Double New Year dreams shatter as 'time-travel' flight gets delayed
United Airlines' special "time-travel" flight UA200, intended to let passengers ring in the New Year twice, faced a six-hour delay on January 1, 2024. The setback caused travelers from Guam to arrive in Hawaii half an hour after the new year began, spoiling their plans. United Airlines had previously promoted the flight on social media, tweeting, "You only live once, but you can celebrate New Year's Eve twice!" and calling it "time travel is real" on a separate Instagram post.
Check out the Airline's post
What are time-travel flights?
On New Year's Day every year, several airlines provide these "time travel flights." The idea is to fly back in time for passengers to witness the New Year celebrations twice. These unique flights depart on January 1 but arrive on December 31 at their destination, facilitated by extended travel duration and crossing the International Date Line. This extraordinary journey effectively transports passengers back to the previous year, exemplifying the concept of time travel.
Flight UA200's original schedule and delay
Originally, flight UA200 was set to leave Guam at 7:35 am on January 1, 2024, and touch down in Honolulu, Hawaii at 6:50 pm on December 31, 2023. This schedule would have enabled passengers to experience New Year's Eve celebrations twice in one day. However, due to complications during the aircraft's two prior trips, the flight was delayed by six hours.
Maintenance problem in San Francisco caused the delay
On December 30, the plane was slated to fly from San Francisco to Honolulu and then continue to Guam on the same day, arriving in Guam around 7:00 pm on December 31. A maintenance issue in San Francisco led to a nine-hour delay, causing the plane to reach Guam at noon on January 1, long after its planned departure for the "time-traveling" flight.
Passengers express disappointment on social media
In response to the incident, disappointed passengers took to X, (formerly Twitter), to voice their frustrations. One user posted, "I booked this flight specifically so I could do this. I got a delay notification and we aren't scheduled to get in until 1/1." Another wrote, "Great idea, too bad it got delayed! I was supposed to be on this flight. Double new year isn't happening anymore." United Airlines offered rebooking assistance to affected passengers.
Understand US time zones
Guam, a US island territory in Micronesia located in the Western Pacific, follows Chamorro Standard Time (ChST), setting it ahead of the six time zones within the contiguous United States. ChST precedes Eastern Time (EST) by 15 hours, representing the farthest eastern time zone within the contiguous U.S., such as New York. Notably, Guam is 20 hours ahead of Hawaii, since it is closer to the Philippines than to the mainland United States.
