Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, January 19. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
30.12.2023 - 15:08 / travelandleisure.com / Will Go
It may not the DeLorean, but some United Airlines passengers are going to have their own «Back to the Future» moment when they travel back in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve twice — and where they’re going, they don’t need roads.
Those passengers will be on flight UA200, which departs Guam at 7:35 a.m. on Jan. 1 and lands in Honolulu at 6:50 p.m. on Dec. 31, United shared with Travel + Leisure. The passengers will have the chance to party the night away and welcome the New Year in the U.S. territory before heading to Hawaii to do it all over again.
While not everyone will have the chance to celebrate twice, travelers on 209 different flights will ring in the New Year up in the air. That equates to a total of 5.5 percent of all the airline’s departures on Dec. 31.
“There's something truly memorable about the camaraderie and excitement of celebrating New Year's Eve at 35,000 feet and the joy of getting individuals to their destination as they kick off their new year,” a United spokesperson told T+L. “We look forward to welcoming customers on board to celebrate the start of 2024 with us in the friendly skies.”
Of course, celebrations vary from flight to flight, but passengers could be treated to special traditions on board. Matty Hawkins has been a flight attendant with United for nearly 19 years and told T+L he has celebrated in various ways over his tenure.
“Though we do not… have a standard celebration for [New Year’s Eve] on board, I have experienced flights where I have served Champagne to passengers, enjoyed a countdown with the pilots joining in from the cockpit,” Hawkins said. “While working on [New Year’s Eve], I’ve experienced flying over cities while watching below as they fire their fireworks in celebration, while crossing multiple time zones at a time."
United’s first flight of the year will be flight UA158, which will depart the Pacific island of Palau at 2:05 a.m. on Jan. 1 on its way to Guam.
For travelers not planning on celebrating New Year’s up in the air, there are amazing festivities planned on the ground in cities all around the world from Times Square in New York City to Sydney, London, Paris, and beyond.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, January 19. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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