While time travel remains a concept confined to the realms of science fiction, United Airlines playfully offered customers a unique experience to celebrate New Year's Eve twice within hours. “Time travel is real,” the airline wrote on Instagram. “You only live once, but you can celebrate New Year's Eve twice,” they claimed.
Flight UA200, scheduled to depart from Guam at 7:35 am on January 1 (post New Year celebrations), aimed to land in Honolulu, Hawaii at 6:50 pm on December 31, 2023. This creative initiative, known as a 'time travel' flight, is not entirely new, as several airlines have previously organized similar experiences on New Year's Day.
However, this year's attempt by United Airlines with Flight UA200 faced challenges, and the outcome did not go as planned.
The flight encountered a delay of over six hours, taking off from Guam at 1:49 pm on January 1 instead of the scheduled time. Consequently, by the time the flight touched down in Honolulu, it was already midnight. The initially exciting prospect of celebrating New Year's Eve twice turned into a significant disappointment for those on board, marking 2024's first notable letdown.
Passengers vented their frustration on X, formerly Twitter, with one user commenting, “Great idea, too bad it got delayed! I was supposed to be on this flight. Double new year isn't happening anymore.”
Another disappointed flier wrote, “@united We're booked on the flight. Planned our entire vacation around it for a year. Just got notification that it's delayed and won't land until 1:10 a.m.”
Someone complained, “I booked this flight specifically so I could do this. I got a delay notification and we aren't scheduled to get in until 1/1.”
While United Airlines' Flight UA200 faced delays, passengers on other flights had better luck. For instance, Cathay Pacific's flight CX872 left Hong Kong just after 1 a.m. on January 1, landing in San Francisco at 8:22 p.m. on December 31. Similarly, All Nippon Airways' flight NH106 departed Tokyo at 12:48 a.m. on January 1 and reached Los Angeles at 5:12 p.m. on December 31. These flights allowed passengers to smoothly transition between time zones and enjoy the unique experience of celebrating New Year's Eve twice.
