If you’re into miles & points and/or frequently fly with United Airlines, you’ve probably heard of Tom Stuker. He’s United’s most frequent flyer, and almost certainly the world’s most frequent flyer who doesn’t work for an airline. Yesterday he passed his latest milestone, as he became a 24 million mile flyer with United. He’s averaging…
Continue reading: Tom Stuker, United Airlines’ Most Frequent Flyer, Hits 24 Million Miles
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No, I wouldn't. You can always make more money, but you can never make more time. Time away from people you love is time you'll never get back.
I met him once at the Chicago Seminars. some years back. Truly a nice man. I did try to probe on purpose of travel. Although, I thought it was strange that someone traveling and spending Millions $ on flights would be attending a Flyertalk event. Now we know about the pass.
United has become his "home" and the employees are his "family." He really doesn't "cost" UA much of anything and he is one of their greatest publicists. A bargain for both.
Every time I read about this guy I just think “wow this guy just hates his wife and family so much” impressive stuff
I'm all for "to each their own" and "whatever makes you happy," but I will never understand this. I love flying, but the majority of a flight is quite boring as you're just in a seat, in a metal tube, trying to pass the time. 4+ years of cumulative time on United airplanes just sounds like so much boring/wasted time to me, even if it is his happy place.
We need a reunion of all the folks who bought lifetime passes in 1990. There's gotta be quite a few of them.
Wonder if Stuker is able to book all of his flights online or if he has some special instructions....
I’m really surprised that United treats this guy so well considering that American went after their lifetime pass holders. These lifetime passes cost the airlines a lot of revenue.
Well clearly he doesn't like his family and made another one with United and its staff. Who really don't think of him as family as it's a transactional relationship.
Humans are weird.
Those reunions happen on AA on most new route launches. Those inaugural flights are typically closed to the highest business class inventory, so in a way those seats are reserved for the old airpass holders. There’s usually a handful of them on every longhaul inaugural.
4 years is an underestimate.
He has about 10x more miles flown than I do, and my log shows 36 weeks (almost 6000 hours). That would give him at least 360 continuous weeks or 7+ years of living inside a United plane.
Add to it airport time, connection time, etc.
Has he ever flown a different airline?
I can’t imagine doing all that travel or even 10% of it on one airline! Definitely gets boring… I’m starting a work/personal trip for couple of weeks but I’ll be flying 5+ airlines throughout across SkyTeam, Star Alliance and One World! (This wouldn’t have been possible couple of years ago until loyalty programs broke)! And I get to sample different airlines, lounges and cities.
Essentially this guy spends his life in a metal tube or waiting to board a metal tube. While I love traveling/flying I go with the too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Even when traveling in a lie flat business seat (which I was doing 10 minutes ago) the only thing I want to do when that chime goes off is get off that plane.
I wonder if he is on the autism spectrum. I think traits like this of obsessively focusing on completing a task at the expense of everything else in your life are a hallmark of neurodivergent people.
Regarding the $290k/$510k disparity: $290k was the cost for the pass for one person. Tom bought a pass with one companion for $510k. Not sure why WaPo couldn't make that clear.
Are we supposed to feel good or bad about this? Where is your family? Do you have a family? Where is your home? Do you have access to modern technology, like Zoom? These types of people, who try to spend as much time as possible in the sky, as opposed to on the ground in the real world, seem to generally be eccentric, socially awkward, obstinate, and self-absorbed.
If he doesn’t earn miles anymore (because he paid $0 for each flight), then it’s crazy that his miles count towards lifetime miles. (And therefore he has lifetime GS). It doesn’t seem fair that his free flights count but everybody else’s award flights don’t count.
It's funny to see those liberals whose wives get stolen without even noticing, are worried about others' wives. Seems like you hate your wife more than this guy, doesn't it?
These types of people, who try to spend as much time as possible in the sky, as opposed to on the ground in the real world, seem to generally be eccentric, socially awkward, obstinate, and self-absorbed.
I have found the opposite of this to be true. Look up Tom Stuker's TV interviews.
Tom Stuker has a wife (and maybe kids), he's also run his own TV show, and there is a legitimate business purpose behind his travels - even though I find his business fundamentally revolting. He trains people on selling used cars.
Essentially this guy spends his life in a metal tube or waiting to board a metal tube.
