When you are flying long haul, most consider a flight with a row to themselves with no delays or screaming children to be a once-in-a-blue-moon event. Not so for two travellers heading to Zurich over Christmas, who had economy class all to themselves on their Emirates flight to Dubai.

Mother and daughter board deserted flight to Dubai

According to a report from the UK’s Daily Mirror, the story begins when Kimmy Chedel and her daughter Zoe Doyle boarded an Emirates flight from the Seychelles towards Dubai. The pair were on their first leg of flights towards Switzerland, where they planned to spend Christmas with their wider family.

However, as they boarded the flight, they realised that they were the only people in economy class. “We had no idea we were the only ones. I think there were four others who were in first class, but they were completely separate from us. So we were basically the only ones,” Zoe told the Mirror.

They were heading to Switzerland at the quietest time of year

The cabin crew soon explained that the two had chosen to travel during the Seychelles’ monsoon season, meaning that passenger numbers were already the lowest they could be. This, combined with the fact that they were flying on Christmas Day, meant that they had the entire economy cabin to themselves for the four-and-a-half-hour flight. The two managed to document their experience on video:

Video: SWNS / YouTube

“Everyone was so excited that it was empty. They said it would never happen”, Zoe continued. "It was so much fun. We were chatting with the flight attendants and filming funny videos with them. They even got a Polaroid camera out and dressed my mum up in the cabin crew uniform. It was great."