Yesterday, Qantas revealed its latest initiative, the ‘Great Southern Land’ scenic flight across Australia, to take place on October 10, 2020.
Aboard a B787 Dreamliner usually reserved for long-haul international flights — with the largest windows of any passenger aircraft — the seven-hour flight will depart from Sydney airport to fly low over three states and territories, to give passengers the opportunity to take in some of Australia’s most iconic sights.
Flying up the New South Wales coast, the aircraft will cross the Queensland border to reach the Great Barrier Reef. Heading west, the plane will then fly over Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, before heading back to Sydney, flying first over Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach.
Passengers aboard the scenic flight are also set to enjoy a bunch of extras, including pre-flight breakfast in the Qantas lounge, Qantas business class pyjamas to wear for the duration of the trip, a lunch menu designed by Neil Perry, and a surprise celebrity host.
While passengers get no baggage allowance (they don’t need any), fares for the Great Southern Land scenic flight do not come cheap.
104 economy tickets were priced at $787, 24 premium economy fares at $1,787 and six business class fares cost $3,787, but just 10 minutes after the flight was announced yesterday, it sold out.
“We knew this flight would be popular, but we didn’t expect it to sell out in 10 minutes,” a Qantas spokesperson said, adding: “It’s probably the fastest selling flight in Qantas history.”
Now, there are calls to announce new dates and opportunities for those who missed out this time around to join the next Great Southern Land flight across the country.
Apparently, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has not ruled this out as a possibility and is “definitely” looking into scheduling more scenic flights.
It seems this new branch of aerial tourism, by which passengers travel over borders without actually touching down in a new destination, is taking off.
Back in August, Qantas announced it would be resuming its scenic flights over Antarctica with November dates.