Russia’s Pobeda low-cost airline plans to debut its own “flight to nowhere” for cooped-up passengers looking to recreate the travel experience this month, popular Pobeda pilot and flight podcast host Alexei Kochemasov has said.
Passengers will take off from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport, then land 1.5 hours later at… Vnukovo Airport.
“We guarantee the crew’s kind and attentive attitude,” Kochemasov wrote on his website.
Kochemasov, who called the Dec. 19 no-destination journey a “Flight Into the New Year,” promised “clear skies and the sun above the clouds even if it’s overcast.”
Pobeda, a subsidiary of the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, confirmed to the Meduza news website that the “flight to nowhere” will indeed take place on Dec. 19.
Tickets were on sale for $100 on Kochemasov’s personal website. By mid-Friday, the website said the 162-passenger Boeing 737-800 flight was sold out.
Russia grounded all international flights in late March as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country. Special evacuation flights and government-authorized family reunification, medical treatment, qualified-specialist and diplomatic flights have continued to operate during the pandemic.
In the past several months, Russia has gradually reopened flights to a dozen countries it deemed safe for travel.