Qantas scenic flights: 'Flights to somewhere' announced as Australia's borders reopen

Qantas has announced it will operate more scenic flights following the success of its first "flight to nowhere" earlier this month. This time there's a twist - with some state borders now open, the trips will be "flights to somewhere", the airline said. Rather than simply flying over destinations and returning to its point of departure, the next scenic flights will involve landing at a destination for an overnight stay. The next flight will take 110 passengers on board a Boeing 737 to Uluru over the weekend of December 5, departing from Sydney. Passengers will stay at Sails In the Desert at the Voyages resort at Uluru and the flight will include low-level flyovers of the rock and nearby Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). The flight goes on sale at 2pm on Thursday. The first scenic flight, which departed from Sydney and flew over sights including Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef before returning to the city, sold out in 10 minutes. Qantas CE Alan Joyce said the airline had received "fantastic" feedback on the first scenic flight. "Now that more borders are starting to open, we're partnering with tourism operators on the ground to offer special flights to special destinations," he said. "Across Qantas and Jetstar, we're currently operating at just under 30% of our pre-COVID domestic capacity and if borders continue to be relaxed, we're hoping that will reach about 50 per cent by Christmas."<br/>