The 182 passengers had no idea what they were in for when they boarded the United Flight Thursday morning in Chicago.
The Boeing 757 had been newly painted from its nose to its tail and designated the official Oprah Winfrey Farewell Season jet.
Once on board, instead of watching the standard safety instructional video, passengers were surprised to see an address from Oprah herself. They were given some of Oprah's favorite flight accessories - fleece blankets and bags of Garrett popcorn.
The biggest surprise was unveiled in the middle of the flight when 26-year-old Michael Faulman was awarded a free round-the-world flight.
"It was totally unexpected and I'm thrilled. I have 1.2 million miles. It's out of control," he said when the flight landed in Los Angeles.
He said he just moved to Chicago three weeks ago. The Political Science major is in between jobs but plans for a new job might be put on hold as he does some traveling.
Faulman won't be the only million mile winner. The Oprah Winfrey Farewell Season United million mile giveaway will continue through May with one lucky winner chosen each month.
The winner will be selected at random and there's no way to know which flights will be on the Oprah jet.
