Comments on: Exclusive Emptiness: Encounters With The World’s Least Crowded Elite Flights And Resorts

By: GUWonder

GUWonder — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 07:40:01 +0000

Had some widebody flights between the US and Europe during 2020 where I was the only passenger in the business class cabin. Also had some transatlantic wide body flights in in 2020 when I was one of under 15 passengers on the entire flight.

Have had some other very empty flights before 2021 but not since — although earlier this year was on a long-haul intra-Asia widebody flight where all economy class passengers had an ability to get two or more seats for themselves and most could have the poor person’s version of business class.

By: Christian

Christian — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 04:02:18 +0000

My first Cathay flight was an award flight in first class (remember those?) for my wife and I. The 777 from Chicago was pretty empty overall and it was just the two of us in first. When I asked if such a low load was normal I was told no but not many people were flying on Chinese New Year.

By: JCW

JCW — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 03:52:34 +0000

Egypt during Covid- Jan 2021

Getting there, planes were at most 1/3-full (Less so in J)

No lines at any of the Pyramids in Giza. We walk/crawled in immediately. No scammers either.

Flight back was on UA- FRA-IAH My wife were 2 of 5 in J- Superb service. That will likely never happen again- Once in a lifetime

By: nsx at FlyerTalk

nsx at FlyerTalk — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:42:46 +0000

7 people in coach on a PanAm 747 repositioning flight decades ago.

25 people in a 737 to Maui December 2020. 5 people in the giant hotel pool.

Less than 12 in a Barbie jet to Jackson Hole in September 2020.

Many many flights in hillbilly first class (3 or 4 coach seats for sleeping).

The trick is to find out where everyone is going, and go somewhere else.

By: Menashe

Menashe — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:11:22 +0000

My wife and I were the only two guests at Calala Island for two nights. We arrived at about 11 AM on day 1, we had all of day 2 with the full staff to ourselves, and day 3 until about 11 AM before a second couple arrived.

By: Terry

Terry — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 17:56:53 +0000

I once had F all to myself on CX HKG-YVR. It was glorious.

By: Jon Biedermann

Jon Biedermann — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 16:44:19 +0000

My second flight ever, when I was 9 (in 1981), from DFW to SAN, was only myself and my sister. Don’t remember the plane, but it definitely at least 2X2.

Since then, September 20, 2021 comes to mind. PHL to MCO, US Airspace just re-opened. The flight was actually fairly full, but then there was a mechanical issue…. And literally only half of the people got back on, they were that scared. Disney was open but abandoned, and as someone else pointed out, you could ride rides back-to-back, especially Splash Mountain.

Some years later, Allentown to CVG during a huge snowstorm. We were the ONLY flight to leave, I was the only passenger to make it to the airport… we got the double ‘car wash’, we made it. My wife thought I was crazy!

Probably the best? PHL to Heathrow, late 2009 during the Great Recession. Double Aisle, and this was before I started flying 1st. I’d say there was probably maybe 30-40 people on the plane. We basically all moved around in coach, I took up an entire interior row so was able to sleep flat. And why people took a window (yes with two seats), is beyond me! I tried that once and it was terrible.

Ever since then I made it a rule in our company that you can always fly business class on the red -eyes, but coach back (since you just watch movies for 8 hours)… though there was a time when AA offered $500 Business class upgrades which was *well* worth it… I miss the ice cream cart!

-JOn

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 16:27:18 +0000

A cool thing about the Le Meridien Chiang Rai is they have a dock. So when we took a boat taxi 60km down the Kok river after staying in the beautiful mountains of Mai Salong founded by the Chinese Nationalist ex-gorillas/mercs who live there, we had the boat captain drop us off right on the hotel property and walked to checkin.

By: Jim Lovejoy

Jim Lovejoy — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 16:22:13 +0000

We had snagged 1st class JAL reward tickets SFO to HND. Then a typhoon came throught the Tokyo area delaying our flight by 13 hours. By the time the flight left we were the only 1st class passengers left.
The flight attendants couldn’t do enough for us. They said, don’t bother moving from your seats, we’ll make these other seats into beds. They even escorted my wife from the lavatory to her seat.
(She whispered to me “I knew the way.)

By: DSK

DSK — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 16:13:07 +0000

Late 1970s. 747 from London to Boston to Philadelphia. All but a handful of people got off in Boston and of course no one else allowed on. Far more flight attendants than passengers. They told us we could sit wherever we wanted so everyone spread out and had their own section of the 747 to themselves.