They Flew Across Oceans To Vote—Now They’re Wondering: Was the Journey Worth It After All? – View from the Wing

There’s always an aviation angle. People were flying – across the country, across the Atlantic – to cast ballots, often because of challenges they faced trying to cast their votes absentee. That’s a lot of time and effort considering each is about one of 160 million registered voters in the United States. But people are passionate! Many of you are elated today, while just as many are apoplectic.

WHO IS THIS DIVA pic.twitter.com/Y8OQRJzsMc

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) November 5, 2024

My brother did this pic.twitter.com/oqdRfWjgeD

— Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi) November 6, 2024

It’s easy to critique the woman making a transatlantic trip to vote for Kamala Harris because it was futile, however a single vote was always going to be futile – Pennsylvania, for instance, wasn’t going to be decided by one vote! Most of the time and in most places, voting is purely expressive.. performative.. but that’s exactly the case for this woman. She cares deeply about the outcome and wants to participate even if she’s not affecting it.

Is it entirely rational? In a subjective sense, yes. She’s pursuing a narrative she believes matters to her. Is it entirely consistent? If we infer some things about her likely politics, such as environmental concerns, then probably not (although it’s complicated).

• Remember that American Airlines alone consumes 1% of global fuel (and so do each of United and Delta).
• At the same time, not all flying contributes to harmful emissions equally. It’s a small portion of flying that does, and it seems as though this can be mitigated by changes in altitude.
• Although we’re not quite to the point of knowing for certain in advance which flying, and being able to adjust, though it seems like we’re close.

I’d prefer making a trip like this using miles. First, it feels like that’s what miles are for, being able to pursue the passions that matter to you. And when you’re getting a good deal on miles, it’s usually because the airline expects to fly a plane anyway but not to sell the seat they’re offering on points. And that’s precisely when you have the least impact on the environment through your travels.

Sure, flying to vote may seem like it doesn’t make sense when it doesn’t alter the outcome of the election. But for the people doing it, it’s fun! And if they can travel on points then the fun seems to come with less baggage, fewer negatives, both in terms of cost and possible criticism over environmental impact.

Meanwhile, about half the country will be the perfect target markets for airline ads like this one today:

WestJet running ads on IG for the US election – I actually love this. Great top of funnel move that’s going to get a bunch of shares and tags. pic.twitter.com/SmtnXFtgHm

— Stefan Kalczynski (@stefkal_) November 5, 2024

Maybe making a one-way trip is psychologically the easiest. Everyone who flew to cast a ballot only to see their candidate lose faces the prospect of flying back. Given that the whole point was to participate in a collective act that failed, the return flight home especially has to be truly deflating. Let’s just avoid fisticuffs in the cabin over the outcome.

Of course they didn’t affect the outcome, which was probably preordained by Vice President Harris holding her final rally on the famous steps from Rocky in Philadelphia where, I’ve seen pointed out, she declared, “And here at these famous steps, a tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory…” forgetting that Rocky lost.