Has anyone booked a flight only for the experience?
Posted by Andysus@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 58 comments
I was thinking today that the only times i fly are the once maybye twice a year i go on vacation. I love flying, but there is no reason for me to fly without a goal/destination, atleast thats my thought its expensive and can be stressful. But i did some searching, and seem to see some people who fly for miles, essentialy just flying to do more flying, and i guess that is a valid reason. But does anyone actually do this? Or does anyone book a flight purely just for the fun of flying, no destination plans just a flight back home.
PetriDishCocktail@reddit
Yes, my son found tickets round trip from LAX to New York City. We took the red eye to New York City. Wandered around the city all day and most of the night. Then, about 3:30 in the morning we headed back to the airport for our 5:45 a.m. flight back home. He was 18. He still talks about the crazy trip he took with his dad.
Andysus@reddit (OP)
Sounded like alot of fun! Thinking of doing something like this myself just gotta decide on a interesting city here in Europe, and go for it.
SubjectiveAssertive@reddit
Where abouts are you based? I can recommend Cologne/Köln, Vienna/Wien and Hamburg (for Miniatur Wunderland)
Andysus@reddit (OP)
I live on the west coast in Norway, my regional airport only has three flights to Oslo, Gdansk and Bergen so any other destination will be a connection or a few hours drive to the next airport. But a trip to Gdansk would probably be fun too. I do not mind the connection via Oslo or Bergen either.
MrMisty@reddit
Not specifically for the experience. However, I was flying from BKK-HKG and paid slightly more to fly on an A380. Emirates runs a Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong route, so I jumped on the second leg.
mrste99@reddit
The mileage runs you reference are a thing of the past for the most part (at least definitely the case for US carriers). I had done a few back in the day, though typically I was short just a few miles to renew my status, so most of my mileage runs were between Phoenix and California. One year I used miles for most my tickets and realized last minute that I was going to be quite a bit short of renewing status. I did some math and figured I’d need to fly either to Vietnam or Dubai, and had to complete the trip by December 31st. I was fine doing it as a true mileage run (exit customs and turn around and board the return flight right away) but my wife was adamant about making a trip of it. So we ended up flying to Ho Chi Minh on Xmas Day and flew back to the US on New Year’s Eve. That was actually a little risky, cause if we missed a connection on the return trip and pushed the arrival to New Year’s Day, I wouldn’t have gotten the miles needed before the end of the year!
Lurking_all_the_time@reddit
I booked a very sub-optimal route so I could say I'd flown in and out of Tempelhof in Berlin.
Totally would do it again if the place was still open.
"Brakes on, throttle up" is crazy to hear in a passenger airliner.
thunderclogs@reddit
Took a weekend from Amsterdam to Norwich, just to say I took a flight on a Fokker 70.
spot_removal@reddit
Flying Qatar Airways Q Suites is really something I look forward to when I fly on vacation. As much as the actual vacation.
MisterJSP@reddit
Yes I once flew from Brisbane in the outback just to fly a Saab 340 it was like 7 stops and took 9 Hours and I would do it again. My return flight with the 737 direct was about one and a half hour. I still plan to do such flights in the future.
NoHaxJustNoob@reddit
When I was on my exchange semester in Estonia I booked a ticket on their only domestic route, TLL-URE. 40 minutes on an ATR42-500 on a very cold and snowy January day. Literally got off the plane, walked 5m out the terminal, turned around and walked back on the plane. Worth every Euro!
NoHaxJustNoob@reddit
More recently on my trip to China I also chose a slightly more inconvenient routing that included a domestic leg on the Comac 919. Unfortunately they changed it to an A330-200 a couple days before departure.
Cagliari77@reddit
Hell no.
I have been a frequent air traveler for over 30 years both for business and leisure but I hate the airport hassle so much.
Security, customs, passport control... Basically endless lines and crowds... I hate airports.
lotuskid731@reddit
Yes. A small airline runs an Essential Air Service route near me using a fairly uncommon (for the USA at least) Dornier 328 jet. I booked a round trip on it for next month!
SubjectiveAssertive@reddit
I am vaguely planning LHR-DEN to then pick up a 328 from Denver to somewhere with Denver Air Connection
lukenamop@reddit
I just booked a route on one of these planes for work, not initially because of the plane but after I looked into it I got very excited!
