QANTAS FLIGHT TO NOWHERE – THE ROUTE AND THE SIGHTS

Have you ever missed flying that much that you wanted to get on a plane, fly around for just over eight hours and then land right back where you started? Welcome to the Quantas flight to nowhere.

150 people in Australia were obviously keen to get on board, as the tickets to the Qantas Great Southern Land flight sold out in just 10 minutes.

The Australian airline gave its loyalty programme members the chance to spend their frequent flyer miles on the flight that offered a scenic view of famous landmarks, combined with the food and drinks on offer during a normal flight.

Simple Flying reports that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from Sydney Airport at 10:43 on Saturday, and flew at 25,000 feet north along the coast.

As the Boeing approached Brisbane, it flew around Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast at 2,800 feet before heading further north to Hamilton Island.

Passengers were treated to food and drinks on board as they were flown to Heart Reef, a coral reef in the shape of a heart.

Simple Flying further reports that the aircraft then moved to around 3,900 feet, headed inland and, for the next 30 minutes, it flew around Uluru. Stunning views of Uluru were available for everyone to see as the plane circled the massive sandstone rock formation.

From there, the Great Southern Land flight flew straight back to Sydney and landed at 19:09.

One of the passengers told CNN Travel that "it was like a once in a lifetime opportunity".

Watch the M171562 video below to see some of the scenic views from a window seat on board the Qantas Great Southern Land flight.

Image credit: Airliners Illustrated