Around the world on commercial airlines

In 1979, two Vancouver businessmen, Orst Perry and Adolf Schiel, set a world record for traveling around the world on commercial airlines. They started in Vancouver and ended up in Vancouver. They did this in 54 hours, 42 minutes. It cost them $7000 each.

I can think of a lot better ways to spend $7000 than sitting on a plane for several days. But it seems that others have pursued this same record. A press release from Nov 2016 says that Brother Michael Bartlett set a new record for flying around the world on commercial airlines by doing it in 57 hours, 17 minutes.

That's slower than the time set in 1979, but I'm guessing that Bartlett must have adhered to stricter rules. It says that he had to "cross the equator and land at points that are approximately 108 degrees apart and roughly on the same north–south longitude."

Notre Dame Observer - Feb 28, 1979

     Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 30, 2017
     Category: World Records | Air Travel and Airlines | 1970s





Comments
A fool and his money are soon parted.
In this age of over-booking and wait times in line for security, I wonder how Brother Michael managed it.
Posted by BMN on 04/30/17 at 02:46 PM
I should of added this:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/air-canada-4-day-delay-saskatoon-1.4092542
Posted by BMN on 04/30/17 at 03:00 PM
Not so impressive. Back in the day, I easily spent 57 hours in a given month, waiting for Eastern flights to muster. I also ended up where I started, and it didn't cost me a penny extra.

These guys counted only flying time. That meant they could exclude all time being beaten and dragged down the aisles by airline personnel.
Posted by Virtual on 04/30/17 at 06:38 PM
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