Three women reportedly found themselves the only passengers on a 150-seat flight from Gibraltar to Heathrow after they had been told that it was delayed for three hours.
While fellow passengers turned up on time and found space on other flights, the trio arrived at the appointed hour – and discovered that they were the only ones remaining.
This meant that they effectively each had a member of the British Airways cabin crew to act as their personal valet, The Times reported.
Between the three of them they managed to get through ten quarter-sized champagne bottles, as well as a three course meal each, served to them after a complementary upgrade to business class.
3 British women got upgraded to Business Class as the ONLY passengers on a BA flight https://t.co/N64BlVINkJ
— Jon Najarian (@jonnajarian) December 22, 2016
Not only were they alone on the aircraft, by the time it took off at 8.27pm, they were also alone in the airport and were given private access to duty free.
The three had paid £80 for the two-and-a-half-hour flight on December 18.
It was the highlight of a three-day holiday for Laura Stevens, 34, and Laurie-Lin Waller, 33, both television producers, and Sarah Hunt, 35, a lawyer.
Stevens, from south-west London, said: “It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that we’ll never forget.
“We felt like celebrities, especially when we were given champagne. It was the best Christmas present ever, we couldn’t believe how kind and lovely everyone was.
“We were the only people in the departure lounge so staff let us use the executive suite, which is usually reserved for business flight passengers,” Ms Stevens said.
“Then we mentioned how we’d hoped to buy our family gifts at the airport, and staff opened shops so we could browse. It was as though we’d hired out the place just for us.”
She added: “We were given front row seats and a private safety talk. The plane took off really quickly because it was so light, it felt like we were on a private jet.
“The pilot made an announcement stating he’d never flown a commercial flight with so few people.
“People pay thousands for the kind of experience we had but we got it all for the cost of an economy ticket. It was a real one-off. We can’t thank BA enough, they made our Christmas.”
Hunt, from Gibraltar, and Waller, from Glasgow, joined Stevens to celebrate by taking a selfie in the cockpit after they landed.
“We put on our shades and had a great time partying on board. We took videos of us strolling up and down the aisles,” Stevens said.
“Cabin crew warned us that the fog meant it could take a while to land but we were having such a fantastic time we told them to take their time. We wanted the flight to go on for ever.”