Flights To Nowhere or 'Flycations' Are the Latest Travel Trend

Flights To Nowhere or 'Flycations' Are the Latest Travel Trend

05e36d_121bebb253d8448cb5a17b2f53db2f4b~mv2.png

Have you ever considered taking a no-destination flight that departs and lands at the same place?

Neither have we.

The pandemic has sparked new trends that may not have appealed to us earlier but are increasingly gaining traction: work from hotels, virtual clubbing, tablescaping, and now… flycations.

Sadly, as a result of COVID19-induced travel restriction, the aviation industry has taken a massive hit, forcing it to reimagine its future in light of the current crisis. At the same time, people are experiencing lockdown-fatigue and itching to start traveling again.

Catering to both issues, Taiwan introduced no-destination flights for travel-starved tourists in early-July. Since then, Australia and Japan have followed suit. Singapore briefly considered it, and India is still exploring the possibility.

Search volume for ‘flights to nowhere’ reflects this growing interest (as seen in the graph below), particularly in Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Australia. We see the dramatic spike in search interest just around the time where plane carriers announced these plans.

05e36d_6663ee7e799e4421a3ef573d36fba1f2~mv2.png

What excites people about going nowhere?

For some, it is the familiarity of being at the airport, boarding a flight, and feeling like they’re going somewhere. For others, it is the joy of being mid-air on an aircraft, watching fluffy clouds and blue sky through their oval windows — everything still and yet everything in motion.

Airlines are doing their bit by innovating the ‘in-flight’ experience to make the journey worthwhile. Here are a few interesting concepts we’ve found:

Thematic Flights in Lieu of Theme Parties

In Before-COVID days, plane flights helped transport tourists to their travel destinations. Now, it seems like the flight has become both mode of transport and destination itself.

Taiwanese airline EVA Air introduced a special Hello Kitty-themed A330 Dream jet for Father’s Day, flying 308 passengers across Taiwan on a 3-hour flight. The experience included a Michelin star meal with chirashi rice sets, Hello Kitty merchandise, and exclusive access to the Hello Kitty Joyful Dream Lounge.

View this post on Instagram

Welcome aboard the Flight to Nowhere!! . . ♥️ Taiwan is really pampering its travel starved population!! Eva Air, a domestic airline ran a special flight today on their special @hellokitty aircraft for Father’s Day. The flight took off from the Taipei airport, flew around for 3 hours and came back to the same airport. Michelin starred cuisine was served on board, there was wifi and in flight entertainment. The whole trip costed approx 180$ per head and one could upgrade by paying an extra 35$ . The flight was numbered 5288 because apparently when you say those numbers in Chinese it sounds like “I love dad” 😊😊 . . 🧳I am just about ready to take flights to nowhere too! And as we were talking today @rash69in we won’t even mind the people who stand up before the seat belt signs are switched off, neither will we crib about middle seats. 💺 💺 💺 . . #taiwan #hellokitty #hellokittylovers #specialflight #taiwan #taipei #aircraft #airplane #michelinstar #michelin #flighttonowhere #fathersday #fathersdayspecial #evaair #travelstribe #travelgram #travrlawesome #wanderlust #worldwanderlust #wandermore #trending #unique #aeroplane #airport #airportlove #imisstravelling

A post shared by Loveleen | Panache World (@a_dash_of_panache) on

Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc., on the other hand, introduced a Hawaiian resort-themed charter flight. They picked 300 passengers through a lottery for a 90-minute flight where the crew wore masks, Hawaiian shirts, and served cocktails!

A Scenic Ride Over the Gold Coast, Great Barrier Reef, and Antarctica

From tour buses to tour planes…

Australian airline Qantas recently broke all records with its Great Southern Land Scenic Flight, the fastest-selling flight in Qantas history. 149 seats priced between $787 and $3,787 were sold out within 10 minutes. The 7-hour flight departs and lands in Sydney, flying over the Gold Coast, Sydney Harbor, Byron Bay, and the Great Barrier Reef, offering passengers stunning views of the landscape below.

View this post on Instagram

Miss taking to the skies together? Us too! We’ve designed a special scenic joy flight on board our 787 Dreamliner for those who just want to spread their wings – no passport or quarantine required. Departing Sydney on 10 October, the ‘Great Southern Land’ scenic flight will feature low-level flybys of some of the Australia’s most iconic landmarks including Uluru, Kata Tjuta, the Whitsundays, Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Sydney Harbour. Be quick! Fares go on sale at 12pm AEST today. Click the link in our bio for more info... Thanks to your great support this flight is now sold out.

