It sounds like a lot to spend upfront, but when you think about how airfare keeps rising, it might just turn out to be a genius move in the long run.
Now, this kind of offer isn’t something you hear about every day. But way back in 1990, there actually was a way for travelers to lock in unlimited flights for life.
Even without factoring in decades of inflation, that was a hefty price tag. But Tom Stuker, a consultant from New Jersey who worked in the car dealership industry, saw it differently. He saw it as a golden opportunity.
According to an article on the travel blog Live and Let’s Fly, whose author says they’re friends with Stuker, his decision to buy the pass came down to two main reasons. First, his job meant regular travel to Australia. Second, and just as important – he absolutely loves flying.
Thanks to more than 300 trips to Australia and 120 personal ‘honeymoons’ with his wife, his flight log has surpassed a jaw-dropping 24 million miles. To put that into perspective, that’s about 100 round trips to the Moon and then some!
He crossed the 24 million mile mark on a United Airlines flight between Newark and San Francisco on May 17, 2024. Looking back, Stuker has called the lifetime pass the “best investment of his life.”
During that conversation, he explained his point of view, saying: “I’m not adding to the footprint. The plane is going to fly whether I’m on it or not. It would be much more relevant if I was flying in a private jet. Those are the people who can help the environment much more than I can if they flew commercial.”
United Airlines has since retired the lifetime pass program, but there’s no doubt they had one very satisfied customer in Stuker.
