They hoped to usher in the new year twice on this 'time travelling' flight. But it got delayed

Is time travel possible? Not yet! But a United Airlines flight offered to fly customers across time zones to let them enjoy the New Year celebrations twice within hours. “Time travel is real,” United Airlines wrote in a post on Instagram. “You only live once, but you can celebrate New Year’s Eve twice,” the airline had tweeted earlier in the week.

The concept behind the ‘time travel’ was simple. Flight UA200 was supposed to take off from Guam at 7:35 am on January 1 (Post New Year celebrations) and land in Honolulu, Hawaii at 6:50 pm on December 31, 2023, thus giving those on board the plane a chance to celebrate New Year's Eve festivities twice.

The concept is not new, and several airlines offer such ‘time travel flights’ on New Year’s Day every year. However, this year didn’t turn up so well for Flight UA200.

The New Year disappointment

Time is key for such ‘time travel’ flights as even a slight delay can spoil all those equations people strive to live through. This is exactly what happened with the Flight UA200.

The flight got delayed by over six hours and eventually left Guam at 1:49 pm on January 1. By the time it arrived in Honolulu, the clock had already struck 12 midnight. The flight landed at 12:34 am on January 1, turning the excitement of celebrating New Year twice into 2024’s first major disappointment.

Complaints followed

Passengers took to X to raise complaints.

“Great idea, too bad it got delayed! I was supposed to be on this flight. Double new year isn’t happening anymore,” one person wrote under the original United Airlines tweet.

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“I booked this flight specifically so I could do this,” read another comment. “I got a delay notification and we aren’t scheduled to get in until 1/1."

(With inputs from agencies)