We are a bit late with this plan for 2019/20, but for those bored with the usual things related to NYE – fireworks, late nights, crowds, been there done that etc..
Writer Joanna Bailey at simple flying came up with the following. We will add a bit at the end.
A United Airlines Boeing 777 is taking a planeload of passengers on a mind-bending trip… to the past. The passengers aboard UA 200 tomorrow morning will already have seen in the new year, had a bit of sleep and enjoyed their first breakfast of 2020. By the time they get off the flight, they’ll just about have time to shower and change, ready to see in the New Year again. What sort of wizardry is this? Let’s find out about United’s time-traveling flights. Want to see in the new year twice? United Airlines has a way
Do you love New Year’s Eve? We do! All the Champagne and fireworks and friends. Wouldn’t it be great if you could enjoy the excitement of the big countdown more than once though? Well, you can. There are certain flights in the world that cross the international dateline in such a way that they allow you to experience NYE all over again at the other end! It’s the only place on Earth (that we know of) where time travel is possible.
One such flight that is taking place this NYE is United Airlines flight number UA 200. It’s a Boeing 777 operated service between Guam (GUM) and Honolulu (HNL) which departs early on New Year’s Day, but arrives in the evening on NYE, again.
UA 200 takes off from Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM) at 07:40 on Wednesday 1st January. That’s plenty of time to sleep off the worst of the night before. After just over seven hours in flight, the service touches down at 18:45 on December 31st, in plenty of time to enjoy NYE again in Hawaii! What if you’re not in Guam?
Clearly, traveling from Guam may not be ideal for everyone, but this isn’t the only option. We found a flight leaving from Tokyo which just about meets the criteria. It’s operated by ANA but bookable via United Airlines, so we’ll slide it on through.
Flight number NH 106 is operated by a Boeing 777 also, and departs from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at 00:05 on New Year’s Day. While that’s really going to mess up your plans for seeing in midnight, we can imagine it will be kind of fun on the plane when the clock strikes 12. Plus you’ll get a really good view of Tokyo’s fireworks as you take off from the airport.
After nine hours and 55 minutes in flight, the plane is scheduled to touch down at 17:00 in Los Angeles (LAX) on New Year’s Eve. Plenty of time to clear arrivals and get your glad rags on to see in the new year again.
How about skipping the whole thing?
Perhaps you’re not a lover of all the new year’s shenanigans and would rather just get it over and done with? Well, United’s time traveling flights have the perfect solution for you again. With the help of a UA service from Houston to Sydney, you can skip NYE altogether.
Flight UA 101 takes off from Houston George Bush (IAH) at 20:27 on the 30th December (yes, you’ve missed it already, but maybe next year?). After around 17 hours onboard the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, passengers will deplane at approximately 07:00 on Wednesday, January 1st, 2020.
No NYE, no Auld Lang Syne, no fuss.
Editor..No Auld Lang Syne – sheer bliss! Due to the international date line running through the Pacific, with a few bends to avoid bisecting an island nation, you could look for a flight in this southern Pacific region. It all depends upon the timetables. For NYE 2018/19 there was a flight departing Auckland New Zealand after midnight on the 31st that arrive in the Cook Islands before midnight the 31st. At only a 5 hour flight duration and a lot less dollars this may be an option – if the timetable changes back – didn’t work for 2019/20.
