This man waited 18 hours for his delayed Airbus A321 American Airlines flight and ended up with his own 200-seat plane all to himself for the price of one ticket.

Chief operating officer of a Real Estate Brokerage Phil Stringer from Greensboro, US, was on a flight from Oklahoma City to Charlotte that was meant to have 200 passengers but after delays, he was stunned and delighted to learn he had ended up being the only one patient enough to board the flight, in time for the aircraft’s five crew to service.

Phil was flying with American Airlines on a 5:35 am boarding flight from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, North Carolina on June 25, 2023 after speaking at an event in Oklahoma City.

The plane itself was an Airbus A321 which is a common narrow-bodied plane that is often used for domestic flights within the USA and can seat anywhere between 185 to 236 passengers.

There were originally 200 passengers set to board the flight at 5:35 am, but the flight was consistently delayed for 18 hours due to maintenance issues on the aircraft.

For 18 hours, Phil stayed in the airport working from his laptop, when slowly every other passenger decided to cancel their flight because of the long waiting times.

At 12 am the following day, June 26, Phil heard his name over the speakers telling him to board his flight, which ended up being just him who had outstayed the delays and was getting on the flight.

Five staff members were taken from their nearby hotel to join this flight just for Phil.

On the flight, Phil and the staff joked around with each other about the surreal experience they were all having with just one passenger on a 200-plus passenger aircraft for a one-hour and 45-minute flight.

After his flight, Phil was then stuck in Charlotte airport as they had lost his luggage, even though there was only one set of luggage to go on the flight and that was Phil’s.

“I was told ‘maintenance’ on the aircraft,” he said.

“I worked the entire time from the same spot at the Starbucks coffee shop on the other side of the airport from my gate.

“I never went to my gate until the very end when it was time to board.

“It was meant to be a pretty full flight.”

Although it was a surreal experience, Phil made light of the situation with the aircraft staff, jokingly filming the experience with them.

“I think they were annoyed and confused at first getting pulled from their hotel for just one passenger,” he said.

“But we quickly made light of it and had a blast. We joked, talked, played games, exchanged numbers, and took selfies. They gave me all the food and drink I wanted.

“It was a bad situation for all of us. I didn’t want to have to be delayed 18 hours, and I know they didn’t want to have to be pulled from their hotel, but we decided to make the most of it.

“If you can shift your focus from negative to positive, it can change your entire situation.

“We all could’ve focused on the negative and let it impact our attitude in a negative way, or we could choose to make the most of it and have fun with the situation we were given.”

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200 Person Aircraft to Himself

By Shannine O’Neill

**EXCLUSIVE**

THIS MAN waited 18-hours for his delayed Airbus A321 American Airlines flight and ended-up with his own 200-seat plane all to himself for the price of one ticket.

COO of a Real Estate Brokerage Phil Stringer from Greensboro, USA was on a flight from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, USA that was meant to have 200 passengers but after delays he was stunned and delighted to learn he had ended up being the only one patient enough to board the flight, in time for the aircraft’s five crew to service.


Phil was flying with American Airlines on a 5:35am boarding flight from Oklahoma City to Charlotte, North Carolina on June 25, 2023 after speaking at an event in Oklahoma City.


The plane itself was an Airbus A321 which is a common narrow-bodied plane that is often used for domestic flights within the USA and can seat anywhere between 185 to 236 passengers.

There were originally 200 passengers set to board the flight at 5:35am, but the flight was consistently delayed for 18-hours due to ‘maintenance issues’ on the aircraft.

For 18-hours, Phil stayed in the airport working from his laptop, when slowly every other passenger decided to cancel their flight because of the long waiting times.

At 12am the following day, June 26, 2023, Phil heard his name over the speakers telling him to board his flight, which ended-up being just him who had outstayed the delays and was getting on the flight.

Five staff members were taken from their nearby hotel to join this flight just for Phil.

On the flight, Phil and the staff joked around with each other about the surreal experience they were all having with just one passenger on a 200-plus passenger aircraft for a one-hour and 45-minute flight.

After his flight, Phil was then stuck in Charlotte airport as they had lost his luggage, even though there was only one set of luggage to go on the flight and that was Phil’s.

“I was told ‘maintenance’ on the aircraft,” he said.

“I worked the entire time from the same spot at the Starbucks coffee shop on the other side of the airport from my gate.

“I never went to my gate until the very end when it was time to board.

“It was meant to be a pretty full flight.”

Although it was a surreal experience, Phil made light of the situation with the aircraft staff, jokingly filming the experience with them.

“I think they were annoyed and confused at first getting pulled from their hotel for just one passenger,” he said.

“But we quickly made light of it and had a blast. We joked, talked, played games, exchanged numbers, and took selfies. They gave me all the food and drink I wanted.

“It was a bad situation for all of us. I didn’t want to have to be delayed 18 hours, and I know they didn’t want to have to be pulled from their hotel, but we decided to make the most of it.

“If you can shift your focus from negative to positive, it can change your entire situation.

“We all could’ve focused on the negative and let it impact our attitude in a negative way, or we could choose to make the most of it and have fun with the situation we were given.”

ENDS