WarmRoastedBean@reddit
I’ve been umming and uhhing about taking an Emirates a380 flight to Wellington from Sydney. Never been on it and this is the cheapest leg I can see on it
njsullyalex@reddit
Wish I was rich enough for that. Though I’ve definitely made excuses to go on trips to justify flying.
Recently did a day trip to Nashville TN out of LaGuardia to hang out with a friend who lived there so he could help me learn to drive stick. It ended up being the perfect excuse to finally fly on Southwest Airlines for the first time (SWA doesn’t operate out of my home field, KEWR)
Separate_Shake_3681@reddit
I booked a flight 10 years ago just to get on an inaugural A350 flight.
lukenamop@reddit
u/gusthirdofhisname this seems like a thread you’d be interested in!
Angel_Dust_696969@reddit
Become a skydiver or pilot ;)
ItsMeOnly3@reddit
Yep, promo flight with 787 WAW-BUD. Just for the sake of flying a Dreamliner.
DaneAlaskaCruz@reddit
No, not really.
I fly so much for work, almost every month, that I don't see myself getting on a flight just for funsies.
Heck, I don't even like it when I'm being paid by the hour to be on a flight.
I have to travel to meet with clients and inspect construction sites. If I could, I would just like to skip the whole thing altogether.
Airports are a pain. Airplane food is not the best. And I hate being cooped up in a seat for multiple hours at a time.
SteO153@reddit
Yes, a few times.
I flew to Orkney Islands to take the Westray - Papa Westray flight, the shortest scheduled flight in the world (1.5 minutes).
I also flew to Friedrichshafen, Germany from St Gallen, Switzerland for what was then the shortest international flight (8 minutes).
Some years ago Lufthansa used the 747-400 for Frankfurt Berlin flights, and I booked it to experience to fly with it in business (since then I flew with the 747 in business in the upper desk three times for intercontinental flights, but I couldn't know back then).
I don't know if it fits your definition, but once I flew to Edinburgh just to have lunch with some friends.
Recently I was forced to fly to Amsterdam, because KLM couldn't reschedule my flight over the phone. I had a Zurich - Amsterdam - NYC flight, the first leg was delayed making me missing the connection. KLM forced me to go to Amsterdam to change the flight at the KLM transfer desk. Once there I cancelled the whole flight (I was going to NYC just for the weekend), spent the night at an airport hotel, and flew back to Zurich the morning after.
What you mentioned is a mileage run, so far I never had the need to do it (I'm frequent flyer with 2 alliances), but I plan my flights in advance and I prefer to have a weekend somewhere, than just do a run.
bnenick@reddit
I’ve booked flights to get the miles when I was close to elevating my flyer status with the airline and the higher level was worth it. I have also booked flights on specific routes to fly on a certain type, but each time I’ve tried that the airline changed the type so that didn’t work out. I’ve also paid for a joy flight through a local flight school where they let you fly the plane with an instructor so that kind of for the experience of flying.
MattTheMechan1c@reddit
I plan on booking a flight on the Lufthansa 747s before they get retired. That’s the only purpose.
Finallyjoining@reddit
I've driven from Calgary to Hay River in the Northwest territories to fly on a DC-3 to Yellowknife. I was a low time pilot at the time so it was a rad experience.
matarbis@reddit
I flew to Honolulu just because I found a good deal for HNL-NRT-GUM-HNL. With seat selection it was ~$1000 CAD and I got to tick off flying on an A380 and the United island hopper!
BrokeAssZillionaire@reddit
They used to do these mystery flight. You pay $90 or whatever and they fly you somewhere on the first morning flight and back on the last flight. You end up in some random places.
Heavy-Ad5385@reddit
For my 40th birthday I decided to cash in my Emirates Skywards miles and upgrade a £1900 business class return to Bangkok to First Class on the A380. Only stayed two nights and then came back.
Have never regretted it!
MasterChief813@reddit
No not yet but I would love to book a flight to fly on the A380 one day and if I ever win the lottery a 1st class ticket up in the hump of a 747-8i.
pm_dad_jokes69@reddit
Fortunately for you, it’s usually just business upstairs on the 747 and 1st is downstairs in the nose. Save you a few bucks 😉
RockLicker61@reddit
But if you do get the first row in the nose of the 747 the walls are angled enough that you can see down the runway for takeoff and landings - way better than being in the hump!
fontanese@reddit
Confirmed. The view from 1A on a LH 748 is a lovely thing.
