A Qantas “flight to nowhere” – the Supermoon Scenic Flight – has sold out in just under three minutes – a record for the airline.
Qantas has earlier announced that this special flight will take passengers to view the supermoon and lunar eclipse occurring on Wednesday, 26 May 2021.
Qantas said in a press release:
“CSIRO astronomer Dr Vanessa Moss will work with our pilots to design the optimal flight path and also join the flight to provide insights into supermoons and all things space and astronomy.”
On 26 May, the moon will appear to take on a reddish hue due to the total lunar eclipse.
According to NASA’s website:
“The red color comes from sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere — a ring of light created by all the sunrises and sunsets happening around our planet at that time.”
This will be the phase in moon’s cycle when it will appear full and near its closest orbital position to Earth thus rendering it really larger and brighter.
Now, as per NASA, how red the moon will appear in Australia is “hard to predict” as this can also be impacted by dust in the atmosphere.
But this is sure that this flight will give passengers the best possible view of the event from a seat on Qantas’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner from over 40,000 feet in the sky.
Surprisingly, Qantas sold all the tickets Under just three minutes of online sales on Wednesday.
Economy fares on the flight were $499, $899 for premium economy and $1499 for business class seat.
For this price, the passengers will be able to enjoy the following:
- private charter Qantas B787 Dreamliner flight with large windows ideal for viewing,
- inflight commentary by expert CSIRO astronomer, Dr Vanessa Moss,
- guaranteed to get above any cloud cover for supermoon viewing,
- exclusive merchandise,
- inflight food and beverages,
- gift bag for all passengers, and
- a commemorative certificate.
While the risk of COVID-19 inflight transmission in Australia remains extremely low, Qantas is taking all the measures and has advised the passengers:
“If you’re feeling unwell and experiencing COVID-19 symptoms in the week leading up to your flight, you should defer your travel plans. If you need to defer your plans, contact us on 13 13 13 before departure to discuss your options.”
Qantas pilots will fly over the Pacific Ocean to catch the supermoon in all its glory.
The total lunar eclipse, will be visible from Australia, New Zealand, some Pacific territories and the US west coast.
