A single passenger aboard a British Airways flight to the U.S.
Would a plane take off with only one passenger? The answer is yes, without a doubt. It has already happened and will happen [...]
British Airways
Oneworld
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Would a plane take off with only one passenger? The answer is yes, without a doubt. It has happened before and it will happen again. There are many bizarre stories of travelers who find themselves sharing this experience with only the cabin crew, effectively having the entire cabin at their disposal. Here are a few.
British Airways departs with only one passenger
Kai Forsyth is the name of the man who told this amusing story. To his enormous surprise, he found himself to be the only passenger aboard a British Airways flight bound from London to Orlando. A journey that was anything but short, usually far more crowded. He shared his "lonely" experience on his TikTok account, telling how the cabin crew reacted to it.
"After learning that I was the only passenger on board, I prepared a bed with four empty seats. It was an eight-hour trip, and I was never as comfortable on a plane as I was here." The cabin crew took the best care of him, offering him all the food that would have been sold during the trip and which, in the absence of customers, would probably have been wasted. As surprising as it was, however, it was not possible to transfer him to Business or First Class.
@kaiforsyth Lmk what you guys would do @british_airways #fyp #foryou #viral #fypシ #fy #foryourpage #foryoupage #uk #fly #britishairways #airport ♬ love and war kodak black - china
One passenger on board, more episodes
There is certainly no shortage of stories related to flights with only one passenger on board. Episodes increased between 2020 and 2021, considering the decline in ticket sales due to Covid. In 2019 it happened on a Ryanair flight to Milan Bergamo airport. On board were only 2 pilots, 5 flight attendants and Skirmantas Strimaiti, only passenger out of 188 available seats.
There are at least two cases, however, in 2021. A festive mood aboard an Emirates flight from Mumbai to Dubai, with the cabin crew who welcomed the only passenger, Bravesh Javeri, with great applause, amused by the unusual event. The man also found himself receiving the safety announcement from the pilot himself.
The other case that has found its way into the newspapers is that of a Ryanair flight from Spain to Britain. Nadina Liu was to fly from Alicante to Liverpool and did not expect the "queenly treatment" she received. Here are her words, "I went on vacation with two friends but I had booked for 5 days and they for 10. I had the feeling of being on a private flight. One stewardess told me it was the first time for her after a good 15 years of flying."
@kaiforsyth @British Airways find this flight attendant ? he needs a promotion ? #fyp #foryou #viral #fypシ #fy #foryourpage #foryoupage #uk #fly #britishairways ♬ Fortnite season 3 lobby music - Liam?
Because there are flights with only one passenger
Some planes take off with only one passenger, and this, though rare, happens quite fortuitously. There were simply no travelers interested in boarding that route at that specific time. However, logic would lead us to think that carriers cancel certain trips that boast a small number of people on board. It is, however logistics to get the better of logic and that is why there are documented stories of vacant cabins except for one or two passengers.
The whole system is based on the need for an aircraft to be at a given destination at a specific time slot. Most aircraft, in fact, do not make simple round trips from hubs. If this were the case, canceling certain flights would be super easy and definitely convenient. Generally, however, an aircraft must follow a longer route, reaching different destinations according to a planned route.
If this were not enough, there is also an aspect related to the crew. So-called "commuters," who make the most of their routes to connect with where they live, which is often not the same place where the company has based them for work, are far from rare. It is crucial, therefore for them that the onboard schedule is adhered to, beyond the number of customers who have purchased the ticket.
Of course, the main motivation is also the maintenance of slots, i.e., the rights to land/depart from an airport. If they are not used, they will be taken away from the carrier and assigned to others. It is easy to imagine how between Covid-19, restrictions and variants this is becoming a real problem for companies.
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