A Lithuanian man had the rare treat of an entire Boeing 737 for himself on a flight between Vilnius and the Italian city of Bergamo. According to the Associated Press, Skirmantas Strimaitis had the entire 188-seat plane to himself beyond the seven-person flight crew.
Flying solo: A Lithuanian man flying to Italy gets a pleasant surprise: He was the only passenger on a Boeing 737-800. The plane can hold up to 188 people. https://t.co/Y2ao8ImO3H #odd
The eerily empty plane was the result of a strange booking. A travel agency called Novaturas had chartered the plane to fly a group home from Italy after it landed in Bergamo. Because the plane was occupied, they only sold one-way tickets between the Lithuanian capital and the ski resort destination.
Only one person bought a ticket, Strimaitis, and he was rewarded with a two-plus hour flight all by his lonesome. Strimatitis called the flight "a once in the lifetime experience" when he spoke to the AP.
Strimatitis' experience was the positive extreme of what has been a wild week in the aviation world. Getting a plane to yourself is a considerable sight better than the recent passengers of suddenly defunct budget carrier Wow Air. More than 1,000 passengers were left stranded when the airline canceled all of its flights and ceased operations this week.
"As is normal, people believed we would get the investment," Wow Air CEO Skuli Mogensen explained of the sudden shutdown that left many travelers stranded in the airport, finding out about the shutdown mere minutes before their flight. "We have been very transparent, but it didn't happen. [...] I'm very sorry about this as these are people who have supported us. I'm disappointed not to honor our commitments."
