OP
Dan, You might want to consider getting to the Palau airport much earlier than you would expect and take something to eat for your connecting flights. Unless things have changed significantly, United Airlines has very few employees to cover all the positions in Palau (check-in, gate, baggage, whatever) due to only one flight a week. Employees have to cover multiple positions. Also, this is the only flight for locals, as well as tourists, to get off the island for the next 7 days. The week I left, the plane had to be delayed 2 hours because of the backlog in checking people in. The plane had been there for hours but the passengers couldn't get checked in. Many locals had massive amounts of luggage including coolers of fish and crabs they were taking to Guam. For others, they were students trying to get back to school off the island so they had their lives packed. Then there were the tourists who had not complied with the COVID testing requirements and who would tie things up at the counter by arguing with the staff. The United employees were severely over-worked and stressed out. So were the passengers since we didn't know the decision had been made to hold the plane until everybody was cleared. I got on the plane out of Palau but I barely made my connection in Guam. Another weird thing about the flight was that if you were transiting thru Guam, you go thru U.S. immigration in Guam but you go thru U.S. customs in Hawaii. This means that you have to pick up your bags in Hawaii and then recheck them after Customs. Additionally, after you go thru Immigration in Guam you then have to go thru the Hawaiian COVID protocol for your flight. The procedures for this had changed that week and even the pilots and flight attendants didn't know what they had to do. I had planned on getting something to eat in Guam but after the delay in Palau, then waiting in line for Immigration and then the line for COVID protocol procedures, I barely made the flight. Hope everybody has figured out what has to be done by the time you come back. I travel about half the year, but this trip made me question where I want to taking future trips with as many connects until things settle down a bit.