Australians may not be able to travel far internationally, but they’ll soon be able to take a 12-hour Qantas flight and end up right where they started. Yes, Qantas is resuming its storied scenic flights to Antarctica.
Qantas Resumes Antarctica Scenic Flights
Starting in November, Qantas will resume operating its scenic flights over Antarctica. Utilizing the Boeing 787 (most are now parked in a California desert, but Qantas held a handful back), the flights will not actually land, but spend extended periods over the frozen continent. It takes about three hours to reach Antarctica so half the 12-hour journey will be spent actually over the continent. The service will fly over the McMurdo dry valleys and the magnetic South Magnetic Pole.
Flights will depart from:
- Adelaide – departs February 14, 2021
- Brisbane – departs February 7, 2021
- Melbourne – departs November 15, 2020 + December 31, 2020
- Perth – departs January 26, 2021
- Sydney – departs November 22, 2020
Tickets will run from 1200AUD (~860USD) for economy class to 8000AUD (~5730USD) for business class. Social distancing will be observed onboard.
Bas Bosschieter, who oversees Antarctica Flights for Qantas, said:
“There is no passport or luggage needed for an Antarctica Flight, you can even go in board shorts if you wish. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Antarctica in a day…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’.”
I do too…
More info and booking link here. Note, Qantas is not selling these flights directly. Instead, Qantas is the charter operator.
CONCLUSION
I’d jump on a flight like this in a heartbeat if I could…what fun. Of course when I visit Antartica I actually want to set foot on the continent, but this would be a nice introduction!
Any interest in an Antarctica Scenic Flight from Qantas?
image: Antartica Flights
A separate company runs these flights, Qantas is simply the airline being chartered for the flights.
The flight from Buenos Aires to Sydney does a huge loop , and goes quite close to Antarctica…but I’ve never been able to see it. Similar, I guess, to the direct Singapore to NYC going way up over Alaska.
I’m not sure I’d bother with this flight; I’d sooner watch documentaries at home, rather than the real thing from altitude.
There is no flight from Buenos Aires to Sydney.
Not any more. QANTAS ran it for a couple of years, maybe 5, using a 747.
Aerolineas Argintenas via Auckland? Probably not operating at the moment.
Nope, Aerolineas Argentinas ceased flights to Sydney flights in April 2014.
En route to McMurdo, let’s hope QANTAS stays clear of Ross Island.
That sounds like a lot of fun. It also reminded me of the tragic crash of an Air New Zealand DC-10 on November 28, 1979. It was operating a scenic flight to Antarctica when it crashed into Mount Erebus, on Ross Island. The Flights to the frozen continent were immediately discontinued after the disaster. Now, 41 years later, and using more modern navigational procedures, I presume, they are being resumed. Great news!
That DC-10 was shockingly off-course. And the pilots, thinking they were flying towards a large cloud, were in fact flying towards the white slope of Mt. Erebus.
A flight attendant at the time, I recall the heartbreaking story of one of the Air New Zealand stewardesses, who was somehow – incredibly – catapulted from the plane as it disintegrated, and was found completely unmarked, lying on the snow, looking as though she was asleep. The person who found her recognized her immediately, because she was a family friend.
Personally I think I would prefer a cruise after reading Dan’s (DDF) trip report – longer yes, but the excursion and outings from the ship – would make it worth the trip.
Flying over sounds intriguing – but think it sounds more appealing if it was enroute to Cape town or Joburg from AU/NZ
I was under the assumption that flying through Antartica is dangerous due to magnetism