24 HOURS on a BOEING 737! Crossing the Pacific on the Island Hopper



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I took a flight across the Pacific Ocean on the Island Hopper – spending 24 hours on a Boeing 737!

Flight Price: $2018.54 / Β£1668.99.
$0.33/mile

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27 thoughts on “24 HOURS on a BOEING 737! Crossing the Pacific on the Island Hopper”

  1. Kind of reminds me of when I was in the military. We often flew on regular airline flights and chartered airliners. I remember my trip to Diego Garcia which took over 24 hours. We started by leaving Sacramento, California on an Alaska Airlines MD-80 for Seattle, Washington. At SEA, we boarded a chartered DC-10. From there, we flew to Anchorage, Alaska where we had a couple hour layover. Then we got back on and flew from ANC to Okinawa Air Base, Japan, where we had another couple hours on the ground before re-boarding. We then flew from Okinawa to a military base in Singapore where they changed the crew and refueled. It was delayed a couple hours because they sent the fuel truck to the wrong airfield. Initially, we weren't allowed off the plane because there was no customs service at the base, but they relented and let us off for a smoke break. From there, we headed off to the atoll of Diego Garcia. We called that DC-10 the "Greyhound Bus" because it was like crossing the country in one, except we crossed half the globe with only a few hours breaks in between legs with each leg being 5 to 8 hours a piece. Looking back at it, it was an adventure.

    Our return flights to California was a little less of a "Greyhound" experience. We left Diego Garcia on an ATI International (yeah, basically a front company for the US Government) Douglas DC-8 "Combi" and flew back to the same military base in Singapore where we cleared customs (they actually had them there that time) and were shuttled to a very nice 4-star hotel downtown. We spent about 3 nights there, seeing the sights of Singapore over the next couple days, and flew out of Changi International Airport to Hong Kong on a regularly scheduled United Airlines 747-400, which had to briefly return to the gate after taking the runway due to an on board medical emergency, and then flew on the same plane from Hong Kong to San Francisco.

    The DC-8 was actually the highlight of my trip since this was in 2002 and most DC-8s had long been retired from passenger service. Another memorable part was the first takeoff in the 747 from Changi to Hong Kong. The plane was supper light and didn't have much fuel since the leg was only about 2 hours, and I swear we lifted off the runway within about 3,000 feet. Good times.

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  2. I flew that route from HNL to GUM on Continental Micronesia just one year before it became United. I loved getting a taste of each island. The Majuro atoll and Micronesian islands were lovely to see on approach. In Majuro and Kosrae, we could even get off the plane and go to the mini terminal where locals were selling local products. Amazing handicraft in Majuro and various local things from Kosrae, including the local coconut oil reputed for skin care. Unfortunately, it was impossible to do the same and even just get off the plane in Pohnpei and Chuuk, let alone Kwajalein. I loved that experience even though it was then known as the longest scheduled commercial flight.

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  3. In about 8 hours I am going on a 22 hour long adventure to Thailand that includes 3 airplane rides. I am TERRIFIED of flying but watching your videos is making me feel a bit better. I really wish you were on this adventure with me πŸ˜‚. Keep up the videos!

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