When a Delta Air Lines flight from San Francisco to Minneapolis was delayed 14 hours, one passenger was left alone as the only customer still trying to travel. Every other customer had been rebooked instead of waiting. So this flyer had the plane all to themselves – like a Delta private jet.
Private* Delta flight experience
byu/Imperfect_Vegan indelta
The customer had faced an overnight delay, which forced them to “try to find a Lyft to drive me 30 minutes outside the city at 3am, so I could try to sleep before the new flight.” They feel Delta had done nothing to “make up for this absurd delay” while they “stood outside in the cold for an hour” as rideshare after rideshare cancelled their pickup requests. When they complained to the airline, they were offered 10,000 SkyMiles plus the cost of their Lyft.
However the flight itself was amazing,
Every member of the crew truly went above and beyond to give me a special experience. …The flight attendants made sure I had everything I could ever want. I tried every snack and had a full meal. The pilots invited me into the cockpit and shared some trading cards with me when we landed. Even gave me a personalized message over the intercom as we began our descent.
So how does one even board a plane when you’re the only passenger? Does the gate agent call boarding groups? In fact, it turns out to have been a bit more confusing that that.
The gate said the flight had departed and literally no one was there but I recognized the flight attendants and pilots nearby and just stuck with them until boarding. I did have to scan my boarding pass still, though, before being escorted down the bridge to the plane.
It’s a cool experience when you get super personalized attention – spoiled even – by a flight attendant. And being alone in a plane makes service super personalized almost by definition.
And it’s a great way to make up for a day of delays. Still, you’ve had to go to the airport amidst the crowds and go through TSA checkpoints, which you’ve probably arrived early for. So it doesn’t quite compare to actually flying private or taking JSX from a private terminal.
I’ve flown alone in first class many times, for instance flying Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Paris; Thai Airways from Bangkok to Tokyo; Korean Air from Seoul to Singapore; and ANA from Chicago to Tokyo. But I’ve never had an entire aircraft to myself.
In the late 80s I flew New York to Cincinnati on Delta with just two or three other passengers after a series of delays. And then my January 1, 2000 (“Y2K”) flight on United from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles flight was on board a a near-empty Boeing 777. Everyone else was afraid to fly that day.
Occasionally – usually because of long delays like this one – you’ll wind up as the only passenger on the plane. Very cool! The airline still needs to move the plane and crew to the next city to continue operating its schedule, so you get to fly and it’s a truly surreal experience.
As a Navy pilot I frequently had the plane all to myself. Mostly because it had only one seat!
No report about if the passenger was forced to sit in the seat on their boarding pass for “balance” purposes.
Depending on the location and airline, when things don’t go according to plan, you could be in for a real treat. On a flight from Mozambique to South Africa my seat was broken, so the pilots let me take the jump seat in an E175. I doubt this would ever happen in the US, no matter how lax the pilots or how upstanding a passenger I may be. That was hands-down my all-time favorite commercial flight experience to-date. For an aviation geek like me, there is no better seat than right behind the pilots.
Amazing. It seems that Tim Dunn has finally succeeded in his quest to convince the world that Delta is the most profitable brand ever in the history of civil aviation. So powerful a clickbait Dunn has turned the word Delta into that 7 out of 10 posts right now on the front page of this site, including the 5 most recent in a row, are on Delta!
— Stranded 14 Hours, Passenger Gets Their Own Delta Plane: VIP Snacks, Cockpit Visit, And Pilot’s Personal Shout Out
— Delta’s Complete Business Class Overhaul Revealed: Luxe Upgrades, Mattress Pads, And A Catch Flyers Won’t Love
— Two Delta Crew Fail Breathalyzer In Amsterdam, Short-Staffed Flight Still Heads to New York
— Leaked: Delta Overhauling Business Class After Plunging Satisfaction—Stripped Fares, Cuddle Pillows, And Luxe Dining
— Delta Gate Agent Confesses: ‘I Skip Couples for First Class Upgrades Because It’s Less Hassle’
— [ something else]
— [ something else]
— Delta Passenger Ditches Meal Tray In The Aisle to Work, Forcing Others To Step Through Trash
— [ something else]
— Delta Turns Plane Around Over Unauthorized Dog, Then Lets It Fly Anyway—Refueling Delay Keeps Passengers Grounded
Congrats, Tim Dunn, you’ve made your point loud and clear. Delta is the greatest!
Short of my post that’s held in moderation before it gets old is that 7 of last 10 posts on this, including the 5 most recent five, are on Delta. Can you guess why?
Why would Delta not cancel after 13 hours? I assume the delay was caused by crew timing out and then needing to rest. Was there not relief crew?
I wonder if they would keep the Sky Club open. In Detroit, they’ve always kept one of the lounges open until the last flight of the night departs. Even on a delay.
I assume that the airplane needed repositioning to MSP. Sending out another airplane from there would put two airplanes out of normal duty and for what? Everyone but a single passenger had found another way to continue their journey. Even if there were quite a number of people waiting to fly, the timing and economics are not good. The time to travel that distance is around four hours. So pay for another crew, leave the gate, taxi, fly, touchdown, taxi, pull up to a gate, refuel, load, leave the gate, taxi, fly, touchdown, taxi, pull up to the gate. Now the passengers have been delayed less but maybe not a lot less. The cost to the company is quite high and the first airplane still needs to be repositioned. Why cancel when there is a passenger still wanting to take the flight even though it is way late? A better question is why didn’t the company figure out how to get more people to take the long delayed flight. Maybe a flash sale for that portion of the flight. As far as the layover, I have done as long of a layover on Singapore Airlines two times in which I found a quiet place and slept on the floor in Singapore.
