Watch TikToker’s flight to NC turn into a ‘private party’ after an 18-hour delay
A North Carolina-based TikToker was able to have the ultimate first-class experience after waiting out an hourslong delay.
Phil Stringer, known as @Phil.stringer on TikTok, posted a June 26 video showing his experience on an American Airlines flight from Oklahoma to his home in Charlotte after sticking out an 18-hour delay.
The video that’s garnered over 27 million views as of June 27, shows Stringer board a completely empty aircraft after other passengers gave up because of the delay.
“I’m the only person on the plane and they have an entire flight crew,” Stringer said. “They do not want to do this flight.”
But in fact, according to the TikTok, the crew was more than inclined to take the single passenger back home.
Later in the video, a flight crew member can be heard calling Stringer’s name over the intercom as the flight got ready to embark at its new departure time of 12:13 a.m.
“They pulled them from the hotel to come do this flight for just one person,” Stringer said in the video.
The flight, set to land at 3:35 a.m., turned into a ”private party” equipped with a funny overhead announcement and a flight attendant conducting a safety demonstration while her fellow crew members cheered in the empty seats, the video showed.
“We know it can be frustrating when travel plans get delayed and are thankful for our crew members who went above and beyond to care for Mr. Stringer during his flight,” a spokesperson for the airline told McClatchy News.
Other flight crew members jumped to the comments to give their thoughts on the unforgettable experience, with one person saying, “Flight attendant here — this is literally our dream scenario, esp for a delayed flight. So glad you had a nice time!”
Another commentator got nostalgic about a similar experience and said, “I was a flight attendant for 10 years and this happened to me one time. Our passenger’s name was Ben and I will never forget it!! Such a blast!”
This story was originally published June 27, 2023 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Watch TikToker’s flight to NC turn into a ‘private party’ after an 18-hour delay."