Courtesy of DJ’s Aviation.

In the midst of his achievement of the Oceans Seven, Stephen Redmond took a long flight from Ireland to LAX in 2011. After deboarding the intercontinental flight and patiently waiting through a crowded customs arrival lobby, he drove straight from the airport to the docks in Long Beach and jumped on his escort boat. Redmond and his crew headed across the Catalina Channel and then reached the island in time for a midnight start.

After sitting cramped in his airline seat and then standing for hours trying to get his passport stamped and bags delivered, he sat in a boat cruising across a lumpy Pacific Ocean – and then jumped in the ocean to complete a very uncomfortable 12 hour 39 minute crossing from Santa Catalina Island to Southern California [see below].

But imagine if Redmond was going to do that flight and channel crossing again in the year 2020?

If he flies to another continent on an Airbus A330 plane, he could actually stretch out on a nice bed (called passenger modules by Airbus) in the cargo hold and be fully rested for a challenging channel crossing.

“I would jump on this opportunity in a second,” said frequent flier Steven Munatones who has flown nearly 3 million miles – mostly in middle economy-class seats – to swims around the world.

Airbus spokesman Jacques Rocca told CNN, “Passengers will purchase a regular seat on the aircraft, paying extra for a bed at a price to be determined by airlines.” The passengers would access the cargo hold via a staircase.”

This would have definitely helped Redmond in Catalina.

“This was, by far, the hardest,” said Redmond about his October 21st 2011 crossing of the 32.3 km Catalina Channel. “My stomach locked up…it was horrendous. I never said so many prayers in my life. It was the worst experience of my life.”

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