In January 2017, as Washington, DC, prepared for one of the most politically charged inaugurations in modern American history, airlines across the northeastern United States experienced unusual travel patterns. Donald Trump’s inauguration drew massive crowds to the capital, while the following day’s Women’s March brought millions of demonstrators into cities across the country.

Amid the uncertainty, protests, road closures, and shifting travel plans, one Air Canada passenger ended up experiencing something almost unheard of in commercial aviation: an entire airplane all to himself. For one Montreal-area traveler, what began as a routine work trip to Philadelphia unexpectedly turned into what he jokingly calls “the biggest private plane” he will ever fly on.

The passenger boarded Air Canada Express flight AC8033, operated by Jazz Aviation, from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) on January 21, 2017. However, instead of boarding alongside dozens of travelers, he discovered he was the only passenger on the aircraft.

According to his boarding information, the evening flight departed Philadelphia at 5:55 PM and arrived in Montreal at 7:30 PM aboard a Canadair Regional Jet. The scheduled flight time was just one hour and 35 minutes, but the experience left a lasting impression even years later. In this interview with Simple Flying, the Laval-based traveler recounts the surreal experience of having an airline cabin entirely to himself during one of the most politically tense weekends in recent US history.

A Routine Work Trip Became Something Far More Unusual

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At the time of the flight, John Rodriguez, our traveler, was serving on the technical advisory board of the Project Management Institute, which had organized its annual planning sessions in Philadelphia. What started as a routine business trip quickly became one of the most memorable flights of his life.

Based in Laval, Quebec, John had flown from Montreal to Philadelphia several days earlier without any memorable events. The outbound journey was completely normal. After the work sessions concluded, the then 42-year-old decided to spend a little more time exploring Philadelphia before returning home.

The timing of the return flight turned out to be highly significant. January 21, 2017, was the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States and also the date of the massive Women’s March protests held in Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and hundreds of other cities in the US, but also abroad.

The Women’s March became one of the largest single-day demonstrations in American history, with millions of participants gathering across the US and internationally. Airlines, airports, rail services, and highways across the Northeast experienced unusual congestion patterns and shifting passenger demand throughout the inauguration weekend.

Waiting At The Gate With Nobody Around

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For frequent travelers, an empty gate area can sometimes be normal, especially during delays or off-peak departures. However, as boarding time approached, the Montreal-bound passenger began to notice something genuinely strange:

“So I sit next to the gate, and there’s no one. I just wait. I don’t remember the number of the gates, but I get my book, start to read, and the time passes, and still no one. I look around, no one, and incidentally, the crew is coming, and the attendant is starting to open the desk, and I just go and check with them, and I ask ‘Is this the flight for Montreal?’ Then they say yeah, yeah, it’s here.”

At first, he assumed passengers were simply arriving late. Flights between Philadelphia and Montreal are typically busy regional services carrying business travelers, connecting passengers, and weekend tourists. A completely empty gate seemed almost impossible.

“I sit down, time passes by, look around, still no one. That’s weird, you know, but I see the two flight attendants were talking to each other. It’s all good, and at some point, she calls me. She says, ‘Sir, sir, are you ready?’ So I look around like ‘Are you talking to me?’ She says yes, we’re boarding, and so I got closer to her, and as a joke, I said am I the only one today, and she said, ‘Yes, you are. Welcome on board.'”

John admitted that he briefly wondered whether he had somehow gone to the wrong gate, saying that “I doubted it for a little bit. I thought maybe I was at the wrong gate. But yeah, they say yes, no, you’re at the right gate.'”

Inside A Canadair Regional Jet Built For Dozens Of Passengers

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Stepping on board a completely empty commercial aircraft created an atmosphere unlike anything the passenger had experienced before. Normally, regional jets are filled with overhead bin activity, boarding announcements, conversations, and the constant stress associated with short-haul flying. Instead, the cabin was silent:

“It was weird because usually you’re packed. It’s that type of flight where there’s always noise, and you feel the stress of the people, but this time, it’s like I felt alone, like wow, it’s a huge aircraft, so it’s an empty space just for you, and you’re like in the middle of the air like this, and it’s four people basically.”

The Canadair Regional Jet family, widely used by Air Canada Express operators including Jazz Aviation, typically carries between 50 and 90 passengers depending on configuration. Seeing one effectively transformed into a private aircraft created an almost surreal psychological effect:

“I sat very close to the cockpit to not feel that alone. Being in the middle would have been weird. So that was that weirdness of being in a huge space alone where you’re usually packed. It was a strange, strange feeling.”

The traveler also noted that, ironically, the flight itself was disappointingly short. He explains that:

“I was very frustrated, and I’ll tell you why, because it’s a very short flight and I wish it were like an eight-hour flight. For once, I was alone on the plane. You could enjoy so much, but it was so short, like I think it’s an hour and a half, maybe.”

In aviation, airlines occasionally operate flights with very few passengers when canceling would create larger operational problems elsewhere in the network. Regional aircraft, in particular, may need repositioning for subsequent flights, maintenance checks, or crew scheduling obligations. Airlines also have to consider airport slot usage, passenger reaccommodation costs, and the cascading operational impact a single cancellation can have across an entire network.

