If some are content with an empty seat next to them during a flight, imagine having the entire plane to yourself. It was the dream scenario for Phil Stringer, who was to fly from Oklahoma to North Carolina at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The morning flight the American Airlines customer had booked was delayed due to storms which caused more than 9,000 cancellations or delays over the weekend.
Stringer, a real estate broker, told CNN the move has been pushed back no less than seven times. Other passengers who were scheduled to make this trip have either changed their itinerary or abandoned the trip altogether.
Stringer waited 6 p.m. By the time the plane finally took off, shortly after midnight, he was the only one boarding.
He filmed the process and posted a video on TikTok to show off the unique experience.
“I’m the only person on the plane and they have a whole crew. They don’t want to do this theft,” he sneered at the camera. They called them all back from the hotel to come and do this flight for one person.”
No sleep
Stringer filmed a baggage handler who confirmed he loaded only one bag onto the flight and a laughing attendant announcing boarding on rows of empty seats, followed by a demonstration of flight attendant safety procedures.
The flight arrived at its destination at 3:35 a.m. Stringer returned home around 7 a.m. He took a shower and went to work without closing his eyes,” he told CNN affiliate WSOC-TV.
“I felt so bad [pour l’équipage], he added. They were at their hotel, they were going to bed. I was like, Oh my God, they literally had to come here for me. Maybe as a penance they said jokingly that I wouldn’t get peanuts or pretzels.”
However, even alone, a passenger is never safe from travel glitches: with a rate of nearly 75% of lost baggage at US airports, the curse has struck the traveler.
Her bag was “misplaced” for about 45 minutes upon arrival…