Palau short connection layover

[Bubbles below]

Is 40 mins layover enough time for Guam to Palau from
Honolulu? I’m on United flights. I don’t know why they put that itinerary? Will I make the connection. Better yet, will my bags arrive to Palau with that short of layover?
I’m flying from PHX and doing an overnight in HNL. I rather have an overnight layover in Guam but I don’t see it.

 

[peeweediver]

Just did this trip but we stayed overnight in Guam. When we booked the difference was only 15 minutes so no connection was offered. Then they moved the flight back to make it 40 minutes. Many of our group were flying through Tokyo arriving in Guam much later. so we all stayed overnight. Flight time from Guam to Palau and back are different each day, so I’m not sure about the day you’re going. 40 minutes is tough but no customs from US into Guam. There’s a QT code you have to get by filling out an immigration form on line. You’ll see how at Honolulu airport. I’d be concerned but they may hold the Palau plane a bit if you’re running late.

 

[Bubbles below]

I’m also afraid my bags wouldn’t make it. So I decided to go with 1hrs18mins layover in LAX to HNL. So, no layover in HNL. All others connections are 2:30 hrs-4hrs

 

[Scared Silly]

If you are flying from HNL to GUM then you are on the island hopper. IMHO 40 minutes is not enough time to plan to make the flight.

 

[Lab Daddy]

Air Micronesia/Continental/United has a pretty long history of making this a tight connection. The good news is they tend to do a good job of getting bags between the flights, even though the gates are often at opposite ends of the terminal. You're probably not going to be the only ones making the dash, so it is doable. I've been able to make this 3 of 3 times, with as little as 20 minutes due to flight delays. I'd risk it but have plans should you or your bags not make the flight. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[cozcharlie]

As @Lab Daddy noted, Continental/United has been doing this on a tight connection for decades. I think I have done it 5 or 6 times , I missed it once when flight was 8 hours late so buffer wouldn’t have made a difference.

If possible, it is more important to schedule to get into Palau a day before liveaboard , gives buffer for stuff that might happens anywhere along the way, not just at Guam

@Scared Silly , FYI much of the HNL-GUM service is direct, not island hopper. Done that many times and never on the island hopper flight

 

[Scared Silly]

@Scared Silly , FYI much of the HNL-GUM service is direct, not island hopper. Done that many times and never on the island hopper flight

We did it as the island hopper. But stopped in Pohnpei. I could not remember flights. That said, 40 minutes is tight regardless if island hopper or direct.

 

[cozcharlie]

We did it as the island hopper. But stopped in Pohnpei. I could not remember flights. That said, 40 minutes is tight regardless if island hopper or direct.

You are obviously right that 40 minutes is very tight, I believe they hold the plane if the delay will be fairly small (not 8 hours ). The United Micronesia network is a fairly small system with a limited number of flights so I think they make most reasonable delays work since you almost certainly will not be the only ROR bound people on the HNL-GUM flight. They have been doing that way for decades now (why they insist on doing it that way I don’t know ) I kind of think they might have held the GUM-ROR flight for me and other HNL passengers my first flight out there , but that was over 20 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy.

Obviously things can go wrong, but they are less likely to go wrong in a tight connection in GUM than a mainland United Hub where the odds of both people and bags making that tight of a connection would be less than 50 percent. If the OP can build some slack in somewhere obviously that would be preferred , but if he can’t things will still probably be OK. Even though I have done it many times , I will never get a warm and fuzzy feeling about it but it usually works out (with me sweating some every time ).

All of that said , when I head to Yap I will actually arrive in Guam a few days early. The GUM-YAP flight is only every two weeks so I am taking no chances (and I usually enjoy the snorkeling in Guam and may get a dive in ).