Missing Flying? “Flights to Nowhere” Take Off As a New Travel Trend
With the Coronavirus spreading faster than ever, with countries closing their borders, and with travel bans posted in most of the countries Airlines are struggling to find money and are looking at alternative methods to stay afloat. Some of the airlines took on the cargo approach, well not exactly cargo but they used their luggage carrying space and also taped some of the goods to carry more at once, some airplanes serve as restaurants, serving Michelin Star meals on their tiny seats! But this approach is quite different and worked like magic.
Pre pandemic most of us considered flying to be the mode of transport used to reach from one place to another as fast as possible. But amid the global restrictions travelers not only miss the far-flung destinations but the experience of flying itself. The experience of taking off and landing to the amazing and Iconic bird’s eye views was a little too much to miss.
That’s where the concept “Flights to Nowhere” comes in! Purely providing the pleasure of the journey and not the destination!
Flights to Nowhere is basically like going on a long drive with your friends, immersing yourself in the sights and sounds of the city from the comfort of your car, and coming back home the same day! The only difference is that this is far more expensive and you get to see popular tourist destinations from a birds-eye view.
Who started this?
With passengers eager to take to the skies at a time when Australia has grounded almost all international flights, Qantas came up with the brilliant idea of a 7-hour scenic flight. The flight will fly around covering Queensland, the Gold Coast, and New South Wales.
The passengers will be able to spot famous wallaby attractions like the Sydney Harbor and the Great Barrier Reef along with the promise of onboard entertainment and a surprise celebrity host. Not too shabby eh?
The plane used is a Boeing 787 dreamliner, usually reserved for inter-continental flights is known for its massive windows which will be ideal for sight-seeing from 30,000 feet.
Was it a success?
Well Hell yeah it was!!! The “Flight to Nowhere” was sold out within 10 minutes of release. The Airline’s CEO Alan Joyce said that it was probably the fastest selling flight in the history of Qantas. He also mentioned that they will carry out more of these scenic flights if the demand keeps increasing while everyone waits for the borders to open.
Pros and Cons
While this allows airlines to make some extra money, and satiate the travel cravings of people at the same time the concept has come under the radar for being damaging to the environment.
Singapore Airlines also planned on organizing a flight to nowhere but eventually had to cancel the plans citing environmental concerns.
Like everything else, the flight to nowhere has pros and cons, and like every other fad, this will go out soon enough too!
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