If you’re an aviation geek, odds are that you’ve either taken an inaugural flight, or at least have been interested in taking one. In this post I wanted to talk about these special flights in a bit more detail. How different are they than your typical flight, and are they worth seeking out?
Continue reading: What Are Inaugural Flights Like? Are They Worth Taking?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Hey Ben! Thanks for the write up. Will the new flights from Doha to Lisbon in June counts as an inaugural flight? Or since it’s resuming it wouldn’t be one?
I'm booked on the inaugural TK flight from DEN to IST. For some reason, it's on the old, crappy 777 business class config., while subsequent flights will be on their nice A350 product. I've been hoping they'd change, but it still shows as 777. I'll likely cancel when it gets closer.
Crud! Didn't see the date at first, haha.
Got excited that Etihad was (finally) returning to LAX!
I inadvertently took Sun Country’s inaugural flight MSP-OAK last week. Booked based on price and convenience. We were only given cookies when we landed in OAK to commemorate the flight… they were tasty though .
By chance, I happened to be at the gate area for two inaugural flights, both in the U.S. One was a flight to Tokyo, another was a flight to Amsterdam. On the Amsterdam flight, a gate agent walked up to me and asked if I was going to Amsterdam but I wasn't.
Ben, you had me for a minute. That AUH to LAX was restarting. Ha. There had been rumors. And, the TBIT had started to display Etihad drop-off zone again. Your sense of its likelihood?
I don’t know if there’s any inaugural flight I’d be looking forward to. Maybe when Qatar launches QSuites 2.0?
Unrelated note: but there’s a story coming out of the Hilton Beijing Wangfujiang that might interest you
Oh look - an EY image on a non- EY post . Last day of the month - gotta fill the quota. And to think @Ben was so outraged yesterday. Can’t make this stuff up! On cue - saver award space in FC about to open up on A380- not for all of course!
I've been on a few dozen inaugural flights (at least). And a few last flights (which were much more employee-focused... I flew the final flight of AirTran where I used to work and it was a massive party to the extent the TPA airport allowed the gate area to blast music and have a walk-up bar). Some have more than others... Smaller airports tend to get more excited. I flew the Allegiant inaugural BNA-RFD and the airport in Rockford had live music and gave out $25 travel vouchers to everyone. I flew the inaugural flight of Contour Airlines to Macon, GA and got to meet the mayor. Flew on the Red Way Airlines inaugural flight and that was quite interesting... TPA and MCO tend to make a big deal out of every inaugural. Tampa does fancy cakes. Orlando has some sort of giveaway.
It's fun usually and gives an opportunity to see somewhere new. No, haven't done anything like an Etihad inaugural... but I don't want to. Flying the first airline flight into a city in 20 years and seeing a community genuinely excited is more fun for me.
Ben did a write-up about it, a few months ago:
https://onemileatatime.com/news/etihad-airways-los-angeles-flights/
I flew Copa's inaugural AUS-PTY last summer. It was a lot of fun with music, gifts, and snacks in the gate area. The service was excellent on board. So good it almost made me want to fly Copa again.
First of all, take your meds, and second of all, read the actual post and you'll see EY mentioned several times. SEVERAL.
And again, I reiterate: take your meds.
Ah you simple savant @RCB! Don’t play outside your league. Plus I’d rather not engage with the likes of you - you know the saying - don’t wrestle with pigs in mud etc?
"The first thing to keep in mind is that a vast majority of passengers on inaugural flights are just booking those flights coincidentally, and probably don’t even realize they’re on an inaugural..."
True 'dat. I was on the South African inaugural flight IAD-JNB, booked before I realized it was the inaugural flight. They had a big to-do in the gate area, and they gave first class passengers a stainless steel pasta fork and olive spoon. Because nothing says "South Africa" like Italian cooking.
I also received a certificate suitable for framing.
The pasta for and olive spoon are in storage in my basement somewhere.
Good times.
Why won’t you take the middle seat in J and be happy with it. After all you have the freedom to decide which side you want to jump over to get to the aisle.
I was on the inaugural flight on Southwest Airlines from Palm Springs the first day they started. I also was on the inaugural flight (both to and from) Colorado Springs the first day they got started. Both had gate parties and trinkets as you said. Southwest sent first day certificates to my email, as well as 5,000 bonus points for the Palm Springs to Phoenix flight. Finally, I was on the first PSP-SJC flight. When I mentioned that to the flight crew, they had no idea it was the first flight.
I was coincidentally on the AF inaugural flight from Dulles to CDG for their new business class on a new plane. There were balloons and an announcement at the gate... and nothing else. I wasn't expecting anything, but it was still a let down!
I was on the very first fligh to land at the new Terminal at Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ). It was a flight from Delhi. It was a big deal: we were met by the Canadian Minister of Transport, there was a pipe band, and we all got a goodie bag. Then the baggage system broke down, and we all had to wait an hour for our bags. The “aren’t we special” party spirit evaporated pretty quickly 😉
I’ve only been on one inaugural flight and it was a delight. Oct. 31, 2017 will forever be etched in my memory. DL276 NRT to DTW, Delta’s first A350-900 (N502DN) took over for the queen. There was cake, drinks, speeches and a string quartet. It was all very tasteful.
Strangely enough, 6 years later I was at the exact same gate in NRT for my flight to Hanoi and Vietnam Airlines had not flown the expected Dreamliner. Equipment change had me flying an A350 from Gate 26 once again.
I was on CXs first A350 flight down to Manila 10 years ago. Aside from plenty of photos taken especially during the flight, nothing memorable to be honest. (I even emailed you some photos on my first flight).
