QF Antarctic Flights

[megan]

Quite a few years ago had the very pleasurable experience of travelling on one of these flights, 747-400, and when cockpit access was available to all and sundry - sigh. The question though is, do/did these flights require the carriage of ballast, I have the distinct memory of four tons being mentioned due to lack of baggage, or was someone having a leg pull?

[C441]

Yep. 4 tonnes in the forward hold.

5 Flights in the upcoming season (http://www.antarcticaflights.com.au); 1 each from Sydney (NYE), Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide & Melbourne.

[megan]

Many thanks 441. :ok:

[Old Fella]

Looking at the ticket prices it sure makes my flights between Chrischurch and McMurdo with accomodation plus visits to Scott Base, not only free but getting paid to do it, great value even on 1978 RAAF pay.

[p.j.m]

5 Flights in the upcoming season (http://www.antarcticaflights.com.au); 1 each from Sydney (NYE), Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide & Melbourne.

looks good, until you check the detail. Unless you fly first class and pay $8000 there is no guarantee you can get a window seat.

That's enough to make it a no goer for me.

[megan]

p.j.m., it's no big deal. Everyone moves around and shares, you'll get a good look see, we were seated in the centre row of four seats, the cheapest. Highly recommended.

[Howard Hughes]

Unless you fly first class and pay $8000 there is no guarantee you can get a window seat.
For $8K you can spend 15 days down there on a boat!:ok:

[compressor stall]

Unless you fly first class and pay $8000 there is no guarantee you can get a window seat.
For $8K you can spend 15 days down there on a boat!:ok:

Fun, but still nothing compared to spending a couple of months hanging out down there. :)

[p.j.m]

For $8K you can spend 15 days down there on a boat!:ok:

Last time I checked boats couldn't make it to the south pole.

There were some greenies down at Antarctica earlier in the year, on a mission to prove Global Warming and climate change were real.

Seems they got stuck in the ice that was unseasonably cold/thick.

Shame the Australian government rescued them, instead of leaving them down there!

[Capt Fathom]

Last time I checked boats couldn't make it to the south pole.

Boats can make it to the magnetic South Pole!:E

[PinkusDickus]

The South Pole trip is one of my most memorable travel experiences and I've done more than my share of world travel. It was New Years Eve 2001 in First Class with SWMBO, and cost about 4.5K each if I recall. You are required to rotate seats at the pointy end, but it was worth every penny.

Cockpit visits were allowed to all and sundry, even though 9/11 was less than 3 months earlier.

Most memorable travel experience not travelling somewhere in an airplane was the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb at dusk.

[compressor stall]

pjm

Last time I checked boats couldn't make it to the south pole.

Last time I checked, neither do QF sightseeing flights.

They do fly over the South Magnetic Pole, which Capt Fathom correctly asserts is now in open water, perfectly accessible by boat. I've been over it at about 10k and it, as you'd expect, doesn't look that much different to the ocean around it. It's novelty factor only.

That novelty aside, the QF trips sound like fun - I've not heard a bad word about them from a pax viewpoint, except one story about the time the met advice was ignored and there was a bit too much cloud around. That was many years ago apparently.

Lastly, it always amuses me the ignorant simplistic arguments of thickening sea ice must mean it's getting colder, thus this whole climate change thing is a fallacy. It's a lot more complicated that that - e.g. glaciers are flowing faster and faster disgorging more ice and thus the salinity of the water is changing leading to changes in the ice makeup. But that's something for another thread on JB.

[Jack Ranga]

Or the wind farm thread :ok:

[Howard Hughes]

Fun, but still nothing compared to spending a couple of months hanging out down there.
Sadly I never made the grade...;)