A Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner, similar to the one that overflew Pole on 27 November (photo from the Chimu flight brochure).

[Page updated 1 December] The first commercial tourist flights over Antarctica were typically "round the world" ventures...the first two of these happened in the late 1960s, and another one occurred during my 1977 winter...I slept through it (!) but comms guy Jerry Gastil was up for it, talked to them on VHF radio, and took a photo (my coverage of this and earlier flights). Earlier in 1977, Qantas had done the first commercial tourist overflight of coastal Antarctica in January.

The coastal overflights have continued ever since...but on 27 November 2022, a Qantas 787 Dreamliner did the first overflight that ventured all the way to Pole...put on by Australia-based Chimu Adventures. This flight was originally scheduled for 27 November 2021, but the COVID lockdown restrictions in Melbourne at that time made it necessary to postpone the flight. Melbourne is the only Australian airport close enough to Pole to allow for such a flight. There will be another such flight on 3 December 2023.

Chimu was founded in 2004 originally to provide tours in Latin America. They since branched out to offer overflights and ship tours of Antarctica.

At left is the flight route of the 27 November flight, from the Chimu Adventures brochure which includes a link to a preview video. And I must note that Chad Carey of Chimu pointed out to me that this flight traced the 1911-12 routes of both Scott and Amundsen...almost certainly the first such tourist flight to do so.

So how did I learn about this? Turns out that friend and 2013 IceCube winterover Blaise C. Kuotiong, who now lives in Australia, learned about the flight and ended up being part of the crew. From the brochure, the prices ranged from AU$1,695 for economy class limited view, to AU$9,895 for premium business class. There were arrangements for seat swapping so everyone could have some time with a window view.

At right, Blaise's photo of the shirt he brought along on the flight.

Another Pole winterover, Nicholas Tothill (2004, AST/RO) has also been involved and has been on some of the Aurora flights but was not on this trip (brochure about the Aurora flights).

Okay...Pole photos. First, a couple from Blaise...although during the Pole overflight he was on the PA system and didn't have much time for photography.

Here is the Chimu Adventures US home page...note that they offer many flight and cruise options as well as South American trips. The Antarctic flights page is here.