I was the only passenger on a flight from ALB to DCA in 1989. I believe it was on TWA but might have been PamAm. There was no one at the ticket counter but an agent at another airline told me to wait by the gate. There was no gate agent or other passengers at the gate. Around the flight time, the pilot came up, called my name, and brought me down some stairs. We then walked to the plane (no jet bridge). It was on a prop plane and was just me, the pilot, and copilot. I don’t recall even a flight attendant. Also, I could see into the cockpit (no door) the entire trip and talk directly with the pilots.
It was a surreal experience.
So you just take posts on Reddit and turn them into articles?
https://www.reddit.com/r/delta/s/MOQmuQaoou
I flew 1/1/2002 from BOS to LAX. The pilot came into the boarding gate with sunglasses on, looked around & spoke to the agent. I, along with other nicely dressed passengers were bumped into first class, flat seats & all.
Turns out it was his last flight before retiring. I guess he wanted things to go smoothly. His wife was onboard. We all got to toast him with champagne & the plant got hosed down in LAX after we landed. That was special after what happened on 9/11.
And because he was only a Gold Medallion, the FAs still treated him like garbage.
@BB – I literally embedded this link into the article…
Classic Delta with another overnight delay so the can tout their low cancellation rate lol.
I flew for NWA then Delta. A few flights had only a handfull of passengers. If it was less thn 5 they were moved up to first. The flight didn’t cancel because the plane needed to be at the destination. Yes, we wanted the passengers to feel special.
I did BOS-STL on the morning first flights were officially back after 9/11… so it was 9/14? I can’t remember. But I do remember being one of about a dozen people on an aircraft that held ~250 pax. Everyone was scared to fly and I just recall uniformed military and state police with huge guns walking through the terminal because the TSA would only be formed in the coming year.
I was one of only two passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines MD-80 flight from Portland, Oregon to Orange County, California, PDX-SNA, the morning of January 17, 1994. I was originally booked on an Alaska Airlines flight from PDX to LAX that day, but LAX was closed due to the Northridge earthquake that struck early that morning. Alaska Airlines allowed me to reroute without any additional charges. This was to my advantage because I was headed to Orange County anyway on a business trip. It was interesting how the airline pretended as if nothing had happened and made no mention of the earthquake during the flight.
DCS,
and you are jealous.
Ben and Gary are in the same lane on the highway.
DL is dominating the news cycle for good or for bad.
I flew yyz to ams in a paid (bid for it) upgrade in first on Jet Airways. I was the only one in first.
I controlled the timing of the meals and the timing of the cabin lights. I boarded “whenever you like, sir!”
It was great. My carry on bag got it’s own first class compartment.
Apparently, all the premium pax get on in AMS for the long leg to India.
@Tim Dunn — Hmmmm…I do not get it. I have no idea what “Ben and Gary being in the same lane on the highway” means. More to the point, please explain why in the hell I would be “jealous” when I am the one who pointed out what has increasingly become obvious. In fact, the more time the site host spends churning out senseless clickbaits about DL, the less time he’ll have for making up and spreading other falsehoods or recycling old ones.
In short, instead of trying to start yet another stupid “brawl”, for which you are ill-equipped and will lose, just accept my congrats and move on.
G’day
I was the only passenger once on a Boutique Air flight from ABQ to Los Alamos, NM. They don’t run that route anymore. It was a very small plane: single-engine prop, something like 10 passenger capacity, but it was just me and the two pilots after the other ticketed passenger didn’t show. It was a cool experience.
You are the one that is worried about all the Delta content.
It DOES bother you. It’s obvious
My wife and I were the only passengers on AA592 on a B737-800 from RDU to PHX on 29 Apr 24. The flight was delayed multiple times for various reasons for about 13 hours. No boarding passes given, our choice of seats,. The captain gave us an individual pre-flight briefing. 4 FA’s to wait on our needs. Given 9PM take off- only snacks. 4 wheel chairs waited on the jet bridge in PHX – not needed and attendants in disbelief.
@Tim Dunn — I couldn’t give a damned about your beloved DL and, in fact, I do my best to avoid your constant and mindless hyperventilating on the subject. Why would it bother me?!
You are so deranged that you see everyone, even people on your side, as adversaries out to get you and your beloved DL. For FWIW, the post was meant as a compliment to your “tenacity”. Read it again with that alternate interpretation in mind and see if you’ll “get it” this time around.
We’re done here.
Betcha the delayed flight was switched to a ferry flight and when they realized one passenger was still waiting…they changed it back to a normal (late) flight.
To the author of this article, what happened to my post yesterday where I pointed out two errors and questioned if all the comments publishing happy readers even read the article. It was immediately placed somewhere for moderation, moderate what? Can’t take the heat you made mistakes in your English language?
I’ve done it on a C-9B Skytrain. Me, the pilots and the Loadmaster. From Norfolk to San Diego when I seperated from the Navy.
@joe – i certainly did not delete any comments critical of me
@A. Jensen
Nope, it’s illegal to ferry a flt that’s been delayed due to maintenance issues that has any revenue pax. It’s also illegal for the same for flts that are repositioned for all other reasons. No paying pax, or it must be run as a revenue flt.
I can only imagine what Gary would have written if it was AA, he would be bashing for being 14 hours delay
I wish I could unsee what I have read in the cesspool of comments.