Who hasn’t dreamed of flying planes, travelling the world for free, and wearing a pilot’s uniform? It is a dream most of us will never pursue once the cost involved sinks in, the countless hours of studying and training, not to mention the skills required before we can get our hands on the controls. So, while the fantasy of sitting in the cockpit fades for most, the fantasy of travelling almost for free lives on.
In a real-life version of the Hollywood blockbuster Catch Me If You Can, 34-year-old Dallas Pokornik, from Toronto, thought he had found a way to have his cake and eat it.
Having worked as a flight attendant for a Canadian airline from July 2017 until October 2019, he knew the perks of airline life well, and when he left, he most obviously was not ready to give them up. On the contrary, he wanted what pilots could get: the possibility of flying free on other airlines through reciprocal agreements, with access even extending to the cockpit jumpseat.
Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, is accused of posing as a pilot and flight attendant to score hundreds of free U.S. flights over four years. pic.twitter.com/3ba3b4Xqqc
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) January 21, 2026
Posing as a pilot, Pokornik managed to score hundreds of free flights on three US airlines between January 2020 and October 2024 using a fake employee badge from his former Canadian employer. Neither that airline nor the three US carriers he defrauded have been publicly named.
As his social media showed, he made good use of it, regularly sharing photos from London, Los Angeles, Mexico and Phuket.
In a selfie posted in December 2023, in which he could be seen lugging a carry-on suitcase through London’s Heathrow Airport, Pokornik wrote, ’Many of my friends are married. Many of my friends are having kids. I’m over here trying to avoid checking my bag and hoping for a window seat.”
His scheme did work. Until he was caught, that is.
@militarybasetok #movie #fypシ #tiktok #catchmeifyoucan #leonardodicaprio #tomhanks ♬ original sound – MilitaryTok
It all began to unravel when an airline staff member flagged his ID, took a photo of the badge and passed it on to Pokornik’s former employer. They confirmed that the ID was fraudulent, partly because it had an expiry date of 2027, among other irregularities.
Pokornik was later arrested in Panama and extradited to the United States.
Last week, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a US federal court. He now faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release. He has also agreed to pay restitution to the three affected airlines. His sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place on 8 December 2026 before US District Judge Shanlyn A. S. Park.
CJ Ammons, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Honolulu, said that Pokornik “took advantage of travel security protocols for his own benefit, and he will now face the consequences of his actions”.
His attorneys have so far declined to comment.
Ken Sorenson, US Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that “travel security protocols help keep our citizens and visitors safe, and anyone who breaches those protocols should expect to be brought to justice”.
Dan Bubb, a former pilot who is now a professor-in-residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told CBC News that the case was a “wake-up call” showing that, in a world of artificial intelligence and advanced technology, people can manufacture authentic-looking IDs.
