Where’s Doc Brown when we need him?
United Airlines (UAL) – Get Free Report could’ve used some help from the eccentric time-traveling genius, who ripped through the fourth dimension in the “Back to the Future” franchise.
Related: Southwest and JetBlue Airlines have more bad news for passengers
The company was looking to give its passengers a time-traveling experience to ring in the New Year, but ran into some serious headwinds that sent the really cool concept into a tailspin.
Great idea, too bad it got delayed!
I was supposed to be on this flight. Double new year isn’t happening anymore 😢.
Maybe next year? pic.twitter.com/mjfeKfIacv
— danfisch (@danfisch) December 31, 2023
Our story begins on Dec. 28, when United tweeted “you only live once, but you can celebrate New Year’s Eve twice!”
Flying from Guam to Hawaii
How is that possible, you ask? Well, buckeroo, it’s all a matter of time and space.
The company’s flight from Guam was set to depart at 7:35 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2024, and land in Honolulu at 6:50 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2023, local time, thus giving passengers a chance to guzzle more champagne and take another crack at those pesky resolutions as they doubled up on their New Year’s festivities.
In addition to the double New Year route, United told Travel + Leisure that passengers on 209 different flights would be welcoming 2024 high in the sky, which amounts to a total of 5.5% 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 said.
However, reality showed up and ruined everything.
The Honolulu flight was delayed and took off more than six hours late from Guam, landing in Hawaii at 12:35 a.m. on Jan. 1 and causing travelers to miss out on the Aloha State’s New Year’s Eve countdown.
Great Scott! Maybe they should’ve taken a DeLorean instead?
“Great idea, too bad it got delayed!” danfisch tweeted. “I was supposed to be on this flight. Double new year isn’t happening anymore.”
Airline apologizes
United Airlines apologized in a follow-up tweet and offered rebooking assistance.
“I’m sure rebooking is exactly what this person wants, unless the next flight travels back in time….,” Mitchell Farmer responded.
Not to be a party pooper, but we may want to give that whole time travel thing a rest.
While Doc Brown was able to rock around the clock in all those movies, real-life genius Albert Einstein didn’t hold much hope for the Marty McFly approach.
The famed theoretical physicist ruled out going back in time and said traveling into the future is possible, if you’re planning to go at the speed of light, which is just a little faster than your average jetliner.
United reportedly had a holiday hiccup last year when a group of passengers missed New Year’s Eve entirely after a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney made an emergency landing in American Samoa.
Passengers were left stranded on the remote Pacific island just east of the international date line, for 21 hours after the plane suffered a “mechanical issue,” according to Business Insider.
Due to the time zone quirk, passengers missed out on the opportunity to celebrate the clock striking midnight on Dec. 31.
On the plus side, some of the locals in Pago Pago took the travelers on a tour of the island and served them beers on a deserted beach.
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