A New Jersey man who bought a United Airlines lifetime pass for $290,000 in 1990 has now flown more miles than the spaceship that took Neil Armstrong to the moon.
The incredible story of Tom Stuker , told by the Washington Post, began thirty years ago with what the protagonist has called «the best investment of my life».
Since then, the 69-year-old man has flown more than 27 million kilometers - an extraordinary figure if you consider that Apollo 11 traveled "only" 1.5 million - and has visited more than 100 countries.
In 2019 alone, Stuker traveled the equivalent of six trips to the moon, taking 373 flights that would have cost him $2.44 million. Instead, the cost was amply amortized by the investment made in 1990.
In total, before the Covid pandemic, humans spent between 200-250 days a year on planes. Not to mention the miles earned thanks to the "frequent flyer" programme.
In 2009 it exceeded the threshold of 8 million kilometers and in 2019 that of 10 million, becoming the first in the world to do so.
Since then Stuker has lived like royalty: luxurious hotel suites around the world, free cruises, gourmet meals from Perth to Paris.
He also used the points he earned to renovate his brother's house.
But, during his travels, there were more dramatic moments: in fact, in his decades in the air, he saw four people die, all of heart attacks, on board planes.
(Unioneonline/lf)