KK Lee 5 Report post Posted July 10, 2011 US frequent flyer reaches 10 million miles It took Thomas Stuker 29 years to reach the milestone with United Airlines A US businessman has been rewarded for his loyalty to one single airline company after accumulating 10 million air miles. He has boarded 5,962 United Airlines flights and flown the equivalent of 400 times around the globe. As a reward he will never have to queue at airports, always get upgraded and has even had a plane named after him. Mr Stuker reached the milestone after arriving to his native Chicago on Saturday. It took him 19 years to accumulate his first five million miles and another 10 years to double the mileage. "So we figure that we're going to be here in five years when you hit 15 million miles, because you're cutting it in half every time," Martin Hand, United's Vice-President of Customer Experience, was quoted as saying by NBC. Before boarding the flight to Chicago, Mr Stuker admitted that many years ago he was scared to death of flying. "I couldn't get on an aircraft, it really bothered me," he told America's National Public Radio. "But now it's evolved to a time where if I go a week without a flight something's not right." Mr Stuker has now enough reward points through the airlines' frequent flyer programme to take several foreign holidays a year - assuming he can find the time. A few years ago George Clooney played the role of a man who had achieved the same feat in the film Up In The Air. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14097038 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Abdul Qayyum 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2011 reminds me exactly to " up in the air" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alif A. F. 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2011 George Clooney amassed the same amount with AA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raymund Yeoh 1 Report post Posted July 11, 2011 I wonder does UA have a dedicated phone line for Mr Stuker here like the one we saw in "Up In The Air".... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Josh T 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2011 I feel a little bit sorry for this man. Can you imagine having flown so much with such a terrible airline??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted July 11, 2011 Will be interesting to know what nature of business he is in that necessitates so much travelling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Craig 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) George Clooney amassed the same amount with AA. A little OT - UA's million mile status is one of the hardest to achieve in the industry. UA ONLY counts the "butt-in-seat" miles on United/United Express metal alone for million mile status (no bonus for booking in Y/B/C/F and 0 miles for *A metal). AA counts everything, including bonus, miles from partners and credit card purchases into their MM status, thus making it easier to achieve. I feel a little bit sorry for this man. Can you imagine having flown so much with such a terrible airline??? Don't want to sound like an UA apologist here, but you can't really compare UA with MH/SQ/CX - they are in a totally different league. There are no MH/SQ/CX to choose from in the US and UA was a really good carrier back in the 90s (deteriorated in the early 2000s and then slowly improving again starting 2008-ish). Also, UA (at least PMUA) treats its top-elite flyers (1K and GS) extremely well - they bend over backwards for them. Will be interesting to know what nature of business he is in that necessitates so much travelling Auto sales consultant. Edited July 11, 2011 by Craig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith T 2 Report post Posted July 12, 2011 I feel a little bit sorry for this man. Can you imagine having flown so much with such a terrible airline??? Can you imagine having flown so much full stop? Not sure what Thomas Stuker's lifestyle is like, but it must suck to live like Ryan Bingham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites