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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 destination can only be sold by a US carrier. That eliminates all Asian competition and the US airlines get a monopoly even though they barely fly there and many of these flights are codeshares being operated by Asian airlines!
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 Starbucks, etc.) and those who enjoy its incredible outdoor environment. Some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world is right here, and as for hiking: we've been hiking very frequently for the two years since we arrived and haven't gotten bored yet. Depending on where you go on the island, the terrain and plant life looks very different.
Yes, under current airline treaties it's actually more complicated and takes longer to fly mainland US to Guam, than mainland US to the Philippines. Even though Guam is only a short 1500ml from the Philippines, and:
Philippine Airlines flights from west-coast US (SF, LA) refuel in Guam, since a 2006 "technical stop" agreement [0] (not allowed to pick up passengers on Guam, but can refuel and pick up supplies); at least during the winter headwinds, Nov-Mar [1]. Passengers can't even get out of the plane, you get to sit on the tarmac and watch the fuel tankers out the window for 45min in the predawn. I wanted to at least get out and see the inside of the terminal but absolutely not. ("Guam: the ultimate skiplagged challenge")
So you won't see this arrangement show up on any ticket engines, and they're not allowed say "Philippine Airlines flies to Guam". Are there any good articles on how current airline treaties affect routes and pricing in the Pacific?
[0]: "Guam replaces Honolulu as stop for PAL flights" https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/01/06/315333/guam-re...
[1]: "The one-hour technical stops are required during certain times of the year, particularly during the winter months of November to March, when headwinds are strong enough to affect aircraft flying westward across the Pacific." (to avoid exceeding MTOW)
[2]: discussed on https://www.pprune.org/south-asia-far-east/374507-pal-techni...
I'm sure Gordon Lightfoot (RIP) could have sung about treaties...
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.
United goes direct from Honolulu
Can't you buy 2 separate tickets?
> because any flight with a US origin to a US destination can only be sold by a US carrier.
That's not exactly true. It just requires the USA and the other country to have negotiated a Fifth Freedom agreement.
There are lots of foreign-owned airlines flying from the US with layovers and stopovers in other countries. For instance, I recently flew JFK->FRA->SIN on Singapore Airlines. And United even operates their Island Hopper route, Honolulu-Majuro-Kwajalein Atoll-Kosrae-Pohnpei-Truk-Guam, among many others.
There used to be direct flights on Continental before they were acquired/merged by United
Sounds similar to the article's mention of the Jones Act and the issues it causes.
Dude. Just buy two separate round trip tickets.
I'm from Guam, and half Chamoru. Most of the comments in this thread show the ignorance that this article is pointing out — Americans don't understand the situation in Guam, because they've never had to really pay attention.
Guam is a U.S. colony that has benefitted from the U.S., but has also been overrun by Americans and people from Asia, so that Chamorus are now a minority on the island. We've long wanted to have a vote to decolonize, but this has been blocked by Americans on the island who demand to have a vote in a matter that should be up to the Chamorus.
As a result of blocking decolonization, we have been impacted greatly:
* Big military bases have brought a militarized mindset to the residents.
* Those bases were taken without asking or recompense, and drive up land prices, which drives up the price of everything else.
* The U.S. has protected U.S. corporations from competition (Jones Act, etc) which drives up the prices as well.
* The U.S. has set immigration policies to benefit itself, leading to a flood of immigrants who the U.S. doesn't pay for (healthcare, education).
* U.S. corporations have taken over commerce (think big box stores and chain restaurants), leading to a loss of the local culture.
* Guam residents are mostly in poverty, undereducated, with terrible health. You could argue that it's our own fault, but the U.S.'s unthinking impact has created a system that leads to these results.
There's a lot more to this — it's an incredibly deep topic — but I thought there should be a voice here from someone who understands the issues.
Guam is also a pretty large interconnection point for submarine cables. Not too many networks break out to layer 3 there, but more traffic than you’d expect passes through (or at least, used to).