When you reduce life this way, every human being on the planet is a speck of carbon atoms eating 3x daily and shitting 1x daily ... every day.
Even when traveling in a lie flat business seat (which I was doing 10 minutes ago) the only thing I want to do when that chime goes off is get off that plane.
One thing that is often overlooked about business class travel is that it's still mass market public transportation and it's uncomfortable. A three inch twin sized memory foam mattress topper on a hardwood floor in a pre-war apartment is more comfortable than any business class seat.
Armchair therapists theorizing on the why. So many comments assuming he must "hate his wife and family". The pass allows for a companion. Nowhere did I read Mr. Stuker is traveling alone.
Yep, remember reading about how AA started voiding them. UAL definitely loses a bunch of money on this deal. PR might be great, but even if he spent $510k, he's easily cost them 10x that amount over the years.
I thought the point of flying (or taking any form of transportation) is, in general, to get from point A to point B, then enjoy or do there whatever prompted you to travel.
But to some (and I included myself here, sometimes) it’s the process of traveling. Crazy.
@GR8VAG
Have you met his wife and children before ? Have you seen his business license ? How would you know ? Can you confirm this ?
Regardless Tom Brady Stuker is the world’s most frequent flyer.
I would say the man had mental problems.
To live your life in an airport terminal or in an uncomfortable airplane seat is not a good life. Life is too short to live in a metal container!
United will not allow me to say negative words???
Yep. It’s a weird hobby (that I still love). The residence on etihad is still the equivalent of a very cheap hotel room on the ground.
If you opened the door on a $250 hotel room and saw a q suite (with shared toilets) you wouldn’t be overly impressed.
It is fair though because this *is* a cash fare. Just because he paid the price a long time ago and it doesn’t cost him anything now doesn’t change the fact it *is* a cash fare, and the rules state that cash fares are what earn those lifetime miles.
This guy, who I've never heard of, should get a life. And if he bought a first class so called life pass, does he get a refund in part as UA doesn't have first anymore?
If he has a long life it will be a lot cheaper than living in an assisted living facility. I don't think United will change diapers though.
I agree with your post, but I do want to point out that it's a little ironic for you to be making fun of Tom Stuker's vest when at the bottom of your blog page, you have prominently displayed.....Miles Traveled, Words Written and Posts Published...!
Depends what United did with upfront 510k payment. What was it used for? Perhaps it went into investment funds for employee retirement contributions and they were making money on it.
Just met him briefly yesterday celebrating the milestone at a comedy club in San Francisco with his entourage 🙂 Pretty chill guy and definitely addicted to flying. And surprisingly he has not been to every country!
Every country? First, he doesn't travel, he flies around. Second, United doesn't really go that many places....
It appears that 25 Million may not happen because it has been reported and confirmed by Tom that United as revoked his pass and currently in litigation.
It's a lot more than 4 years. At 500mph, that's 5.5 years in airplanes. That's spread across more than 12k flights, according to the WP. If you only add an hour of airport time per flight, the total flight/airport time surpasses 7 years.
Why is it always one of you conservatives to make things political? I know this is asking much, but please do better.
United has added a bunch of service to secondary and tertiary European cities nonstop from Newark. I flew to Naples, Italy 1-2 weeks ago and I'm flying to Porto, Portugal next Sunday.
One needs 4 million miles for lifetime GS status - which he probably reached some 15 years ago. From then on it's, well, lifetime.
I wouldn't say they think of him as "family", but to pretend he doesn't have genuine friendships and mutual affection with employees cause he's a customer and its "transactional" is nonsense.
I for one have customers/suppliers who have become close friends. I attended a wedding in India for a former customer who I hadn't had a professional relationship with for 2-3 years at the time and it was a smaller event, so its not like it was filled with professional relationships for business purposes.
It's not ironic at all. Ben's not wearing that info on his clothes in public, it's in the footer of his blog about miles/points/travel
Please state your reference. You might be talking about an American Airlines guy who's pass was revoked due to possible fraud and is after the airline.
He seems like a typical American with little interest in or curiosity about the rest of the world
Just wait for interplanetary travel to mars. One can earn enough miles on one trip that he will ever get in a lifetime flying.
Biggest downside to this much flying is the exposure to cosmic radiation. The FAA produced a report on the level of radiation received into the body on flights of varying distances and latitudes.