Christmas Trip 2007: Majuro (MAJ) to Honolulu, HI (HNL)

12 CS956 28DEC Majuro (MAJ) to Honolulu, HI (HNL) 8:00p 2:30a N14249

Flying time: 4:25
Estimated Arrival Time: 2:31 AM
Pushed Back: 7:50 PM

Once everyone was on board, there was a short delay (this is usually so the stairs, etc. can be clear of the plane) then the engines were started and we departed the tarmac. This is the longest segment of the trip. In the past, the next stop would have been Johnston Island another military island, but this leg was removed a few years back.

As is standard, we used the runway as a taxiway, turned the airplane around and took to the night skies. The turn radius on the 737s is amazing; we basically turned on a dime.

Once airborne, the standard announcement was made by the lead flight attendant. It was 5 USD for alcohol and 1 USD for the headsets for the movies. Finally, we would see something on the screen. I thought that although there was no movies, etc. on the other legs, we would see the Airshow, but that was not the case. Immigration documents for the U.S. were handed out as well.

For dinner, we had a choice of chicken curry with rice corn, peas and carrots or beef Stroganoff. The meal came with a brownie, a salad with pepper cream dressing and a sweet roll.

By now, I had a guy sitting next to me who said he was on a surfing trip. Eight days ago they had picked up a boat in Majuro and this morning, the boat dropped them off on Kwajalein. I knew they did not look like military types… He said that Kwajalein was an interesting place and that was all he said.

The Captain came on the PA and said we were level at 35,000’ and that he would switch off the seatbelt sign as the weather was good. He also gave some weather details; basically, it was raining in Honolulu and it was hot. It was funny as he gave the information in total pilot speak; saying that we were at flight level 350 as opposed to being at 35,000’.

The first movie was “No Reservation” and the second one was “Home Alone 2.” I saw when the first one started, but the next thing I knew after finishing dinner and brushing my teeth and reading for a bit was that we were landing in Honolulu, HI (HNL).

We taxied to the gate and the arrival time was 2:23a on Dec. 28; seven minutes early.

It was 8:22a local Guam time when I left Guam on Dec. 28, so if you do the normal math we went back in time about 5:59 :-). The total travel time is 14:01. This site helped me calculate this information.