Inaugural flights draw airline ‘geeks’

Inaugural flights draw airline ‘geeks’
14 hours on a jetliner, all in the name of fun
March 29, 2007

Andrew Gibbons will spend the next 38 of 48 hours on airliners -- for fun.

The 29-year-old Northern Californian, who admits to being an airline geek, simply couldn't pass up the chance to fly on United Airlines' inaugural flight from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Beijing yesterday.

Gibbons won't even leave the Beijing airport because, he says, he doesn't want to miss the inaugural return flight. He has done this kind of thing before. In October, he took United's inaugural flight to Kuwait, spent a few hours on the ground and hopped on the return leg.

"I know it doesn't make a lot of sense," said Gibbons, director of operations for SmugMug, a photo-sharing Web site, who giddily took video and photographs of an elaborate ceremony before yesterday's flight. "My friends don't get it. They think I'm a geek."

Gibbons is part of a subspecies of frequent fliers who chase inaugural flights because they adore airlines, airplanes, even airports. They seek to be part of airline milestones. Among their ranks are those who like the prestige of being the first passengers on the world's longest flight, or the first or last travelers aboard a specific type of airplane. Some want to be the first passengers to take a short hop on new routes offered by low-cost, low-frills carriers.

These airline maniacs are like spurned lovers -- maintaining their affection for an industry that continually conspires against them with increases in flight delays, packed planes, lost luggage and cutbacks in food and service.

Gibbons was not the only inaugural flier on United Flight 897 -- a nearly 14-hour, 6,920-mile haul with 346 other passengers on a Boeing 747. At least two other people were aboard just to notch up another first flight.

Members of this super-elite crowd enjoy traveling -- no, flying -- so much that they don't always need hotel reservations. Like Gibbons, others said they have taken inaugural flights and simply returned, never setting foot outside an airport.

Quixotic journeys
Most have difficulty explaining why they take these quixotic journeys. Some are enamored of the romance of flight. Others are addicted to airplanes. A few said they like escaping cellphone calls and e-mail for a few hours.

They usually sit in business or first class, using frequent flier miles to upgrade from cheaper coach seats. Several mentioned they liked the attention and status that comes with such luxury seats.

They are also motivated by the possibility of earning massive amounts of frequent flier miles.

But that isn't always the case. Gibbons, for example, cashed in a substantial number of frequent flier miles and spent more than $1,000 to get his business-class tickets and Chinese visa for his two-day aviation marathon, he said.

Fran Jelley, a 59-year-old consultant, flew from her home in Australia -- through China -- to be on the Dulles-to-Beijing flight yesterday. Jelley will fly back to Washington on Tuesday, then quickly return to China before heading back to Australia.

She says she took the United flight to be part of history, noting the significance of linking the two capitals with nonstop air service. United battled three other U.S. carriers in a heated competition to win the rights to a daily direct flight to China.

"I had this tremendous dilemma about which inaugural to take," Jelley said before boarding the flight yesterday. "Washington-Beijing or Beijing-Washington. I figured the true inaugural was the first one, so I chose that. This is very symbolic -- capital to capital."

Robert Cole, a 34-year-old from New Zealand, spent about $6,000 to take a series of flights over several days in 2004, including Singapore Airlines' inaugural nonstop service between Singapore and Newark. He waited a few hours in Newark before boarding the return flight -- the longest scheduled flight in commercial aviation, at 18 1/2 hours, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Inaugural flights are not limited to international routes. Adrian Leung, 30, has taken at least 10, most of them between U.S. cities. Last year, he took Southwest Airlines' first flight from Dulles to Chicago.

‘An aviation freak’
He posted photographs -- including a few of the airplane's lavatory -- and a written description of the experience on the Internet. Just last week, he took Horizon Air's inaugural flight from Seattle to Santa Rosa, Calif., because it seemed "like fun." Then he took the continuation of the flight to his home in Los Angeles.

"I'm an aviation freak," said Leung, a sociologist who hopes to write a book about the interaction of people, airlines and airports.

Not everybody understands the enthusiasts' passion.

At Dulles yesterday, some passengers raised their eyebrows when told Gibbons and others were taking the flight for kicks.

"I've flown there before, and [the flight] really is not that much fun," said Rodney Sanders, 46, who was going to China to pick up an adopted child.

Gibbons admits that he has a hard time explaining his unusual pastime. He says he loves United because it has a large presence in San Francisco and he grew up a huge fan of the airline's theme song, George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." After his inaugural Kuwait trip, he posted video clips of the flight on YouTube with theme music.

After arriving at Dulles early yesterday on the red-eye from San Francisco, Gibbons dashed off to a nearby gym, then showed up early at the United gate. He didn't want to miss the inaugural ceremony and party, which included performers, music and a spread of Chinese food.

Gibbons videotaped the drummers at the ceremony, then hurried over to a podium to take video and snapshots of United's top executive, Glenn F. Tilton, and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. Gibbons even got a United spokeswoman to take his picture next to Tilton, which he wants to post on his Web site.

Gibbons said he planned to edit his video, watch movies and listen to music aboard the flight. And sleep, of course.

If all goes as planned, he will return to Dulles at 7:45 p.m. today. An hour later, he will be on another flight home.

"I will probably be tired of airplanes by then," he said.

Maybe not.

Just before boarding, Gibbons told another passenger that he was bummed that he couldn't work another upcoming inaugural flight into his schedule: On Sunday, United kicks off service between Dulles and Rome.