I skydived first time in Guam. Also went to some CrossFit classes when i was there. The people were lovely. There were some weirdos too be sure, mostly in the bars, tho it was fun hanging at the bars with the military personnel. My conclusion: submariners - definite weirdos, "chair force" - cool in a tidy sort of way. Nobody else self-identified!
Overwhelmingly most people were awesome and the little island has a great esprit de corps. I really liked it, but there’s not that much to do, besides hanging out with folks and going to various exercises, jet-skiing, beach. OK, there's quite a bit to do, but not as much as living in a larger place. Which is OK. You can make your own fun. There's a couple shooting ranges too if you enjoy that. The Korean tourists certainly enjoyed their fully-automatic weapons when I was there.
There’s a strange juxtaposition between poor “local” areas, the luxury brands on the high street catering to Asian tourists, and the regular suburban areas. Clime-wise it's kind of like Singapore. Shopping-wise it's like mainland America, or maybe more like Hawai'i. Complete with sprawling malls, Dairy Queen, iHop, Pizza Hut, in a “tropical pacific” climate. Also, IIRC quite a lot of stray dogs hanging about. This was all pre-pandemic so maybe everything is different nowadays.
I was living in Asia at time so flights were a no brainer.
Everyone seems to drive giant utility trucks as well. You have to rent some kind of vehicle.
> As tensions with China mount, the U.S. military continues to build up Guam and other Pacific territories — placing the burdens of imperial power on the nation’s most ignored and underrepresented citizens.
Oh NYT never change. If the country never did, you would bet the NYT would have something like below:
> As tensions with China mount, the U.S. military continues to ignore Guam and other Pacific territories — endangering on the nation’s most ignored and underrepresented citizens.
Sorta related, Guam is a good place for game servers to have similar pings for Asia, Oceania and USA (sorta)
Was born in Saipan, a smaller island next to Guam. Americans didn’t forget Guam and Northern Mariana Islands. It’s more like Americans were never aware we are part of America to begin with.
Hell, I got married in the States recently. My marriage license registration didn’t go through because my birthplace wasn’t a thing in the online application form. My wife had no issue, and she was born in a foreign country.
No taxation without representation. Stop charging the inhabitants for any and all U.S. taxes. Hell, decolonize and let them have their freedom and independence.
Great Radiolab piece a while back entitled, "Americanish" - great listen. It focuses on American Samoa but it perhaps has some bearing on the topic.
Who remembers this IBM ad: Farmer 1: "Have you ever been outside the US?" Farmer 2: "Does Guam count?"
Maleffa yu ni kostumbren taotao tano, kon todo i lengguahe; mampos Amerikanon pao asu yu pago...and yet any way I looked at it---whether as an ethnic native of the Marianas who grew up with wideband exposure to what definitely seemed like a pronounced bimodal economic distribution; or as a veteran who eagerly and proudly served for a decade; or as an assimilated American who benefits from the resources and opportunities the mainland has to offer---this article managed to stir up some deeply repressed emotions that brutally ripped my heart into three.
Also interesting is Palau:
> Politically, Palau is a presidential republic in free association with the United States, which provides defense, funding, and access to social services.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau
[oops, it's mentioned, nvm]
Sort of related, the list of Associated states is an interesting rabbit hole to read about.
Somewhat related, the hilarious way the US navy conquered Guam from Spain https://halfarsedhistory.net/2022/02/06/episode-189-the-capt...
I refueled in Guam a couple times. Five stars. Would refuel there again.
I visited Guam back in 2014 to empty my UA miles as China-Guam used to be a sweet spot for UA miles redemption back then.
I actually got trouble entering Guam because back then I was on L1 visa, which only allows me to enter the US for work, and my employer does not have any office at Guam and I don't have a connection from Guam to US mainland. After being held at the airport for hours (I believe they called my hotel for verification) they finally stamped a parole on my passport and let me in.
...Interesting.
Walt Nauta was born in Guam. His experiences might not change the forgetfulness, but nonetheless interesting to see his path into the mainstream of the US legal consciousness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Nauta
If you do visit Guam, I recommend making the effort to visit Tinian. The North Field is well worth it.
Give peace a chance. Just sayin.
This is one of many news stories that seem to be preparing the masses for potential war with China.