1,145 Passengers Are on Standby for Alaska Airlines’ Inaugural Rome Flight—Likely an All-Time Record

It looks like an all-time record for most passengers ever trying to get on a commercial flight has been set.. and it’s only likely to grow further, with the trip three months away.

Several days ago I wrote that 526 people had waitlisted to get on the Alaska Airlines Seattle to Rome flight. This is generally going to be employees of Alaska, family members, and even employees of other airlines flying as non-revenue passengers.

Well, incredibly, there are now 1,145 people list for this flight. There’s even a message asking people to cancel their listing unless they’re really serious about getting on the flight.

“more non-revs are listed than the capacity of this aircraft”

I have to think at this point that 1,145 passengers listing for this flight has to be some kind of record and also that it’s a meme at this point. Most of them surely know they won’t get on. Most of them aren’t going to show up at the airport, even, to find out.

The plane has a 300 passenger capacity:

• 266 economy
  
• 34 business class

There are plenty of seats for sale, at least in coach. There’s a single seat open in business class on the seat map (1J). Most seats in the middle section in coach are empty, and most seats across the board are empty behind the exit rows at 33 and 34. However, the inexpensive fare ‘buckets’ have been closed off and they’re only selling expensive coach inventory. They have 3 months to wait and see how the priciest seats sell, so they must figure they can wait to discount.

With fewer passengers listed this flight’s wait list was already being called a world record days ago. There’s no official industry “largest standby list ever” so no flight will ever prove it definitively. However, the consensus seems to be that this is the most ever, and truly something to behold, especially for a smaller airline.

Listing is cheap. People list “just in case” months out. At this point I bet some are listing just to boost the number because it’s likely a record.

(HT: Nate Paul)