A BRIT has become the first person to fly around the world in economy class.
Dale Charman, 44, spent £1,300 to set off from London Heathrow to return just 67 hours later, having stopped at Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Los Angeles.
The tube driver, who posts videos on YouTube on his channel ‘Dale Charman Travels’, said he had seen videos of people online doing the same challenge, but for business and first class – not economy.
So the flight enthusiast decided to be the first to fly around the globe in economy.
Dale set off from London Heathrow at 9:35pm on August 25 and then returned to the capital – after 24,000 miles of flying – on August 28 just after 5pm.
According to Dale, he was “absolutely knackered” after his journey, which included four flight.
Read more on travel inspo
He said: “I knew I’d be tired, because that’s obvious.
“What I didn’t think about was I wouldn’t be laying down for the best part of three days.
“It’s amazing how much pain you get in your knees and your hips, just being in a sitting position for so long.
“My friends and family all think I’m crazy – some people think it’s cool, my mum thinks I’m absolutely crazy.”
Over the course of nearly three days flying, Dale explained how he tried to sleep as much as possible and when he wasn’t asleep he would watch films via the in-flight entertainment screens.
After spending 12 hours on a Malaysia Airlines flight from London to Kuala Lumpur, Dale had just a five-hour layover before boarding another Malaysia Airlines flight, lasting eight hours, to Sydney in Australia.
Once in Sydney, Dale had a seven-hour layover, so had enough time to make a quick visit to the Sydney Opera House.
He then returned to the airport and boarded a 13-hour Qantas flight to Los Angeles in America.
Dale added that the flight has the best “comfort food” out of all the flights, consisting of beef and mash.
Even though Dale had another seven-hour layover in Los Angeles, this time he decided to stay in the airport as it took over an hour to get through immigration.
Then, all that was left was a 12-hour Virgin Atlantic flight back to London Heathrow, landing just after 5pm on August 28.
Dale then had a couple of days of rest, before heading back to work on August 31.
Dale said: “I just think it’s a cool thing to do. Obviously the environment doesn’t particularly like it.
“I’d never flown across the Pacific.
“I’ve been to Australia and I’ve been to the US many, many times, but I’ve never done that other bit.
“I thought it was cool to cover that, and it’s just an adventure.
“You never know when you’ll wake up tomorrow, and I thought it was just a cool thing to say I’d done.
“It’s a shame I didn’t have more time to actually visit these places properly, but I always use it as an excuse – I’ll have to do it again when I’ve got more time and more money.”
In other aviation news, a budget airline has slashed flights from a major UK airport in a scramble to cut costs.
Plus, Jet2 is set to launch its first ever flights from a major UK airport with 29 new ‘sunshine’ routes.