Anish Vij
A man who is the owner of a lifetime flyer pass has opened up on the darker moments of this ultimate travel perk, including the four in-flight deaths he's witnessed first hand.
Tom Stuker is the man who purchased the travel 'golden ticket' in the 90s, and now saves over £1 million a year on plane tickets. But it just so happens that the 71-year-old from New Jersey, who has flown over 24 million miles, used to be petrified of flying.
"For a guy that was scared to death to fly, to become the world's most frequent flyer was kind of a weird twist, but I'm not afraid of flying anymore," Stuker tells LADbible.
A 'combination of prayers and Bacardi' is what got him through it, he tells us - and based on the traumatic things Stuker's witnessed during his travels, it's no surprise he's needed both.
Advert
As a sales consultant in the auto industry, he was constantly flying back and forth to Australia for work and it was costing him up to $25,000 a trip to travel first class.
So when he discovered there was such thing as a lifetime flyer pass, the jet-setting businessman jumped at the chance.
Stuker opted for United Airlines' companion pass, which meant he could fly first class with a partner whenever he wanted. At the time, he forked out $510,000 (£400,000) for the golden ticket, which, in today's money would be over £1m.
But if you're spending 300 days a year in the air, it's not all going to be plain sailing; having been on over 12,000 flights and travelled to over 100 countries in the last 30 years, Stuker has witnessed some pretty dark moments, including four deaths.
Advert
Recalling one particularly harrowing experience, Stuker explained how he found out a passenger he'd befriended had died on an Australia flight, something he found particularly devastating.
"I've been on a flight four times when someone passed away," he said. "The saddest was going back and forth to Australia before, when they had the first class cabin.
"In the first class lounge, before you go, you get a chance to meet a bunch of people. I'm kind of a talkative person, and I get to meet everybody and talk to them, ‘Hey, where are you going? Is this your first time? Have you been here? Have you been there?’
"You know, kind of a tour guide sometimes. So I met this couple that were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. They're all excited first time to Australia. They had six kids.
Advert
"They all pitched in for the trip of a lifetime, and we were about an hour and a half out of Sydney, I can't remember Sydney or Melbourne. And the flight attendant came by and says, ‘Well does he want breakfast?’ And she said, ‘No, let him sleep’.
"And then it was time to get the seats back up. And he had passed, and everybody kind of knew these people from the first class lounge."
He went on: "It was sad. The whole first class section was crying for an hour. It just, it was the saddest thing, the nicest people in the world."
But despite witnessing a series of tragedies, Stuker isn't afraid of spending his last moments on a plane, 'if it happens, it happens', is how he sees it.
Advert
The avid traveller says the pros far outweigh the cons, having flown one-and-a-half million miles in 2019 alone, saving over $1m (£787,000) that year.
"It's priceless. I mean, it's beyond, beyond. I never put a dollar amount to it, but it's millions. I mean, it's an awful, awful lot of money," he said.
"I just did it, and ironically, right before the pandemic, you know, but just that one year was millions of dollars. So, you know, I got my money's worth. I mean that's for sure."
With 25 million miles in sight, his favourite destination remains home.