MasterChief813@reddit
Ah damn I thought they had passenger seating in the upper deck.
Carlito_2112@reddit
Business class is passenger seating. It's sort of a slight step below first-class.
Difficult_Camel_1119@reddit
but at least with the new Lufthansa Allegris, the business class seats in the upper deck are the "worse" ones
1320Fastback@reddit
I bought a ticket to ride on the EAA Ford Tri-Motor simply for the experience.
PepeNoMas@reddit
i'll only consider this if i'm getting one of those packages that includes a full bedroom with a shower, basically a living room/bedroom/shower experience in the sky. other than that, the destination is far more important. having a basic lay flat seat is not worth the flying experience to me
Late-Mathematician55@reddit
I used to fly on my days off with Emirates when I worked in Dubai. I would do it to earn Skywards Miles on cheaper flights so I would accumulate miles for longer flights. Spent a lot of time flying in First. Good times.
lt_dt@reddit
I haven't booked a flight just for the experience, but I have definitely taken non-optimal routings to get a specific plane.
CriticalP0tat0@reddit
Similar. Suboptimal time slots but totally worth it. I remember years ago when UA was getting ready to retire their 747s and they had them fly some domestic routes. I made sure to get on the queen a few more times on ord-sfo runs. I was 1K at the time and was lucky to get a few upgrades and flew up in the hump like three times
diodorus1@reddit
I was luck enough to travel for work. Got Beijing to JFK in business class on a 747. So cool sitting in the nose above the landing gear.
Difficult_Camel_1119@reddit
did that too (just for a flight this week) and got ac change from A340-600 to A330-300 😞
That probably was my last opportunity to have flow with an A340, and surely the last for the -600
lt_dt@reddit
A340 is on my list. I think Lufthansa is keeping them for a while.
Difficult_Camel_1119@reddit
the 600 is scheduled to leave latest in 2027, but probably by the end of this summer
the 300 should stay for another 1-2 years
but as the fuel prices rise, they might retire them earlier
BigDiesel07@reddit
I did that. Instead of flying DFW - DTW, I flew DFW - MSP - DTW to catch a flight on an A359. Added 4 hours to my flight, but well worth it to experience it.
revolutiontime161@reddit
I know a non rev coworker that would fly ORD -MUC ,,, hang out in the airport for a few hours and then fly back . Customs always questioned him . He was single , hated to cook , and loved to fly .
EasyAsAyeBeeSea@reddit
That commitment is incredible.
vintageripstik@reddit
I booked a flight on a 757 recently but it got cancelled. Funny enough the flight I rescheduled to was more convenient, but I was willing to wake up earlier just to fly on a 75
AJFrabbiele@reddit
I did this past weekend, my wife got me a discovery flight as a gift. Turns out my friend is a CFI, so we flew to get pancakes and j got my first two hours.
SugarRealistic2945@reddit
No, but when I book flights I look for specific airframes. I just flew from LA to Seoul on an A380 double decker. Those airframes are becoming more rare. I prefer to fly in the 380 over the 777, 787 or A350.
pm_dad_jokes69@reddit
I had credit to use and needed the miles for status, so I flew to Orlando and back one day for nothing. Lucked into a domestic reposition of an a330 so got an upgrade to business for a few hours.
Also paid to fly in the navigator’s seat on Doc once, that was really cool.
Educational-Low-2401@reddit
It would be cool to have short experience flights over sights like Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon etc.
demroidsbeitchn@reddit
I once booked Sea-Spokane-Slc-Burbank instead of non-stop just for the joy of take-offs and landings. The agent said he hadn't booked that flight in 10 years.
shiftyjku@reddit
Never literally just to be on the plane but I have planned a trip around a flight, like I went to Florida just to fly on Pan Am II (and then got the crappy Carnival roach coach on the way home).
woodworkingguy1@reddit
I had some expiring credits with Alaska from the pandemic, so about 3 years I flew from PDX to Austin and back in the same day.
King_Turduckin@reddit
I once flew DCA-EWR-DFW-ORD-DCA in a single day to retain my status on United (back when butt in seat miles mattered). But also for the fun. NY lox and bagel breakfast at EWR, Texas BBQ for lunch at DFW, a torta at Tortas Frontera at ORD for dinner, then home. It was an enjoyable day as I had the exit row on every flight and work on my laptop to keep me busy.