A YouTuber bought the most expensive plane ticket he could find and filmed his experience to show whether it was worth the price

• Matthew Beam is a 25-year-old YouTuber who is known for making large objects out of home materials.
• Beem said he bought the most expensive plane ticket he could and filmed the experience in a video.

Denver-based YouTuber Matthew Beem said he bought the most expensive plane ticket he could find and vlogged the experience to show his audience what it was really like.

The resulting video, posted on May 4 and titled "I Bought The Most Expensive Airplane Ticket!" now has 2.1 million views.

While it is common for influencers to film themselves surrounded by luxury, Beem told Insider, "I have never experienced anything like that in my entire life. Normally when traveling, or doing most things in general, I look for the cheapest option."

Throughout the video, Beem included clips of himself alongside footage of his sister, Cheyanne, who was also on the 15-hour Emirates flight from Los Angeles to Dubai, but in economy class. In contrast to the large TV and gourmet meal Beem was given, Cheyanne filmed her smaller screen and the "chicken and veggies" they served her during the flight.

Beem told Insider he decided to include his sister in the video because "it is always fun to see different perspectives and stories in one video to compare the type of food and overall experience."

He added, "I think it is a great way to show the viewers what is different and maybe what is not so different between the seats."

In the video, Beem — who said he was seated in first class — showed a large seat that could be pulled out to form a bed, which he slept on in the video. He said he was given a set of pajamas and a bag with an eye mask, eye cream, and a bottle labeled, "pillow mist" inside it.

"I don't even know what pillow mist is," he said in the video, which also featured a large TV screen and doors next to the seat that could be automatically opened or closed with the press of a button for added privacy.

Beem told Insider the experience was vastly different from other flights he had been on. "Normally the seats on a plane are so small, it is hard to sit down, and this was like a small house," he said, adding that the thing that surprised him most was the bathroom and shower on the flight — which he filmed and used — because showering during a flight is something he "never would have thought was possible."

He added that he felt the ticket was worth the high price, saying, "It could not have been better. However, it would be hard for me to ever think about spending that amount normally."

Beem told Insider that his ticket was worth up to $21,000, but according to a receipt seen by Insider, he only paid around $15,000. Beem said this was because he opted for a cheaper offer that did not include insurance or flexibility around travel dates. Emirates told Insider they did not sponsor Beem's airfare.

There is some dispute on travel blogs about what the most expensive plane ticket costs due to changing airline rates and prices. In 2019 YouTuber Casey Niestat, who has 12 million subscribers, filmed himself sitting in what he described as the most expensive plane seat in the world on an Etihad flight, which is rumored to cost up to $64,000, according to The Sun.

A spokesperson for Emirates told Insider that "fares are dynamic and can vary depending on numerous factors including origin, destination, demand, and timing," so it is difficult to say what the most expensive plane ticket really is. A representative for Beem told Insider that to the best of Beem's knowledge, the ticket he bought was the most expensive one available at the time.

Beem has racked up 1.6 million YouTube subscribers, rising to fame in the past year after he started building large elaborate projects out of simple materials for videos, such as a Batmobile out of cardboard and large statues inspired by characters in the game Minecraft and the TV show Spongebob Squarepants. Most of his videos posted in the last six months have more than a million views.

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