Whether it be for business or pleasure, some of us travel a lot.
Air travel has come a long way from the Wright brothers, people smoking in the clouds, and Concorde, but with flying becoming more accessible than ever, some feel it's lost a bit of its magic.
We're sure there are those who are sick of living out a suitcase, traveling from airport to airport, and constantly having to deal with different time zones.
Others are lucky if they get to fly once a year, and some have never flown at all. But what about Tom Stuker, the world's most frequent flier and a man with 24 million miles under his belt?
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While we dread to think what it would cost to fly around the globe for a mere 24 million miles, Stuker isn't the world's richest man - in fact, he's far from it.
Instead, the New Jersey car dealership consultant has racked up this amazing feat thanks to his 1990 purchase of a United Airlines 'lifetime' pass.
Costing him 'just' $290,000 back then, Stuker says he's spend the last 34 years traveling like a 'sultan' and has called it the "best investment of my life."
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On May 17, 2024, Stuker officially crossed 24 million miles flown during a United Airlines flight from Newark to San Francisco. His impressive bucket list has included more than 300 trips to Australia and over 120 'honeymoons' with his wife.
The best bit is, Stuker has continued accruing air miles while flying, which has afforded him some pretty lavish perks.
As well as redoing his brother's house, Stuker once cashed in $50,000 worth of Walmart gift cards in a single day.
Perhaps the wildest is winning the chance to cameo in an episode of Seinfeld by bidding 451,000 air miles on a charity auction.
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It's not all been plain flying, and in an interview with the Washington Post, Stuker admitted he's seen four people die during flights - with all of them being heart attacks. He also has some sage advice, telling wannabe frequent fliers to butter up the head flight attendant, never check a bag, and remember, don't be the jerk who doesn't use headphone with their cell phone.
Instead of Stuker becoming a thorn in the side of United Airlines, they love him. He has the honor of having two planes with his name on them, while he often gets a special treatment include free champagne. Stuker's story is a far cry from the case of American Airlines and Steven Rothstein.
The infamous AAirpass debacle led to American Airlines revoking Rothstein's own 'lifetime' pass in 2008 and him trying to sue the airline.
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Stuker's experience seems to be a lot happier, but for those thinking of getting in on the action, we're sorry to report that United Airlines stopped doing its lifetime passes years ago.
Stuker continues to fly with United, so next time you're flying with the airline, look to seat 1B (his favorite) and see if you catch a glimpse of the world's most frequent flyer.