Tom Stuker (pictured, centre) has logged up 10 million flight miles since he joined Mileage Plus in 1982.
Tom reached the eight digit figure somewhere over the US heartland on United Airlines flight 942 from Los Angeles to Chicago last Saturday (9 July 2011).
The Chicago based automobile sales consultant has flown on 5,962 flights, making more than 200 round trips to Australia and nearly 30 to Asia.
First Mover Advantage
Tom has landed at airports in all 50 U.S. states, making no less than 70 trips to Hawai’i!
United’s first customer when the programme was launched in 1981, Tom has also proved to be United’s most frequent flyer – and quite possibly the first traveler ever to to fly 10 million miles. That is equal to circling the globe 400 times and fly to the moon and back 20 times!
29,000 Miles a Month
“We are honoured that Tom has chosen to fly with us for the past three decades,” says Jeff Smisek, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Continental Holdings.
“We deeply appreciate his loyalty to our airline and look forward to serving him as he flies his next 10 million miles.”
Tom flies an average of nearly 29,000 miles in the air each month. Does he ever sleep at home?
“I don’t sleep as much as I’d like,” Tom says.
“But I have found that the quiet and solitude allow me to be my most creative. During long flights, I’ve come up with some of my most innovative business ideas.”
Copyright: Michael Taylor Pictured: Tom Stuker arrives at Chicago O’hare International Airport Photo Credit: United Airlines