Delta - Flight with just one passenger

Davy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88IQzcXcnZs

https://www.breakingnews.ie/discover/man-given-his-own-private-flight-after-being-the-only-one-to-turn-up-for-trip-943695.html

A man was given his own private Delta flight after he was the only person to show up for the trip.

Vincent Peone, a director from New York, was rebooked onto the empty flight after his original journey was cancelled.

The plane had to be loaded with sandbags to help evenly distribute the weight.

The director, who runs collaborative website Art Class Content, said: “It was a fun experience and I was in a good mood because my grandfather was doing better. The flight attendants really entered into the fun of it too.”

Seoda1

Why did they add the sand bags? Surely you can fly an empty plane?

RebelButtMunch

Seoda1 wrote: »

Why did they add the sand bags? Surely you can fly an empty plane?

Of course they can.

BlackandGreen

I was on an eirjet flight from Cork - Dublin maybe 15ish years ago and there was only 4 people on it.

Captain_Crash

I flew on a Delta 727 back in the 90's with just my family and another passenger. It was 5 passengers in total, with 7 crew.

L1011

If you're the sole passenger on an Aer Arran Islands flight, you're made sit in the unused first officers seat and told not to touch anything. Happens more often than on a larger airline and is a bit more interesting!

Myself and the wife went to New York with aer lingus (I think it was an a330) and there were no more than 40 passengers .
It was strange being on an almost empty widebody.
Was back was packed to the rafters

eusap

about 3 years ago i flew from Dublin to Cambridge with City Jet and i was the only passenger. My bag was delivered to the steps of the plane on arrival. Coming back there were only 4 people, can see why the route was cancelled quickly.

italodisco

I flew to poland with Lot polish airlines in the early 2000's, huge plane, just me and an embassy guy and 2 cabin crew, felt like a god lol

RocketRaccoon

Seoda1 wrote: »

Why did they add the sand bags? Surely you can fly an empty plane?

I've had to do it on small ATR aircraft, add ballast to counteract the weight up front and the fuel.

lobbylad

Back a long time ago, I think around 1994, I took a BA 747 from Johannesburg to LHR, there were only 4 other pax on the flight.

Crew told us to stretch out on the middle seats and enjoy the space! And that they would be down the back, and if we wanted anything just press the bell or wander down.

Stanford

L1011 wrote: »

If you're the sole passenger on an Aer Arran Islands flight, you're made sit in the unused first officers seat and told not to touch anything. Happens more often than on a larger airline and is a bit more interesting!

Thats an illegal act if its a scheduled public flight

L1011

Stanford wrote: »

Thats an illegal act if its a scheduled public flight

The Islander is still explicitly sold as a 9 passenger aircraft which requires use of that seat. I'm presuming the important controls are locked out - I didn't try!

Tenger

I was on a seaplane flight last month. 11 seater aircraft, (DH-3 Otter)
The pilot put me in the cockpit for the first sector.

martinsvi

Seoda1 wrote: »

Why did they add the sand bags? Surely you can fly an empty plane?

it looks like a CRJ - both CRJs and Q400s are naturally nose heavy and for base training or ferry flights we need to put anywhere between 200 to 400 kilos of ballast in the most rear compartment to get it within CofG envelope.

ted1

Flew to Paris after the attack’s with only about a half dozen people on the plane

punisher5112

Best free advertising any company could ever get.

Tabnabs

I've been one of four people on a South African Airways Dash 8 flight from Joburg to Richards Bay. Not the same as the OP, but still pretty unusual.

Kevski

I flew Dubai-Brisbane-Auckland on an A380 with Emirates two years years ago. The DXB-BNE legs was full but I’d say there was 50-60 at best on the BNE-AKL leg. Similar to a poster above, cabin crew told us to feel free to stretch out across the rows. It was quite a surreal experience to be on an almost empty A380!

ednwireland

about 15 people on a 757 in the 90's to levkas it was shipping sailing gear at the start of the season we were going out to route find for possible mountain bike tours !

