Man pays Rs 18K for flight to Dubai, flies alone on a 360-seater plane

Few other passengers of the flight reportedly cancelled or postponed their trips, giving Bhavesh Javeri the aircraft all for himself

The CEO of a Dubai-based company has boarded flights between Mumbai and Dubai over 200 times, but his latest flight on May 19 was the most unique, and his best so far.

Bhavesh Javeri, CEO of a Dubai-based company Stargems Group, unexpectedly got a chance to travel alone on a 360-seater Boeing 777 Emirates aircraft from Mumbai to Dubai, on his Rs 18,000 economy class ticket. The few other passengers on the flight reportedly either cancelled or postponed their trips due to Covid-19.

"I stepped into the aircraft and the air hostesses all clapped to welcome me aboard," Javeri told The Times Of India.

An operator from the Indian aircraft charter industry told TOI that it would cost about Rs 70 lakh to charter a Mumbai to Dubai flight and double that if the aircraft was of a company that had to fly it back without passengers to its base.

So, how did Javeri get this 'money-can't-buy' experience, for just Rs 18,000?

"It is probably a case of good passenger load on one side when they flew from Dubai to Mumbai and then poor load on the return leg. The airline would have operated the return leg anyway, even with zero paying passengers," an Indian airline official is quoted as saying by the publication.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has in place travel restrictions that allow only UAE nationals, holders of UAE Golden visa and members of the diplomatic mission to travel to the country from India. Javeri is a Golden visa holder.

Javeri, who usually travels business class, booked an economy ticket assuming light passenger load in the flights. To his surprise, he ended up having the 360-seater aircraft all to himself.

He posted a video of this experience in detail with visuals of the near-empty Mumbai airport and interiors of the flight with empty seats, which received traction across social media.

The Emirates crew reportedly gave him an extremely personalised experience, with in-flight announcements like, "Mr Javeri, please fasten your seat belt," and "Mr Javeri, we are preparing to land."

The pilot even offered him a tour of the plane before the flight.

"Usually I do a big announcement. Since you're the only one here I am going to give it to you. I’ll give you tour of the entire plane," the pilot said while welcoming Javeri, according to a Khaleej Times report.

"I have flown so much, but this is the best flight ever!" Javeri told the air hostesses.