How American Tom Stuker Became the Air Travel Record Holder
Air travel these days has ceased to be something extraordinary. Many fly several times a year, going on vacation, visiting or business trips. But even the most active airline passengers are far from the 69-year-old US resident Tom Stuker (Tom Stuker). This guy has flown more than many professional pilots. In total, he has 37 million kilometers behind him, which Tom has overcome in 33 years.
It all started back in 1990, when New Jersey resident Tom Stuker was looking through the morning paper. His attention was drawn to an advertisement for United Airlines. The carrier offered everyone to buy a lifetime ticket for all flights of the company, "only" for 290 thousand dollars.
It was a generous but very cunning offer. Ordinary Americans will not be able to afford to purchase such a "subscription". And those who can easily part with such an amount prefer flights on private jets. Tom was not a multimillionaire and three hundred thousand "greens" were not superfluous for him. However, he decided to buy a lifetime ticket.
It must be said that the American never regretted his unusual investment. Now, 33 years later, Tom Stuker is considered the "number one air passenger" in the world. He flew 37 million kilometers, which is 96 times more than the distance from the Earth to the Moon. During his travels, Stuker visited 100 countries. This is an absolute record among airline passengers.
Tom Stuker also has special achievements. For example, in 2019, he made 373 flights in 365 days. At the same time, he overcame 2.35 million kilometers by air! He calculated that if he bought a ticket every time, he would spend 2.44 million dollars (209.4 million rubles). It is clear that the money spent in 1990, Stuker recaptured very quickly.
It is also interesting that Tom manages to get other benefits from his status as a “perpetual passenger”. He collects bonus miles, through which he buys tickets for his family and friends. They also pay off during travel for accommodation in expensive hotels. He has enough not only for this, but also for charity!
When Tom's brother started renovating the house, he paid for all the expenses with his bonuses. And the wife of the record holder has been on honeymoon trips 120 times. Sometimes Stuker gets quite an unusual profit from his status. For example, once he was given a role in one of the episodes of the Seinfeld series. This was a kind of bonus for 451 thousand miles of flight.
During air travel, Tom Stuker does not get bored. In the air, he often intersects with interesting people and even world stars. For example, one day Hollywood actor Bill Murray turned out to be in the next chair, with whom Stuker talked nicely all the time of the flight.
Do you think United Airlines regrets its ill-advised offer made 33 years ago? Not at all. The airline is proud of its unique passenger and gives him all sorts of honors. Tom Stucker's name is emblazoned on the fuselages of two airliners. He is driven straight to the airstairs in premium cars like a VIP, and pilots and flight attendants address him by name.
Stooker likes to talk about his "air" life. He is a frequent guest on TV shows, where he shares his vast experience. Tom admits that over more than three decades of constant flying, he developed an addiction. It can withstand no more than a week without air travel. The record holder claims that he is much calmer and more comfortable in the sky than on the ground.
Were there any unpleasant moments in Tom's nomadic life? Undoubtedly. He witnessed inadequate and even aggressive behavior of passengers dozens of times. Stuker also saw four times how people die during a flight due to a heart attack.