Qantas yesterday announced a new addition to its series of highly popular concept flights to combat the border blues.
The Australian carrier plans to operate three Mystery Flights for travellers to enjoy unique travel experiences in Australia while international borders remain closed.
The announcement comes after the flag carrier of Australia successfully completed ‘Flights to Nowhere’ in October 2020 (when domestic border closures were at their peak) and Flight to Somewhere (when initial reopening began last year), which proved extremely popular.
Mystery flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
The three Mystery Flights will depart from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to a destination within two hours and will include low level flybys of key landmarks en-route (subject to weather and air traffic control) as part of a unique on-board flying experience. All the flights will be operated by a Boeing 737.
This will not only include just flight, but an entire day of activities in a mystery destination – so all passengers need to do is book and turn up at the airport. All destinations are outside major capital cities.
The airline says that ‘experiences on the ground could include anything from a winemaking course in a premier Australian wine region to a gourmet lunch with musical entertainment on the shores of one of Australia’s tropical island wonders.’
Customers will be provided with clues to ensure it is an appropriate outing for their areas of interest and to assist with whether to pack a snorkel or sneakers in their carry-on baggage.
Flight details
From Brisbane: 27th March,2021 (Saturday)
The airline says that ‘this is the perfect gateway if you love : country hospitality, gourmet food and wine and the great outdoors’.
From Sydney: 18th April,2021 (Sunday)
The airline says that ‘this is the perfect gateway if you love : the tropics, salt water on your skin and long lunching on the beach’.
From Melbourne: 1st May,2021 (Saturday)
The airline says that ‘this is the perfect gateway if you love : the great outdoors (including a little walk), gourmet food and wine and regional farmers market’.
Seats and Prices
Seats on the Qantas Mystery Flight Experiences go on sale on Qantas.com at midday 4th March for travel in March, April and May.
The all-inclusive fares, which include meals and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage plus activities on the ground, are AUD737 for Economy (with a Qantas Points earn of 2,400 points plus 40 Status Credits) and AUD1,579 for Business (5000 Qantas Points earn plus 80 Status Credits).
All three flights will operate with net zero emissions, with 100% of emissions carbon offset.
Stephanie Tully, Chief Customer Officer, Qantas Group said:
Our customers tell us that where they can and can’t travel within Australia has been a bit of a mystery lately. The vaccine rollout is bringing a lot more certainty and domestic border restrictions should soon be a thing of the past. In the meantime, these flights turn that mystery into a positive by creating a unique experience for the many people keen to start travelling again. As well as helping bring more of our people back to work, these mystery flights are another way to support tourism operators in regional areas especially, who have been hit particularly hard by several waves of travel restrictions.
Notably, this is not the first time that Qantas is operating mystery flights. In 1990s, the national carrier of Australia operated flights when travellers would turn up at the airport and be allocated seats on a scheduled flight to any of the airline’s destinations where they spent a day at their leisure before flying home.
Featured image by Qantas
The idea of being on a mystery flight seems great. What do you think of Qantas’ Mystery flights? Let us know in the comments section below.