A post shared by Qantas (@qantas) on

Qantas is also renting out one of its Boeing Co. Dreamliners for sightseeing trips over Antarctica. These flights will operate between November and February and last between 12 and 14 hours.

05e36d_9a665e86b5974b1da58a7c03e334ae3d~mv2.jpg

The adventures don’t end there. Taiwan also introduced 3-hour long moon-gazing flights during the Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon was full and bright. Pre-flight entertainment included a symphony orchestra playing moon-themed classics such as ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and ‘The Moon Represents My Heart.’

A Taste of Flying On Ground: From Plane Cafes to Fine Dining

Taking the in-flight experience to new levels, we see out-of-the-box ideas such as turning plane cabins into cafes and restaurants- a big win for novel experiences and airsick folk everywhere!

In Thailand, out-of-service aircraft have been turned into cafes, attracting customers craving in-flight experience while sipping coffee and touring the cockpit.

View this post on Instagram

With millions around the world stuck at home due to the pandemic, ‘plane cafes’ in Thailand are offering customers the chance to feel as though they are in the sky. ⁣⁣ ⁣ Onboard a retired commercial airplane in the coastal city of Pattaya, coffee drinkers make themselves comfy on first-class-style seats. While some passengers pose for photos by the overhead lockers, others opt for a tour of the cockpit with boarding passes in hand.⁣⁣ ⁣ Another cafe at the headquarters of national carrier Thai Airways in Bangkok serves spaghetti carbonara and Thai-style beef on plastic trays by cabin crew for hungry diners who have missed plane food.⁣⁣ ⁣ Travel restrictions have no doubt impacted the tourism-reliant economy as Thais have found themselves stuck in other countries due to quarantine regulations. Photo: Mladen Antonov / AFP⁣⁣ •⁣⁣ #Travel #Restriction #OnTheAir #PlaneCafe #Onboard #Thailand #FirstClassSeat #Cockpit⁣

A post shared by TRT World (@trtworld) on

In Singapore, the idea of no-destination flights was thrashed by environmental activists citing unnecessary carbon-emissions. Instead, Singapore Airlines decided to convert its double-decker A380 — the world’s largest passenger aircraft — into a plane restaurant. The Restaurant A380 @Changi offers signature international cuisine, Peranakan dishes, and a limited slots pre-lunch tour of the aircraft.

Taking it a notch higher when it comes to innovation, Japan’s First Airlines offers travel experiences using virtual reality technology. While this is not a new service, there has been a surge in demand lately. The flying experience (complete with mock cabin crew, in-flight meals, and passing clouds) is simulated for grounded passengers, followed by immersive tours of destinations such as Paris, New York, Rome, and Hawaii upon ‘arrival’.

View this post on Instagram

<<VR TRIP 大盛況ありがとうございます>> こんばんは!FIRST AIRLINESです。 連日沢山のお客様にご搭乗いただき、誠にありがとうございます。 FIRST AIRLINESではファーストクラスのサービスを地上で体験していただける他、VRを使って現地の観光の疑似体験、プロジェクションマッピングなど様々な体験をご用意しております。 ニューヨーク、パリ、ローマ、ハワイ。あなたはどこの国に行きたいですか? 皆様に素敵な旅をお届けしていきます。 ・ ・ ・ しばらく間が空いてしまいましたが、また更新していきたいと思います。今後ともFIRST AIRLINESをよろしくお願い致します。 ・ ご予約はプロフィールのURLから承っております。 ・ #firstairlines #firstclass #vr #vrtrip #trip #airplane #projectionmapping #newyork #rome #paris #hawaii #ファーストエアラインズ #池袋 #国際空港 #飛行機 #ca #cabinattendant #vr体験 #ファーストクラス #プロジェクションマッピング #ニューヨーク #ローマ #パリ#ハワイ

A post shared by 【公式】FIRST AIRLINES (@first_airlines) on

The Way Forward for Travel: Selling Destination Nowhere

The increasing popularity of flycations hints at something deeper: people value the journey as much as the destination. After months of staying home, the mere feeling of going somewhere is privilege alone- even if it’s just a roundtrip of the sky. In a parallel space, cruise ships have launched cruises to nowhere.

Travel has long been a form of escape from everyday reality. As the world is made weary by pandemic fatigue, flights to nowhere offer a momentary escape in the form of the journey itself, a taste of what used to be familiar but now feels distant.

For as long as roaming foreign lands remains ever elusive an option, it seems settling for sky and sea would make for comforting consolation prizes for feeling free. After all, is that not what matters most?

In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “It matters not where or how far you travel — the farther commonly the worse — but how much alive you are.”

To stay updated on the latest travel trends, email us at anurag.banerjee@quilt.ai.  

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.


Recent Articles