An Australian airline’s seven-hour flight “to nowhere” sold out in 10 minutes on Sept. 17 as travelers are eager to ride an airplane again.
Qantas Airways Limited organized the flight due to strong demand from people who “miss the flying experience,” as per the Daily Mail on Sept. 17.
The trip, dubbed as the “Great Southern Land” scenic flight, also aims to promote some popular tourist sites in the country.
The flight is scheduled to depart from the Sydney Domestic Airport on Oct. 10, and will return there after seven hours.
It will include “low level flybys of unique Australian destinations across Queensland, the Northern Territory and New South Wales.”
The flight will also bring passengers close to tourist spots such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Byron Bay and the iconic Sydney Harbour. Though these areas are off-limits to many due to border closures of Australian states such as Tasmania, the airline noted that there are no restrictions “from the sky.”
The company assured good views of the scenes as well, since travelers will be riding their “state-of-the-art” B787 Dreamliner. It noted that the said plane has “the biggest windows on any passenger aircraft.”
Along with a view of some popular sights, the flight will also be hosted by a celebrity guest host.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce later expressed his joy over the flight since it provides work for the staff “who are more enthusiastic than anyone to see aircraft back in the sky.”
Other airlines across the globe have begun offering similar flights as well to ensure their pilots continue to have work amid the pandemic.
Taiwan airline EVA recently had a Father’s Day scenic flight over the nation, as per ABC News. Meanwhile, Japanese airline ANA took passengers on a 90-minute ‘Hawaiian themed’ flight last month.
Following the response to their scenic flight, the Australian airline remains open to the idea of offering more similar trips in the future.
“If the demand is there, we’ll definitely look at doing more of these scenic flights while we all wait for borders to open,” a spokesperson said. /ra
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