A wrinkle in time that takes place every day will take on special meaning this week, as passengers on 17 flights from North America to Australia will miss out on Christmas.
That's because the combination of super-long flights and crossing the International Date Line means that passengers on those flights, flown by six different airlines, will take off on Christmas eve, December 24, from the U.S. or Canada, and arrive in Australia on the morning of December 26, skipping the holiday completely.
At least one airline, United, is offering a bonus 2,500 frequent flier points as a consolation prize.
Passengers traveling in the other direction, by the way, get a Groundhog-Day-like Christmas; the International Date Line crossing will essentially give them two Christmas Days: they'll land in North America earlier in the morning than they left Australia!
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