While Australians may be at home unable to travel outside of the country due to COVID-19, Qantas and travel firm Antarctica Flights have got together to offer the world’s most unique scenic flight. Previously Qantas used one of its iconic Boeing 747s for the 12 to 13-hour trip to Antarctica, but now that they are all retired, the journey will be made using a state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Starting from November, travelers will be able to take in the frozen continent with departures leaving from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. What is extra special about the flight besides the stunning views is that you do not need a passport. As the 236 seat aircraft is taking off from and touching down in Australia, the trip is regarded as being a domestic flight.
Expert lectures give talks about Antarctica
When talking to 7News about the flights, Antarctica Flights CEO Bas Bosschieter called them a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“There is no passport or luggage needed for an Antarctica Flight, you can even go in board shorts if you wish.” adding ” I personally think it’s the best answer to the question ‘What did you get up to on the weekend? Just popped down to Antarctica.”
“Whilst it is very difficult for Australians to travel overseas at this time, our Antarctica Flights guests will be able to visit another continent in a day.”
During the flight, passengers are all provided with drinks and offered a meal service while watching videos about what they can expect to see. The Antarctica flights also have expert lectures who have spent time on the ice who give talks and then walk through the cabin, answering specific questions.
You start to see ice after three hours
As we already mentioned earlier, it is a reasonably long flight south with not much to see until you are about three hours into the journey. It is then that you will start to see float ice on the watery blue expanse below.
Once over the mainland, the plane hugs the coasts as the captain takes her down to a lower altitude for better viewing. Now heading inland between several mountains, the aircraft makes a loop around the magnetic South Pole before heading home to Australia.
It doesn’t come cheap
A word of warning while this sounds like heaps of fun, it doesn’t come cheap!
Prices for seats on one of the scheduled seven flights start from AUD 1,199 for a place over the wing up to AUD 7,999 for business class. The flights will operate between November and February, which is when the continent sees its best weather. If you would like to find out more about Antarctica Flights, click on the link.
The flights over Antarctica became possible using planes with two engines after 2011 when the ETOPS rating for twin-engine jets was raised from 180 minutes to 330 minutes. This effectively meant that twin-engine aircraft like the Boeing 787 can now fly virtually anywhere.
What do you think of the Antarctica flights? Is it something you would be interested in doing? Please let us know what you think in the comments.
