- Qantas is releasing $577 tickets for “mystery flights” to unknown destinations in March.
- The one-day trips, which fly from three major Australian cities, are limited to 120 passengers.
- In 2020, Qantas offered a seven-hour domestic “flight to nowhere” – it sold out in 10 minutes.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Qantas Airways announced Tuesday it’s offering “mystery flights” in Australia between March and May.
Passengers won’t be told where they’re going on the flights, which are due last about two hours, until the plane begins to land, Qantas said.
Passengers can book a flight on one of three Qantas Boeing 737 planes from Brisbane, Melbourne, or Sydney for 737 Australian dollars ($577) for economy class or 1,579 Australian dollars ($1,233) for business class, according to Qantas’ website.
Only 120 passengers would be allowed on the one-day trips, Qantas said.
The destination would be kept a secret until the plane begins to land and an announcement is made, Qantas said. After the passengers explore the area, they would board the plane and be flown back to the same airport they departed from, it said.
Qantas said the first time it offered "mystery flights" was back in the 1990s. Last year, the Australian flag carrier launched a seven-hour "flight to nowhere" - it sold out in 10 minutes.
"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," Stephanie Tully, Qantas Group chief customer officer, said in a statement to CNN.
On Tuesday, the Australian government announced the country's international travel ban would be extended by three months to June 17.
Qantas group executive Andrew Parker told the BBC: "What we are looking for is an assurance that at a point in time, or at a point in the vaccine rollout, further border closures will be ruled out."
"Travellers are confused by a patchwork of rapidly changing restrictions and are understandably worried about being locked out of their own home state or intended destination," he said.
Nearly 29,000 Australians have aught COVID-19, and 909 have died from the disease, according to Australia's Department of Health.
—Qantas (@Qantas) March 2, 2021