Empty flights are unusual, but not impossible during periods of sudden disruption or irregular demand patterns. For regional carriers like Jazz Aviation, maintaining operational continuity is particularly important because aircraft frequently perform multiple short sectors each day. Canceling one flight can affect crews, aircraft availability, and connecting schedules across several cities. In this case, keeping the Philadelphia-to-Montreal service operating may ultimately have been less disruptive and less expensive than canceling it entirely.

Free Food, Free Drinks & A Flight Attendant Dedicated To One Passenger

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Although the experience initially felt strange, it quickly became enjoyable once the cabin crew embraced the novelty. John explains that:

“The flight attendant asked, ‘Would you like to drink or eat anything?’ And I was like, ‘No, thank you’. She then said, ‘Well, I have to tell you something. The machine is broken, so I can’t take any payments, so everything on the plane is free. Whatever you want, alcohol or food is free’. I was like, okay, so I’m on the plane alone. I have free food, free alcohol, and one flight attendant just for me. It’s the biggest private plane I will get, and probably that will never happen again.”

For most passengers, regional economy flights involve limited personal interaction with cabin crew. However, on this occasion, the service effectively became private aviation-level attention:

“They were very nice to me. I didn’t really see the pilot and co-pilot. They were joking at the beginning. The flight attendant attended to me right away, and she was very close, making sure that I had everything, but then they just left me on my own. I felt that they were here if I needed something, but at the same time, they just let me relax.”

The experience also highlighted how dramatically different commercial flying feels when the normal pressures of airline travel disappear. Instead of competing for overhead bin space or waiting for service in a crowded aisle, the traveler effectively had the attention of the entire cabin crew. The atmosphere became quiet, relaxed, and almost surreal, a sharp contrast to the rushed environment passengers typically associate with short regional flights.

For the crew, the flight also represented an unusual operational anomaly. Flight attendants are trained to manage cabins filled with dozens of passengers, balancing safety checks, food service, and customer assistance under tight timelines. On this flight, however, their role shifted into something much closer to personalized hospitality, giving the entire experience an unexpectedly private-jet feel.

How Trump’s Inauguration And The Women’s March Likely Changed The Flight

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The traveler believes the political climate surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration and the Women’s March protests likely played a major role in the flight being empty. He says that:

“On that day, we knew there was a march that was being planned. We knew the election was very tense. A lot of people were moving their flights, either moving the day after or moving the day before. I think there was a kind of panic at that time. I think that’s why, but I can’t tell you exactly if for that plane that was the reason.”

The timing strongly supports that theory. Trump’s inauguration took place on January 20, 2017, in Washington DC, drawing massive crowds and heightened security measures throughout the region. The following day, January 21, the Women’s March drew millions of protesters across hundreds of cities, becoming one of the largest protests in modern American history. Philadelphia itself hosted significant demonstrations and heightened transportation demand during the weekend.

Many travelers across the northeastern US reportedly adjusted schedules to avoid congestion, political demonstrations, road closures, or security complications. That enormous movement of people created a highly unusual travel demand across the northeastern United States. Some routes into major protest cities became exceptionally busy, while other flights saw abrupt drops in demand as travelers changed plans at the last minute.

Political uncertainty, concerns about congestion, security restrictions, and large public gatherings all contributed to unpredictable booking behavior during inauguration weekend. The unusual operational environment likely created highly uneven passenger demand patterns for certain city pairs. While flights into Washington-area airports were heavily booked, secondary routes elsewhere in the Northeast may have experienced sudden cancellations and rebookings. Our passenger remains fascinated by one detail above all others:

“I know that when they leave late or if there is a mechanical issue, it costs a lot of money. So, on a short flight like this, flying empty, it just sometimes will be cheaper than actually paying fees at the airport. Now the only thing I don’t understand is how I was alone. It would have made sense to be 10-15, but being alone is unusual.”

A Rare Experience That Still Makes People Laugh Today

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Years later, the story continues to entertain friends, family members, and aviation enthusiasts alike. The passenger says most people react the same way after hearing about the flight, namely that they laugh and say that “it would have been nice if it were a long flight.” Although extremely rare, flights carrying only one or two passengers have occasionally occurred throughout aviation history.

Such situations became more visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when airlines sometimes operated near-empty aircraft to maintain schedules, preserve airport slots, or reposition planes and crews. There have also been isolated reports of passengers unexpectedly becoming the sole traveler on scheduled commercial flights due to weather disruptions, missed connections, or sudden mass rebookings. In several cases, airlines continued operating because canceling the service would have disrupted aircraft rotations or stranded crews elsewhere.

One reason aviation enthusiasts find these stories so fascinating is that they reveal how complex airline operations really are. Commercial flights are not always operated solely based on passenger numbers. Aircraft positioning, maintenance requirements, crew legality rules, and network reliability can sometimes outweigh the economics of a lightly booked flight. John still considers the experience one of the strangest moments of his many years of international travel.

Having lived in different places, he had taken countless commercial flights before January 2017; none resembled this one. What makes the story particularly memorable is how it captured a specific historical moment. A politically tense inauguration weekend, massive protest movements, disrupted travel patterns, and airline operational realities all aligned to create a once-in-a-lifetime aviation experience. For one evening between Philadelphia and Montreal, an Air Canada Express regional jet effectively became a private charter for a single passenger.