Meet the only 2 passengers from the viral ‘private’ Southwest flight out of Utah

Trevor Myers, ABC4

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — It’s not every day that a commercial airplane is transformed into a “private” plane — but two Utah students got to see what it’s like when that does happen.

Natalie Wolfley and Savannah Sargent were the only two passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight out of Salt Lake City International Airport on Friday. They documented their experience in a now-viral TikTok video that has amassed more than 4 million views.

“It was so cool. It was a really fun experience,” Natalie told ABC4.com. “Obviously, once in a lifetime, probably — I don’t know if I’ll ever have that kind of experience again.”

Natalie and Savannah found out that they would be the only passengers on their Southwest flight soon after they got to the airport.

They were heading to their home state of Arizona for Savannah’s bridal shower, and an airport employee said it looked like they had a “chartered plane” as they were checking their bags.

“We were so confused and we just thought he was kidding because that never happens,” Savannah said. “And then he was like, ‘No, I’m serious,’ and he turned the screen, and we saw that there was only two tickets bought versus the 175 seats on the plane.”

Natalie and Savannah grew up together in Arizona, and are now attending different schools in Utah. Their first time travelling back home together was on their “private” flight out of Utah.

Natalie said this flight had more of a “personal touch” compared to other flights. In the TikTok she shared, each of the announcements made by the flight crew directly addressed Natalie and Savannah by name — and they even got to sit in the cockpit.

“I think the coolest part about the experience was just that personal connection that we were able to have with the crew members, with the team, with the pilot,” Natalie said.

Natalie said that every time she flies through Salt Lake, she has a tradition of stopping to pick up a cake from Gourmandise Bakery. She kept that tradition on her trip with Savannah, with each of them getting a small cake to eat on the plane.

Savannah said she and Natalie had the whole plane to themselves but sat together in the second row so they could have their cakes on a tray table. Natalie said she is normally pretty quiet on flights — but that was not the case this time.

“With Sav this time, we were able to just be as loud as we wanted on the plane, we were giggling, laughing, we were chatting about A to Z — everything we could think about,” Natalie said. “We didn’t have to worry about the people around us, which is a normal thing that you do when you fly usually.”

The friends said Southwest Airlines has since reached out to them, and they joked about how Savannah and her fiancé would need a flight when it’s time for the wedding.

“It was short and sweet, but definitely we enjoyed every single moment,” Natalie said.

ABC4.com has reached out to Southwest Airlines to learn more about the situation — and how often this may happen — but has not yet heard back.

Maclane Westbrook, Sorina Trauntvein, and Sarah Murphy contributed to this report.