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’d like 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?
The truth is that back in the day, I used to go out of my way to fly on inaugural flights, though I don’t anymore. Still, I have a bit of experience with them.
In this post:
The basics of airline inaugural flights
Airlines sometimes operate inaugural flights. I think the concept is pretty straightforward. “Inaugural” means “first,” so these are the first flights by some metric. The metric can vary, so you’ll find several types of inaugural flights:
- There are inaugural flights for a particular route, whereby the airline is operating a route for the first time (or perhaps resuming a particular route after a long absence); for example, in 2024, Etihad recently launched Abu Dhabi to Boston flights
- There are inaugural flights for a particular aircraft; it could be that an airline is operating its first passenger flight with a particular aircraft, or it could be that the airline is operating an aircraft to a particular destination for the first time; for example, Emirates often celebrates when it flies an A380 to a new destination for the first time
- There are inaugural flights for a particular passenger experience, whereby the airline has maybe introduced a new first or business class, or something, and is celebrating that for the first time; for example, in 2025 SWISS operated its first route with SWISS Senses cabins
Airlines will generally try to make inaugural flights special, as an extension of their marketing efforts. Not only is this intended to impress passengers, but often there will be media invited to inaugural flights (either onboard or just at the gate), so the bigger deal an airline makes about an inaugural, the more attention it gets.
It goes without saying that not all inaugural flights are created equal. For example, years ago I was on the first-ever commercial Airbus A350 flight on Qatar Airways, which was a massive celebration for both the airline and aircraft manufacturer. That’s going to have a bit more fanfare than a new route launched by Breeze Airways, given that the airline has launched a countless number of those over the years.
How airlines make inaugural flights special
If you book an inaugural flight, what should you expect to be different about this compared to a standard flight? 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. So while there are some hardcore geeks who book these flights, that level of excitement isn’t necessarily shared by all passengers.
Here’s my general experience with what’s different about inaugural flights (let me again emphasize that there’s a huge disparity in terms of the effort that airlines put into this):
- Often inaugural flights have a gate party prior to departure, with drinks, snacks, trinkets, and sometimes entertainment and/or speeches, depending on the destination or culture
- Often inaugural flights will have some sort of souvenirs onboard for each passenger; this could include a goodie bag, a first flight certificate, or something of the sort
- Often airlines will roster special crews on inaugural flights, so you can expect that service will often be especially good
- It’s not uncommon for executives from the airline to be onboard inaugural flights, or depending on the route, for local political leaders to at least be at the gate for a speech
- Inaugural flights may get special water cannon salutes on arrival or departure, to commemorate the special occasion
For what it’s worth, you’ll typically find a celebration in both “directions” for an inaugural, and it’s 50/50 as to which direction gets more fanfare.
I’ve been on inaugural flights with no one “special” onboard, and I’ve also been on flights with a lot of “special” people onboard. For example, when Qatar Airways operated the world’s first A350 flight, both the (now former) CEO of Qatar Airways and the CEO of Airbus were onboard.
Generally I’d go into an inaugural flight not expecting a whole lot, and then just be pleasantly surprised if there is something special.
Why I’m conflicted on inaugural flights
Back in the day, I’d consistently seek out inaugural flights, and would get quite a thrill out of taking them. After all, I’m a huge aviation geek, and there’s something really exciting about taking a “historic” flight for that airline, whatever it might be.
However, over the years, I’ve started to mostly avoid these flights. That’s not because I find them any less exciting, but rather because they don’t give you the “real” experience offered by the airline. When I take long haul flights, I always try to review them, and my goal is to get as unbiased of an experience as possible.
With that in mind, I’d much rather take a new flight a few days after it launches, rather than the inaugural. The reality is that the inaugural largely just doesn’t give you the real experience. After all, it’s very much a celebratory occasion, so the service flow can be different than usual.
While you’d think that inaugural flights would typically have impeccable service, that’s often not my experience. When there are airline executives onboard, I often find that the crew simply fawns over them, while providing subpar service to other passengers.
And while some passengers might theoretically like the idea of flying with executives from the airline, that’s not something that I particularly care for. While there’s huge variance, in some cases I’ve found them to be rather standoff-ish, which is a bit surprising, and defeats the point of their presence, in my opinion.
But the reason I mainly avoid inaugural flights nowadays is the same reason I almost never attend travel media events — you’re not getting the “real” experience, and I’d rather visit somewhere on my own terms.
Bottom line
Airlines operate all kinds of inaugural flights, whether it’s the first flight for a particular airport, airplane, or product. If you’re an aviation geek, these flights can be super fun, given the special festivities.
Airlines take vastly different approaches to inaugural flights, as you’d expect, based on the significance of new service. In some cases the inaugural flights can be a huge production, while in other cases there might just be some Costco cupcakes in the gate area.
Have you ever been on an inaugural flight? If not, would you be interested in taking one?
I once took an inaugural flight on Southwest. No welcome committee, PR ceremony, no water cannon, etc. But the Monday flight had all that. I guess PR firms don't work on weekends.
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.
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.
Will Tim Dunn be joining the trip to Riyadh?
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...
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
I took a delivery flight of a Cathay 777 from Boeing field to HKG.
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 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...
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 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...
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 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.
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 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.
Let’s not leave out the delays and postponements that can happen with an inaugural flight… especially if a new Boeing is involved ! ha
(...got'em!)
"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.
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.
Why would anyone not take a flight from abu dhabi , which has no flights ?
wuttt?
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...
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.