It’s a very 2020 phenomenon, the rise of aerial tourism and scenic flights to nowhere. Unsurprisingly, they’ve proved popular with passengers. But is that just because we’re all bored and missing plane rides? Or, are airlines targeting deeper, psychological desires? It’s worth having a look at what’s behind the popularity of aerial tourism and scenic flights to nowhere.
Passengers chasing normality and seeking an escape
Experts say two things are driving the demand for flights to nowhere from a passenger’s perspective. The first is the desire for normality; the second is the need to escape.
For many travelers, the airport and flying experience is deeply ingrained. It’s not just the process, but a full-on sensory experience – the noise, sights, and smells of the travel experience.
“In the airport, we are nobody and everyone at once,” says ThoughtCatalog’s Heidi Priebe.
“We love airports because they remind us how easy it all is – to leave, to return, to roam far, to stay close.”
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says scenic flights work because there’s a hardcore customer base chasing the travel experience rather than a destination.
“So many of our frequent fliers are used to being on a plane every other week and have been telling us they miss the experience of flying as much as the destinations themselves,” he told The New York Times.
Flights to nowhere get bigger and more ambitious
That might explain the success of their scenic flights. While several airlines in the region have run scenic flights, Qantas differentiates in two ways: the flights’ length and the price.
Their recent seven-hour flight to nowhere sold seats priced between US$553 and $2660, depending on where you sat. That flight, on a Boeing 787-9, sold out in ten minutes. Yesterday, Qantas announced a 24-hour getaway to Uluru, including an overnight stay in a fairly average hotel. Styled a “scenic flight to somewhere,” tickets were priced between US$1755 and $2800 and have also reportedly sold out.
It’s a neat little earner for Qantas, which is a good reason as any for airlines to operate these types of scenic flights. In a useful breakdown of costs on a local frequent flyer forum, one contributor priced the overnight accommodation at US$204 per person, the included dinner at $193 per person, and assorted tours at $175 per person. That suggests Qantas trousers $1183 from the cheapest $1755 ticket. Not bad for a flight on a Boeing 737-800 that takes three hours each way.
It also says something about the level of disposable income around during a recession and people’s desire to escape the 2020 grind.
Flights to nowhere satisfy a need to escape
Psychologists say humans have an innate instinct to escape. Stressful situations trigger that instinct. Many people have found this year acutely stressful and are keen to go somewhere, it doesn’t really matter where.
“We love airports because they make us remember – that the problems and choices and troubles that plague us can be left behind in a physical way,” says Heidi Priebe.
“There are endless cities, endless destinations, endless corners of the world, and endless people we could become.”
While scenic flights aren’t endless – they will land again and return you to the grind; they do offer a temporary escape. Flights to nowhere offer the chance to fly above the clouds and disconnect with what’s going on below, even if only temporarily.
For airlines, scenic flights’ appeal is based on earning some revenue, using aircraft, and keeping employees busy. The motivation seems to be more psychological for passengers, with people chasing that old airport “going somewhere” feeling and satisfying their need to escape.
While borders remain closed, international travel difficult, and demand high, flights to nowhere look set to continue for the foreseeable future.
