different name, but I’ve been wanting to try making some tours of interesting flights and little known places so bear with me!
Back in 1968, then CEO of Continental Airlines Robert F. Six thought that serving the tiny outlying islands between Hawaii and Guam could be profitable, so he started the island hopper route as Air Micronesia. The aircraft, originally Boeing 727s, had to be outfitted with special tires and undercoating to protect them from flying rocks and special engines installed to improve takeoff performance from the small island runways. The route is still operated today by United Airlines, which took over operations in 2012 when Continental merged with United. Boeing 737-800s have replaced the archaic 727’s and although many improvements to the island runways have been completed over the years, the aircraft currently servicing the route are required to fly with a mechanic and spare parts due to the remoteness of the islands served. Additionally, airports on the route are required to have firefighter personnel on site during every landing to help with cooling the brakes and tires of the aircraft, and the front rows of economy class can be collapsed to accommodate stretchers in the event a medevac is needed.
Okay, enough of the history, let's get to flying this interesting and mysterious (more to come on that) bucket list route!
As you can see from the map, our adventure starts in Honolulu, Hawaii with stops at the Majuro Atoll, Kwajalein Atoll, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk State on Weno Island, and finally Guam. Pilots and passengers should take note that Kwajalein Atolls is an active military base owned by the United States military and that passengers and crew are prevented from leaving the aircraft unless permission is granted from the US Government. In addition, all persons on the flight are prohibited from taking photos and videos of the island and the facilities. See, I told you there would be some mystery!
Since some of us may be limited by what we have available in our simulators, please use either a Boeing 737-800 (extra points if it’s in a United paint scheme, triple extra points if it's in an SPA paint scheme,) or something similar to keep it authentic as possible. I.E. an Airbus A320, any 737 model, etc.
Webmaster John Rogers shares some real-world photos from 1994 Dive Trip to Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon that required this Island-hopping flight.
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| Johnston Atoll from the air | Armed guard meeting plane at Johnston Atoll |
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| Majuro from the air | Plane on ground at Majuro |
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| Kwajalein from the air | Kosrae from the air |
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| Pohnpei from the air | Chuuk (Truk) from the air |
| Flight Code | Origin | Destination | Distance(NM) | Orig Airport | Dest Airport |
| 902935 | PHNL | PKMJ | 2292 | Honolulu | Majuro |
| 902936 | PKMJ | PKWA | 269 n | Majuro | Kwajalein |
| 902937 | PKWA | PTSA | 402 n | Kwajalein | Kosrae |
| 902938 | PTSA | PTPN | 348 n | Kosrae | Pohnpei |
| 902939 | PTPN | PTKK | 440 n | Pohnei | Chuuk |
| 902940 | PTKK | PGUM | 637 n | Chuuk | Guam |
From Guam, you are free to continue on your way as you wish, but these are the flights needed to complete this tour.
I know that pictures of airports are usually included in these tours but I wanted to do something a little different here. I want all of you to help me with the pictures. Yes, even the “prohibited” pictures from Kwajalein Atolls. There will be a forum post where you can post your pictures and I will compile those and update this tour when I receive enough photos.
That’s it! Enjoy the flights, the scenery and the adventure and be sure to take lots of photos of these little seen airfields. If an award can be put together for completing this tour, I’ll post that in the forum. Good luck and watch your fuel load and landing speed!