Passenger accidentally gets ‘private jet’ experience with Delta after monster 14-hour delay
The solo flyer had free rein of the cabin to sample snacks and visit the cockpit
Fransebas
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
A delayed Delta Air Lines passenger landed a “private” flight experience after all other ticket holders rearranged their travel plans.
The Reddit user wrote about their unique journey on flight DL 2080 from San Francisco to Minneapolis in a post on Saturday.
Accompanied by a video of the empty cabin, they wrote: “Accidentally flew private on Delta. Flight ended up being delayed 14 (!!!) hours, so when I showed up to the new flight time, the gate area was completely empty. Apparently every single person on my original flight switched, rather than waiting. So I was the only non-crew member on the flight.”
According to the post, the passenger had free rein of the cabin to sample snacks, visit the cockpit and trade cards with the pilot on landing.
A personalised intercom message as the flight began its descent was also “such a cool experience” for the flyer whose fellow passengers opted to rebook their flights.
The sole Delta passenger praised the “amazing” cabin crew onboard for going “above and beyond to give me a special experience”, however, criticised the airline for their “disappointing” and “inadequate” response to the lengthy delay.
They added that their “only (accidentally) private flight” was ultimately a result of a “really unfortunate and inconvenient delay”.
“Delta couldn’t be bothered to try to make up for this absurd delay that forced me 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. So I stood outside in the cold for an hour at 3am while Lyft after Lyft kept cancelling on me. Delta only offered 10k miles and to reimburse the Lyft cost,” the passenger said in the post.
Tracking data shows that flight DL 2080 departed at 2.20pm – 13 hours and 40 minutes after its 12.40am scheduled take-off time.
The Independent has contacted Delta for comment.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
