Man clarifies flying to US and back over 3 days with mum was Mother's Day gift, not to earn miles

[UPDATED May 19, 2023]

What are your plans for the weekend?

For one Singaporean man and his mum, their weekend itinerary consisted of hopping on consecutive flights over tens of thousands of kilometres.

The goal, however, wasn't the destination.

Turns out, 21-year-old TikTok user Amadillos (who declined to reveal his name) was one of the lucky ones who managed to capitalise on All Nippon Airways' (ANA) fare error, where business class tickets were sold for a fraction of their price.

Speaking to AsiaOne, he stated that he'd bought the tickets as a Mother's Day treat, as both he and his mum "enjoy travelling on different airlines" and "this was a rare chance to try ANA due to the error".

He added that while ANA had said (on April 25) that they would not honour the tickets bought during the window, they still honoured tickets bought within two weeks from the official announcement.

Amadillos and his mum flew to the US on May 5, with a majority of their flights taken on business class.

But the Singaporean traveller had taken some heat online for what he dubbed a "weekend mileage run", reported Coconuts Singapore on Monday (May 15).

The term typically refers to travellers who buy air tickets simply to accrue frequent flyer miles.

The original video by Amadillos documenting the entire process is believed to have been removed, but has been reshared by the news website.

In the series of slideshows, the student shared his epic three-day journey to the US and back to Singapore.

The first leg of the trip? A "repositioning" flight from Singapore to Indonesia, before the duo hopped on the ANA flight to Tokyo.

From there, it was another flight to San Francisco, on what appeared to be ANA's new Business Class suites known as 'The Room'.

Upon landing, Amadillos shared that they "had a hard time" trying to explain the quick turnaround flight to immigration officials there.

Then just 12 hours later, the mother-son duo were back on a plane for the flight back to Tokyo, before heading onwards to Singapore.

In his slideshow, Amadillos gave quick reviews of what he ate on board, giving props to ANA for the quality of its meals and making comparisons to Singapore Airlines.

"SQ take notes on catering please," he wrote. In another slide, he also noted the plush seats on board, commenting, "This makes SQ Business look tiny".

In another photo, it appeared that Amadillos' mum also managed to snag some exclusive merchandise available on board from the popular Demon Slayer anime.

Describing the last leg of their flight back to Singapore, Amadillos stated that they'd done "nothing but sleep, eat, eat again" the whole time and were feeling bloated as a result.

In his parting shot, Amadillos shared that the total journey had spanned a whopping 29,904km over three days.

Netizens unimpressed

Some netizens, however, were none too impressed, with many reportedly shocked by the display of excess, Coconuts reported.

Several were also concerned about the negative impact of his actions on the environment, reported Coconuts.

"What in the CO2 emissions," commented a user on TikTok.

Wrote another disapproving commenter: "I'm all for using planes for a reason! Not really for this though. Your mileage balance is not more important than the climate."

ALSO READ: Best frequent flyer plans to upgrade your travels in 2023

'Treat for mum'

While he'd dubbed the trip a "mileage run", Amadillos clarified that he'd simply used the phrase to refer to the quick turnaround flight.

"The main intention for the trip was a Mother's Day treat for my mum," he reiterated.

Amadillos told AsiaOne that it's the first time they'd taken such a trip and he'd usually go on a few holidays a year.

He declined to reveal how much he paid for the tickets, only that they were in the range of "$350 to $600, like all tickets sold during the error".

As to why they did not plan a holiday at the same time to better utilise the tickets, he told AsiaOne that the trip was "ad-hoc" and his mum was "unable to take leave at such short notice".

candicecai@asiaone.com

This article has been edited for clarity.