Tom Stuker, a Chicago-based automotive sales consultant, became the first to fly his 10 millionth Mileage Plus mile over the weekend from Los Angeles to Chicago. Stuker joined Mileage Plus in 1982 and, since then, has logged 5,962 United flights — plus or minus one or two — including more than 200 roundtrips to Australia and nearly 30 to Asia. Stuker has touched down at airports in all 50 U.S. states, including 70 trips to Hawaii.
As United’s most-frequent flyer, Stuker is the airline’s first customer since the program launched in 1981 — and perhaps the first traveler ever — to fly 10 million miles. To equal his feat, a traveler could circle the globe 400 times, fly to the moon and back 20 times, or fly roundtrip between United’s largest hubs in Houston and Chicago about 5,400 times. While averaging nearly 29,000 miles in the air each month for 29 years, what does the mega-miler do during all those flights?
“I don’t sleep as much as I’d like,” Stuker said. “But I have found that the quiet and solitude allow me to be my most creative. During long flights, I’ve come up with some of my most innovative business ideas.” More than your average road warrior, Stuker, whose frequent travel earned him an appearance on the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld,” is at home on an airplane. For more information, visit www.unitedcontinentalholdings.com.
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