Tefral

I was one of only 2 passengers to fly back from London to Dublin on an A321 in 2012. It was very weird.

I thought the flights couldnt take off unless they had someone in emergency exit seats?

Captain_Crash

Tefral wrote: »

I thought the flights couldnt take off unless they had someone in emergency exit seats?

No, the exits just have to be clear of obstruction and cant have anyone in them who is unable to operate them for any reason.

Stanford

IATA rules state that only licenced crew members are allowed in the cockpit

goingnowhere

Tefral wrote: »

I was one of only 2 passengers to fly back from London to Dublin on an A321 in 2012. It was very weird.

I thought the flights couldnt take off unless they had someone in emergency exit seats?

On the EI A321, there is 1 crew seated at each pair of doors. Airbus doors are so easy to open, just pull the handle up

L1011

Stanford wrote: »

IATA rules state that only licenced crew members are allowed in the cockpit

Aer Arann Islands are not a member of the IATA.

NH2013

Stanford wrote: »

IATA rules state that only licenced crew members are allowed in the cockpit

There's no real defined cockpit on an Islander, the whole inside of the aircraft is basically one compartment, both the pilots seats and passenger seats.

Skuxx

I flew Boston to Shannon last year on the October Bank Holiday weekend and there was 12 pax on the Aer Lingus 757!!

Phileas Frog

Stanford wrote: »

IATA rules state that only licenced crew members are allowed in the cockpit

Have you ever been in an Islander??

billy few mates

punisher5112 wrote: »

Best free advertising any company could ever get.

Not for the shareholders.

Kewreeuss

in 1991, we picked up a flight from Rome to London that was coming from Japan.
it had two aisles, don't know how many seats per row. I think there were four other passangers in all. it was the time of the gulf war.

Boxcar_Willie

Seoda1 wrote: »

Why did they add the sand bags? Surely you can fly an empty plane?

It's ballast , to correct the aircrafts "trim" .
If incorrectly trimmed the aircraft would fly at a slight angle .

AndyBoBandy

Flew to Amsterdam one New Year’s Eve about 10-15 years ago, flight departed Dublin at about 6:10pm, there had to be no more that 10-12 passengers on board.

Davy

https://gizmodo.com/that-man-who-went-viral-claiming-he-took-a-delta-flight-1837311990

A Delta spokesperson confirmed to Gizmodo that the plane never took off. “Delta Connection flight 3652 last week pushed back but shortly returned to the gate due to a maintenance issue,” a Delta statement said. “The aircraft departed a short time later without any customers on board.”

It was a private flight after all. So private that no passengers were on board.

ozzy jr

Flew from Brisbane to Singapore on an Emirates 777 and there was only a handful of people on it. Got told to stretch out, just leave the seatbelt visable so the crew wouldn't have to disturb us.

Flew from Dublin to Manchester with EI and everyone except 2 people got off. The plane continued on to Birmingham (I think). Does that sound right? If definitely continued onto another city in England.

joujoujou

Flew with Ryanair from Scotland to Dublin (don't remember now, Glasgow or Edinburgh) couple of years ago, late evening flight. On the very moment check-in was closed, all 7 passengers were at the gate, so crew let us in and we took off immediately, some 40 minutes before scheduled departure time. Quite unusual, I have to admit.

dhaughton99

The plane never actually took off with him on it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2019/08/15/delta-says-passenger-who-posted-viral-video-private-jet-experience-boarded-plane-that-never-took-off/

Phileas Frog

joujoujou wrote: »

Flew with Ryanair from Scotland to Dublin (don't remember now, Glasgow or Edinburgh) couple of years ago, late evening flight. On the very moment check-in was closed, all 7 passengers were at the gate, so crew let us in and we took off immediately, some 40 minutes before scheduled departure time. Quite unusual, I have to admit.

Very, especially considering Ryanair's tight turn around times. I'm putting this story into the didn't happen bucket.

PinOnTheRight

Phileas Frog wrote: »

Very, especially considering Ryanair's tight turn around times. I'm putting this story into the didn't happen bucket.

