AN Islander was treated to a ‘private jet’ experience on her Blue Islands flight from Ibiza… after boarding the plane to discover that she was the only passenger.
Hannah Maden-Adams checked in for her 4.05pm flight from the Balearic island, where she had been celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday and her 38th birthday, and soon became aware of a puzzling lack of other travellers.
A short time later, she found herself being chauffeured from the gate in a private car and offered her choice of seat on the plane, before the pilot doubled up as a tour guide, pointing out various locations during the two-hour flight back to Jersey.
And when she touched down, she had a personal escort through border control, which had been opened especially for her as she was the only international arrival.
Ms Maden-Adams unwittingly secured the VIP treatment after booking a seat on what is known in the aviation industry as an ‘empty-leg’ flight.
She had flown out to Ibiza from Heathrow and returned on Blue Islands’ inaugural return flight of the summer, which had just dropped off its first set of holidaymakers but had no one to bring back.
‘I suspected there might not be many on the flight, as there could only have been local people from Ibiza travelling to Jersey,’ she said.
‘When I got on, they told me to sit wherever I wanted and to put my luggage wherever I wanted, so I sat up near the front.’
Ms Maden-Adams added: ‘After we took off, the pilot pointed out various locations as we went over them, directing me to look left or right accordingly. He recommended La Rochelle and Île d’Aix as destinations to go on holiday.
‘I had snacks and water but, after an Ibiza trip, I didn’t really want anything else.’
Ms Maden-Adams thanked the cabin crew and pilots for their five-star service and said they had told her that they ‘had never seen [a flight] like it’.
She said: ‘They were so friendly, and we chatted throughout the flight about my trip, how I had booked onto the flight and known about the route as a Jersey local. It was like having a private jet.
‘I didn’t have to wait long in the luggage hall, and someone from Ports of Jersey had to open a lane and escort me through border control because I was the only international arrival.
‘It was a really fun experience, not something that I thought I would ever do. It was a great end to a trip in Ibiza and I was very grateful to have that direct flight back to Jersey, rather than having to go via Heathrow or Gatwick.’
Rob Veron, chief executive of Blue Islands, said the outbound flight had been ‘hugely popular’ and it was ‘great’ that Ms Maden-Adams had been able to fly directly back to Jersey.
