Shock as Flight Attendant Shares Unusual Scene: 'All of Them Paid Extra'

2 weeks ago 2

A post showing an unusually empty plane has gone viral on Reddit.

The post was shared by Redditor mancuso19 and has garnered 130,000 upvotes since it went live on January 13.

A caption shared with the post simply read: "I'm a Flight Attendant, today I had a flight with 13 passengers." The post shows an image of a nearly empty plane cabin with one passenger in an aisle seat, while another is shown much further ahead.

In a later comment, the poster said: "All of them paid extra for the allocation of the seats."

Despite the nearly empty scene shown in the viral post, air travel passenger demand was found to be up by 8.1 percent in November 2024, compared with the same month in 2023, according to a January report by the International Air Transport Association.

The November 2024 load factor—the percentage of available seats an airline sells on its flights—was reported to be at 83.4 percent, marking an all-time high for November, the IATA said.

How Common Is It for Planes To Fly With So Few Passengers?

"It's hard to say how common it is for a flight to be that empty or a 'ghost flight' without more information about the route, day and time," Henri Chelhot, CEO of the travel booking websites FlightHub and justfly.com, told Newsweek, noting that "flight occupancy varies based on timing, route popularity, and external factors like natural disasters."

For example, a Friday night flight from Chicago to New York, which are both major hubs, is "likely to be full due to heavy demand from business travelers, weekenders and tourists," he said.

However, a midweek flight, such as a Wednesday morning from Cleveland to Greenville in Tennessee, is "far less likely to be packed, as it serves a less busy route and avoids peak travel times."

Natural disasters, such as the current fires in the Los Angeles County area, can also significantly impact flight occupancy.

"Travelers may cancel plans, reroute to avoid affected areas or prioritize safety, leading to emptier flights to or from regions experiencing crises. Such events highlight how external circumstances can shift travel trends unexpectedly, alongside the more predictable factors like day, time, and route," the CEO said.

Why Do Airlines Operate Flights That Are Nearly Empty?

While some might think airlines would simply cancel a flight that was as empty as the one in the viral Reddit post, "that's not really fair to passengers or even adhering to guidelines," Chelhot said.

For instance, if you're on that aforementioned flight from Cleveland to Greenville to see your sick grandmother, "would it be fair for the airline to cancel it simply because you're the only one on it?" the CEO asked, adding that "the airline advertised it, you paid your money, and it's not your fault no one else opted to take that particular flight."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates the number of take-offs and landings in the U.S., which are known as slots.

The FAA explains that "a slot is an authorization to either take-off or land at a particular airport on a particular day during a specified time period" and these slots are used to "manage air traffic at extremely busy airports, and to prevent repeated delays that result from too many flights trying to take off or land at the same time."

Chelhot said "airlines use these slots to make their schedules and don't cancel them without highly compelling reason" and "ghost flights aren't considered one of them."

'I Don't Even Know How This Is Possible'

Users on Reddit were intrigued by the empty flight in the Reddit post.

User ozziekhoo wrote: "Just wondering, how could something like that possibly happen? Covid? Less known airline/route?"

ComCypher said: "I don't even know how this is possible. Every flight I'm on the announcement is 'we are overbooked, good luck bringing your bags on board.'"

Minamoto_Naru said: "That's not good for the company but for passengers and flight attendants, it may be a great time."

ChocoPuddingCup: said "Honestly, with that kind of flight I'm surprised they weren't just bumped up to first class and seated near each other for convenience."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.