It can and does happen. Short domestic flights usually have very generous block times and it's easy to arrive 20 mins early or more on some sectors. I had a similar experience with easyJet BFS-GLA one evening, inbound arrived ridiculously early with a dozen pax, same outbound and we departed again before it was even scheduled to arrive in BFS.

Stovepipe

I was on an A330 with a total of 7 pax. Crew put us all together and we were fed like kings.........travelling in the front seat of an Islander is allowed, provided the captain has warned the punter to sit still and not touch anything. It's also common on small inter-island and remote community flights worldwide, at the discretion of the captain.

Irish Steve

Stovepipe wrote: »

I was on an A330 with a total of 7 pax. Crew put us all together and we were fed like kings.........travelling in the front seat of an Islander is allowed, provided the captain has warned the punter to sit still and not touch anything. It's also common on small inter-island and remote community flights worldwide, at the discretion of the captain.

Many years ago, there was a scheduled service from Exeter to Gatwick that was operated with a Twin Otter, and in those days, they were single crew operated, I asked for (and got) the right hand seat at the front, and the first thing the pilot did was offer me a headset, which I took. It was a great flight, and I knew enough about what was going on to not talk to him at "critical" moments.

The fact that it could almost land across the runway at Gatwick is incidental, the approach profile was "interesting" a hold at 900 Ft about 2 miles from the runway, offset from the centre line, and a quick dive in at an appropriate distance behind the preceding jet, and off the runway at what would normally be a departure point, before the next arrival that wasn't far behind us. Very slick and impressive altogether. That was when aviation was a lot more fun that it is now.

peter1892

Back around 2002/03 I took a return flight from Dublin to Galway with Aer Arann. There were maybe 5 passengers on the outbound flight and 4 on the way home again. No issues with ballast that I can remember though.

While waiting in the bar/cafe area in Galway airport to go back home I noticed that the bar-tender had to break the news to the waiting taxi drivers that there were only 5 people on the inbound flight from Dublin!

The cost of the return flight on that occasion was actually cheaper than the train...

tricky D

Once upon a couple of decades ago, I had booked a weekend in London, Fri-Sun, Ryanair to Stanstead. Got home from USIT and discovered I had been booked outwards on Thurs so went and got that fixed to the Fri. After a great weekend concert-going with zero luggage I rocked up for the last Dublin flight on the Sun only to be told the ticket is for Mon night as USIT moved the Sun to Mon when correcting the original error and that the Sunday flight was full. The staff were sympathetic but unable to help.

So there I am stuck in Stanstead with £10 sterling and £10 punts and some change (no cards) to survive on and with sleeping on tiles being the only option. As a true Irishman, I opt to spend some of my very limited funds on a pint and after getting the UK pub chuck out I'm wandering an emptying airport to see if there is even the smallest bit of anything better than tiles when I get called to the Ryanair desk at around 23.45. Rock up and wait for ages until a door in a wall opens and some one asks am I the fella looking to get to Dublin. I confirm and get escorted down the long long way to a Ryanair positioning back to Dublin. Welcome on board and get to hang out in the cockpit most of the way. Impossible these days.

Icing on the cake.
So back in Dublin at 1am in the morning at a time of night when the airport was dead in those days, so no taxis or transport. Besides I have only a tenner and will have to walk towards Santry to hail one to the City Centre. So I light up a cigarette outside the terminal while figuring out options. Being back almost home I have a huge grin on my dial when some bloke comes out and lights up too and starts a chat. I tell him my story and taxi dilemma, only to end up getting a lift to the door. So 2 hours after reckoning on having to sleep on tiles, I am at home cracking open a few beers. Lucked out!

Nicetrustedcup

Never been that lucky to be on a flight by myself.

However a few months back I was on a flybe flight a Embraer 175.

And I think there was barely 20 people on the flight.

To make it worse I got stuck beside the girlfirend on that flight!!!.

Credit Checker Moose

I was on a 777 from PEK-LHR with only 58 on it. It was surreal.