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Guam: The America that Americans forget

nytimes.com

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Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#111

Post by lmm »

Aerbil313 wrote: post #91
r24y wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flight costs are a pain, and the flight durations are nothing to sneeze at either. I live out in Guam (my wife is stationed here with the Navy) and the two most common ways to get back to the mainland are via Tokyo (Narita) and Honolulu. I would definitely encourage visiting if you have the means! I find there are two types of people here: those who feel limited by the island and its infrastructure (no Target, no Sta…

> those who feel limited by the island and its infrastructure (no Target, no Starbucks, etc.) I hate those people. I live in a city of 1.5 million (there's everything here), and it's a constant background radiation talking point for a significant number of my highschool friends: how unfortunate they are that they don't live in the nearby city of 15 million. IME this constant moping has everything to do with the amoun…

> it's a constant background radiation talking point for a significant number of my highschool friends: how unfortunate they are that they don't live in the nearby city of 15 million. IME this constant moping has everything to do with the amount of social media one consumes daily.

Well, you've managed to one-up them in how tiresome and cliched your talking point is.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#112

Post by arcticbull »

smcin wrote: post #107
throwaway742 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you had a medical emergency while on the tarmac in Guam?

I'm sure they'd treat you locally (I wonder if air-rage cases get dropped there unscheduled, too, although I don't think so). It's not like the border is hermetically sealed; just disembarking on those particular flights is not available to passengers or skiplaggers. (To be clear, that's because it's a non-US (Philippine Airlines) flight on a technical stopover in a US territory (Guam)). The limitation is purely lega…

If you're looking for 'cool itineraries that end in Guam' there's nothing more interesting IMO than the United Island Hopper, a single flight number with 5 stops operated by a 737. Service is between Honolulu and Guam, taking around 14-16 hours, with stops in:

- Majuro in the Marshall Islands (MAJ)

- Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (KWA)

- Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia (KSA)

- Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia (PNI)

- Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia (TKK)

I believe passengers aren't allowed off in at least one, if not two, of the stops because they're basically just a US military base on a rock. [1, 2]

> The limitation is purely legal. The airline treaties distort pricing and competition, otherwise it should be possible to do a 24/48h stopover in Guam, Taipei etc., and even lower your overall ticket price if you're flexible about dates.

Note that you can do this, it just has to be on separate tickets if connections are under 24h. For a connection over 24h, the world is your oyster, so to speak, from a ticketing perspective. Unless you plan to stay at the airport (and only an option in some places with sterile transit) you may need a visa for the intermediate point.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Hopper

[2] http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#113

Post by jlmorton »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #106
jlmorton wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nevertheless, notice the other example I gave is a United flight originating in Honolulu, Hawaii, transiting Micronesia, and ending in Guam. It’s the same rule.

That is an American airline flight that starts and ends in the US, therefore complying with the rule.

The rule is simply that foreign-owned airlines can’t fly point-to-point routes between US destinations.

I’m in Chicago, and I can book a Korean Air, non-codeshare ORD-ICN-GUM right now. You can find it on Kayak.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#115

Post by seanmcdirmid »

r24y wrote: post #54
wayne wrote: post #25

The article touches a little on flight costs, but as someone who'd love to visit sometime and never has, it annoys me how flights to Guam work. Given its location most airlines don't fly direct from the mainland, so many flights to Guam are from Asia. But, you can't buy a ticket from the US with a layover in Japan from JAL or with a layover in Korea from Korean Air because any flight with a US origin to a US destinat…

Flight costs are a pain, and the flight durations are nothing to sneeze at either. I live out in Guam (my wife is stationed here with the Navy) and the two most common ways to get back to the mainland are via Tokyo (Narita) and Honolulu. I would definitely encourage visiting if you have the means! I find there are two types of people here: those who feel limited by the island and its infrastructure (no Target, no Sta…

I thought about retiring in Guam someday since Medicare would actually work there. But I can’t imagine it is much nicer than Bali or some parts of Thailand I’m also thinking about (if my health is good 20 years later), and it’s definitely more expensive than.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#116

Post by [deleted] »

jcranmer wrote: post #79
rufus_foreman wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The United States was the world's superpower on December 6, 1941. It did not get to that position by keeping the military machine well oiled. On December 6, 1941, the US vs. rest of world might have been a fair fight. Maybe. That didn't happen by being the world police.

> On December 6, 1941, the US vs. rest of world might have been a fair fight. Maybe. No, it wouldn't have. The US would likely have lost the fight, especially if you consider that in such a counterfactual world there probably wouldn't have been a WW2 going on for the past few years. While it is difficult to be more precise about when the US became the top world power than "during WW2", it is pretty clear to most know…

[deleted]

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#117

Post by seanmcdirmid »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #39
messe wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue then is if you have checked luggage.

So get your luggage? Deboarding, going through immigration, getting luggage, and going through customs takes no more than 45 minutes at Narita. Give yourself a 2 hour layover to be safe. Or pack like Rick Steves and just bring a backpack with the essentials.

You don’t need to go through immigration at Narita if you are just transferring planes at the airport.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#118

Post by josephcsible »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #80
wayne wrote: post #25

The article touches a little on flight costs, but as someone who'd love to visit sometime and never has, it annoys me how flights to Guam work. Given its location most airlines don't fly direct from the mainland, so many flights to Guam are from Asia. But, you can't buy a ticket from the US with a layover in Japan from JAL or with a layover in Korea from Korean Air because any flight with a US origin to a US destinat…

I wish we'd get rid of this rule entirely. Just seems like naked protectionism, no? If a non-US carrier abides by local regulations, I don't see an issue with letting them run domestic flights.

You make it sound like that's a US-specific rule, but there's an equivalent rule in basically every country (with some exceptions, the main one being between EU member states).

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#119

Post by squeaky-clean »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #78
alistairSH wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And pray neither is delayed, causing you to miss the next leg.

Just space them out out or even take a couple days to visit Japan. Some airports even have programs where they'll take you on a field trip during your layover

It's not impossible to do. It just sounds silly that the best way to take a 5 day trip in Guam is to take a 2 day trip in Japan and a 3 day trip in Guam.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#120

Post by throwawaaarrgh »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #89
Rebelgecko wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just space them out out or even take a couple days to visit Japan. Some airports even have programs where they'll take you on a field trip during your layover

These suggestions are cognitive load on the person making the trip. Most people break out in sweats thinking about organizing a trip to begin with, booking something with any complexity or risk is unbearable to them. My parents are both like this.

I had a partner like that. Would freak out if I started driving without our destination already in the GPS.

I think at least half of travel should be an adventure. Adventures are uncomfortable - but they make the best stories. Nobody has ever said, "Man, remember that time we went on that perfectly planned trip where nothing out of the ordinary happened? How exciting!"

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