American who travels 37 million kilometers by plane!

About 37 million kilometres, or the equivalent of 48 trips to the moon: an insane distance for more than thirty years thanks to American Tom Stoker’s unlimited air ticket.

In total, the 69-year-old man has spent three years of his life in air and airports, he told AFP. The man, who claims to be afraid of long-haul flights, averages 1.1 million kilometers a year and says he set his personal record of 2.5 million in 2019, before air travel collapsed in the face of the coronavirus.

It all started in 1990, when he took advantage of an offer from United Airlines, which offered an unlimited lifetime ticket for $290,000 (equivalent to nearly $700,000 or 619,000 francs today). At the time, he explains, it was a “purely business decision.”

As the head of a consulting firm for the automotive industry, he regularly travels to Australia for business and wants to save money. He has subscribed to seat 1B on all United flights and affiliates.

Carbon footprint

After a while, he got another ticket so he could go with him: “If you are in New York today, I can recommend you go to Paris this evening. We’ll meet you at the airport with your passport and tomorrow we’ll have dinner at the Eiffel Tower,” he narrates.

Only six people chose this “duo” offer, which cost a total of $510,000, forcing Tom Stuker to take out the loan, which he explained to his banker as a good deal.

With an average of 21,500km per week and three United flights to his name, it’s clear that Tom Stucker cares little about his carbon footprint. The case earned him and his family insults and threats on social networks, he regrets.

But for Tom Stugar, “The problem doesn’t come from the passengers. The problem is not that people should steal less”. The solution, he says, must come from “companies” and aircraft manufacturers trying to develop less fuel-hungry planes and less polluting fuels.

Tom Stucker still travels to Australia twenty times a year to raise funds for the Children’s Cancer Foundation. “Most of the best moments of my day are my interactions with the staff [des avions]. They know me. We tell each other our lives,” Tom Stuker rejoices.

TTY