Woman flying home from Ibiza treated like VIP on plane as the only passenger
A woman flying back from Ibiza got the full VIP treatment when she found herself to be the only passenger.
Hannah Maden-Adams, 38, from Jersey was treated like a celebrity on the £188 flight, after she turned out to be the only person checking in.
She had been in Ibiza celebrating her birthday with friends and expected to board a typically full flight home, but was surprised to discover the flight from Ibiza to Jersey was completely empty aside from herself and the crew.
Maden-Adams was chauffeured from the boarding gate to the plane in a car and got some insider holiday tips from the pilots while she was flying back.
The Blue Islands flight cost £188, but she says it felt more like travelling on a "private jet" for far more than that.
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“It sounds cheesy because I'm just a normal person, but it felt really exciting being taken in a car to the aircraft and then being the only person to board," Maden-Adams explains.
“It was very surreal, but really fun – how often does something like that happen? Normally flights are absolutely packed, with kids, families, groups of people all talking and laughing.
“Instead, the crew said choose where you want to sit and put your luggage where you like. I went for a window seat – I decided to sit up near the front as I like to see the view.”
Maden-Adams, who works as the founder of a communications agency, booked a flight home to Jersey on Thursday 6 July.
However, when she arrived at check-in, staff were insistent that there were no flights going from Ibiza to Jersey, with some staff saying they had never heard of it.
She finally managed to check-in but when she arrived at the gate, Maden-Adams says she began to wonder where the other passengers were.
It wasn’t until the gate was opened that a member of staff informed her she was the only passenger.
A private car collected her from the gate and drove her to the plane where she was greeted by cabin crew, who were equally surprised by the unique private jet experience.
They informed her the first flight from Jersey to Ibiza had departed that morning, and they hadn’t expected anyone would be flying back that afternoon.
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“I didn’t know how busy it would be, but I didn’t expect to be only one – I didn’t think they would fly if there was only one passenger but they had to get the plane back to Jersey, so the flight was going anyway,” she explains.
"I had no idea I was the only person until that very last moment at the gate before going to the plane. After the weird experience at check-in I wasn’t convinced that I even had a direct flight.
“The staff and pilot said they had never flown just one passenger on one of their planes before."
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Maden-Adams says while they were in the air the pilots pointed out various locations and recommended destinations for future holidays.
“I thought it was a really nice personal touch," she says. “It was really fun, the air stewardesses chatted the whole way, it was great to get to know them to find out about their lives.
“But they were still very professional and did all the flight safety instructions and all the announcements.”
Rob Veron, chief executive of Blue Islands, said the outbound flight had been "hugely popular" and it was "great" that Maden-Adams had been able to fly directly back to Jersey.
Additional reporting SWNS.
