TikTokers envious after man rejoices for being the only person on a flight following an 18-hour delay
A North Carolina man had his flight delayed by 18 hours, but his reward was a private flight home.
This happened unintentionally though, as Phil Stinger (@phil.stinger) was simply the only person on the plane. His flight, operated by American Airlines, was supposed to take off from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 6:20 a.m. However, it didn’t take off until 12:12 a.m the next day and landed at roughly 3 a.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While many people would’ve been upset about being that far behind schedule, Stinger and the flight crew made the best of the situation.
“I am the only person on the plane and they have an entire flight crew. They do not want to do this flight,” Stinger said. “They pulled them from the hotel to come do this flight for just one person.”
Stinger recorded members of the flight crew who sarcastically and light-heartedly gave him safety instructions as if they had a full plane.
He had a great time on the plane, and many of the 2.7 million viewers wished they had an experience like his.
“This is my dream as a passenger!! I’ve had an entire row to myself once and that was amazing,” replied @avzbanana.
“I’m so surprised they didn’t cancel the flight! thats an amazing experience,” replied @giam_28.
Many other people were surprised the trip wasn’t canceled simply because of how much it costs to operate commercial flights.
According to pilotpassion.com, the average cost to run one flight is over $15,000 per hour. That number is adjusted for a plane of 300 people. With just one person on board, there surely wasn’t enough to offset costs.
People were surprised the flight wasn’t canceled because it was delayed so long — which is an increasing problem with flights. Forbes reported that the percentage of delays have increased since this time last year. With these numbers rising and the possibility of flights being delayed, there are some ways to take advantage of these situations.
Although airlines are not legally required to provide compensation for delayed flights, many still provide meals or housing if the trip is significantly behind schedule. Travelers have a better chance of getting compensation from the airline if the delay is caused by something the company controls.
In May, President Joe Biden proposed a new rule that would require airlines to compensate passengers for flights delayed by at least three hours — standardizing how airlines respond to these situations.
Under that rule, Stinger and everyone scheduled to take that flight would’ve gotten food and a place to stay. Instead, Stinger waited things out and got to fly on a plane by himself.
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