How much do you miss flying? Not, mind you, flying to a specific destination — just the act of boarding a flight and spending several hours in the air? With many countries restricting travel due to the pandemic, a new phenomenon has taken root in a few spots around the globe: the flight to nowhere.
What is a flight to nowhere? Precisely what its name suggests: a flight that takes off from, and returns to, the same airport. Writing at The New York Times, Tariro Mzezewa goes in-depth on this phenomenon. It is one that has found takers in a host of countries, including Taiwan, Japan and Australia. And it involves all the familiar elements of air travel save one: arriving at a different airport than the one you left.
Meet your guide
More Like This
Royal Brunei Airlines has run several such trips over the last few months; a Qantas flight to nowhere over Australia sold out in all of 10 minutes. These airlines are not alone in finding a receptive audience for the concept. “Earlier in the month, the Taiwanese airline EVA Air filled all 309 seats on its Hello Kitty-themed A330 Dream jet for Father’s Day in Taiwan,” Mzezewa writes, “and Japan’s All Nippon Airways had a Hawaiian-resort-themed, 90-minute-flight with 300 people on board.”
Certain flights to nowhere involve scenic destinations: a tour of Australia from the sky, for instance, or a fly-over of parts of Antarctica.
All of this provides another upside for the airlines: namely, flights to nowhere keep their staff working. And demand for them seems to be growing: the article cites interest from parties in the United States and India. It might not be as memorable as flying somewhere new, but it could be the next best thing.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