I would love to be on a new route being launched. From a water cannon salute to pre-flight festivities at the gate, down to the "goodie bags" you can take home with all kinds of memorabilia. Some airlines even have special catered meals just for the inaugural flight.
And speaking of inaugural flights, you were Qatar's inaugural A350 flight with CNNs Questy, Sam Chui, and Al-Baker himself. I even remember down to the shocked look of one of the cabin crew when they asked him to be seated because of turbulence and simply brushed it off by saying, "It's okay, I'm crew" or something to that extent.
Why would anyone not take a flight from abu dhabi , which has no flights ?
Flew the inaugural EZE-ORD on AA back in December 2007 as an employee standby. I was just hoping to get a seat, but I lucked out with one of those angled lie-flats in J for the long-long haul on a 763.
I remember the jazz band in the gate area and the souvenir inflatable neck pillow branded with AA Chicago on it. I kept that for many years. Sadly, the route didn't make it through the 2008 downturn, lasting less than a year.
"the level of excitement isn't necessarily shared by all passengers." This is hysterically true. I had a client booked on one of the Allegris inaugural flights. I realized it and told him to expect some fanfare and celebratory things. His reaction - "absolutely not. I just want to sleep - cancel that and let's look at other options." I think we rebooked him on Air France lol
Great client. You're probably already overcharging him.
He's expecting to sleep at the gate and on-board will be a party.
He probably thinks you're doing a great job for him when you actually just tell him how good you are without needing to deliver.
Let’s not leave out the delays and postponements that can happen with an inaugural flight… especially if a new Boeing is involved ! ha
I was on the very first flight to land at the new Terminal at Pearson Airport in Toronto (YYZ). It was a non-stop from Delhi. We were met by a pipe band and the Minister of Transport shook all our hands. We all got a gift. Then, the brand-new baggage system broke down, and we all had to wait for over an hour to get our cases. Now, I find it funny. Not so much at the time.
Please note that on some inaugural flights aboard some airlines, there are no celebrations, water cannon salutes, and goodies/treats and treats them as a regular flight with no inch of a celebration. Like when Korean Air first flew to Macau in July 2024, there were no celebrations at all.
Korean Air in 2024?
You're lucky you even got a proper meal.
KE soft product has been declining a lot over the decade since Heather Cho left. The only improvement was probably their redesigned lounges this year.
I would really want to book on Qantas inaugural flight of project sunrise. I doubt it will even be available for sale
Maybe in steerage, but it's very unlikely that anything more premium will be on general sale.
I was on the SAA inaugural from IAD-ACC-JNB back in July of '05 on a 744.
They had balloons and stuff in the gate area, and handed out some Diana Carmichael pewterware to the first class pax (an olive spoon and a pasta serving fork, because nothing says Johannesburg like pasta and olives). My seat (2A) was broken, which I discovered before pushback, leading to the disassembly of the seat in an effort to repair it. Then I was reassigned 1A. It too was inoperable. I was then assigned to 2J, which meant that the FA occupying that seat had to move to 1A (one of the broken seats) which led to me being given the stink eye by the other five FAs deadheading in the first class cabin. Terrible flight as well.
Good times.
I've toyed with trying to get on one of the Qantas Project Sunrise inaugurals, but I suspect that those inaugural fights will be full of comped seats to Very Important People, so yeah, good times indeed.
I was on the inaugural CX flight from DFW-HKG in April 2025. While there was fanfare etc. at the gate, it was the service onboard that really disappointed. I had specifically flown that flight to experience an inaugural flight but the business class cabin was at least a third full of media/bloggers/influencers along with some CX execs. The crew's attention was solely focused on these people and the rest of the passengers got nowhere close to the usual CX service that I expected (flown CX numerous times before and since then). I am glad I checked that box of flying an inaugural flight but the experience wasn't what I had hoped or read about.
I did one of Porter’s inaugural routes on the E2 - picked it because the timing and price was right, it just happened to be the inaugural.
Snacks at the gate, an exec was onboard. Service was no different than usual. Uneventful otherwise, mostly on time and a smooth experience.
The price for the ticket was the best part, it was probably 50% cheaper than similar flights. They also gave you a $150 travel voucher which basically made the flight free.
I took a delivery flight of a Cathay 777 from Boeing field to HKG.
I remember I was on an inaugural flight of Malyasian Airlines A380 from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong in Business Class many years ago. I had not idea but when I got to the boarding area their was a reception with complimentary snacks and drinks. Also all the Business Class passengers got a minature Malaysian Airline A380 plane. I still have that today (minus an engine which I lost somewhere). A Malaysian airlines personnel was seating next to me and during our conversation he mentioned the huge lavatory that they have in the nose of the plane. Impressive
Will Tim Dunn be joining the trip to Riyadh?
I would like to take one and meet an airline executive so I can tell them what they are doing wrong.
Many years ago I was going to position in KEF-DFW with AA but that fell thru. More recent I was booked on the inaugural 787-P from DFW BNE I had my preferred seat in the first row of economy but the aircraft delivery was delayed so I bailed.
I’d also like to see some of these vloggers LOL. Throw up some gang signs in their view while they are filming.
I know someone who found a great redemption deal for the inaugural BOM-CPH on SAS a couple of months ago.
There was quite an abundance of excitement when they were told that the inbound aircraft had turned around in Azerbaijan and the flight got cancelled as the Indian authorities hadn't granted it permission to land. Anyone who missed out on that experience is welcome to book themselves on the upcoming (real?) inaugural in September.