Rediscover the joy of mystery flights with Qantas

Qantas is bringing back the mystery flight, decades after the concept was last run in the 1990s. The three domestic mystery flights are aimed are beating the ‘border blues’ for travellers itching for an adventure.

If you’re interested, all you have to do is book the ticket and turn up at the airport on the day! Your day-trip package includes return flights to a certain non-capital city destination, along with a full roster of activities during that day, including lunch.

Flights are approximately two hours or under in length, including low-level scene flybys of key landmarks, weather and air traffic control permitting).

Our customers tell us that where they can and can’t travel within Australia has been a bit of a mystery lately.

As well as helping bring more of our people back to work, these mystery flights are another way to support tourism operators in regional areas especially, who have been hit particularly hard by several waves of travel restrictions.

– Stephanie Tully, Qantas Chief Customer Officer, 3 March 2021

Below are the mystery flight details, plus our take on what the hidden destinations might be! Tickets start from $737 and go on sale from midday (AEDT) Thursday 4 March 2021.

What are the Qantas mystery flights in 2021?

There are currently three mystery flights on offer, as follows:

Mystery flight from Brisbane

• Date: Saturday 27 March 2021 from 7am
• Hint: Country hospitality, gourmet food and wine, the great outdoors
• Our take: This one is tricky; most likely somewhere in regional NSW. Could be Port Macquarie or Newcastle?

Mystery flight from Sydney

• Date: Sunday 18 April 2021 from 7am
• Hint: The tropics, saltwater on your skin, long lunching on the beach
• Our take: Likely somewhere in Queensland; perhaps Cairns, Hamilton Island, or the Whitsundays.

Mystery flight from Melbourne

• Date: Saturday 1 May 2021 from 7am
• Hint: The great outdoors with walking, gourmet food and wine, regional farmers markets
• Our take: Could be Tasmania; as someone who has lived in Launceston, I can say the town has it all including the Harvest Market on Saturdays.

What’s included in the Qantas mystery flight?

All tickets include the following:

Mystery flights don’t include any checked bags, so you’ll need to bring no more than 2 pieces of cabin baggage. There’s also no inflight entertainment available, so be sure to bring your own books and movies.

Summing up

It’s a blast from the past for many, with both Qantas and Ansett running mystery flights back in the 90s. Back then the concept was simpler: turn up on the day and be booked on a scheduled departure to anywhere, all from just $99 at the time.

Now, tickets ain’t cheap: you’ll need to stump up A$737 to travel in Economy or A$1,579 to settle back in Business Class. But these fares also include your day’s activities and a scrumptious lunch, so you won’t need to worry about what to do or eat.

You won’t be able to book reward seats or upgrade on these mystery flights, of course, but you will earn 2,400 Qantas Points + 40 Status Credits in Economy or 5,000 Qantas Points + 80 SCs in Business Class when paying the cash fare.

Where do you think the Qantas mystery flights are going to? Let us know in the comments below!