Delta flight to New York flies with just two passengers

In an era of packed flights, finding an empty middle seat has become a rare luxury for air travelers. So imagine the surprise for two Delta Air Lines passengers who had an entire plane to themselves this week.

Delta Flight 6259, a regional jet operated as a Delta Connection flight, left Cleveland for New York LaGuardia on Monday with all but two seats empty. Delta's website and flight-tracking serviceFlightAware each showed that the flight was operated with a 65-seat Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet.

The flight's other passengers were rebooked on other itineraries after a series of delays. Monday was a rough day for air travel, with a mix of snow, ice, rain and fog affecting numerous airports in the Midwest and East.

As for the Delta flight, passenger Chris O'Leary initially thought he was going to have the entire flight to himself. He tweeted about his experience as the aircraft pulled away from the gate.

"They rebooked everyone but me on another flight to LGA, so I am literally the only person on this plane," O'Leary said via Twitter. He told ABC News he got a personalized safety demonstration and a one-on-one briefing from the captain.

O'Leary guessed that he also would have been rebooked on a previous flight if he had shown up to the airport earlier. He told ABC he stayed at his hotel longer after receiving an alert that his flight was delayed.

But O'Leary's solo-flier trip was not meant to be. The aircraft returned to the gate to pick up another delayed passenger. Nonetheless, the rarity of the experience was not lost on O'Leary.

"It was definitely the most memorable flight I've been on in recent memory if only for the sheer lack of passengers to become bothersome," O'Leary said to ABC News. "There were no screaming babies, no one listening to loud lyrics or reclining their seats or taking off their shoes."

As for the second passenger? O'Leary told ABC: "He took advantage of the fact the flight was empty and reclined his seat all the way (and slept)."

The operation of the near-empty flight also may help debunk the myth that carriers cancel flights that are lightly booked. If Delta had canceled the flight, the aircraft operating it would have been unexpectedly left in Cleveland — resulting in downstream cancellations elsewhere in Delta's schedule.