antarctica
 

On a flight from Chicago to Hong Kong my plane flew over the North Pole. I had a window seat and saw enjoyed seeing what the NP looked like from 40000 feet in the air. Do any scheduled flight fly over antarctica? Australia to South America maybe?

No -- lot fewer airstrips in the Antarctic than the Arctic. No regularly scheduled service flies over Antarctica and since the NZ crash into Mt. Erebus in 1979 on a sightseeing flight to Antarctica there are very few flights of any kind other than point to point.

Well almost on toppic....
 

Didn’t QF do a sight seeing flight over Antarctica? I’m not sure if they still do it though… :(

There certainly are QF charter flights each summer over Antarctica. See my trip report from early 2005.

If you've got a week or two to kill, I highly recommend taking the "slow" way and catching a ship from the tip of South America or Africa. On a trek through South America a few years back, the family and I made a detour down through Ushuaia to cross the Drake and spend a week hanging out around the Antarctic penninsula. It was *fantastic*, as far as sight-seeing destinations go.

I said few not none. It is about 1 or 2 a year (and they don't go down to low altitudes any more). QF offers it and so does the other AA (Aerolinas Argentinas). Air NZ doesn't offer any, for good reason. The danger of whiteout conditions is hard to overstate, even in perfect weather. This doesn't affect scheduled services, so their lack must be entirely due to alternate field considerations.

Croydon Travel offers the overflights from Australia. They run about 4-6 flights a year.

http://www.antarcticaflights.com.au/

The overflights are on Qantas Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft and last approximately 11-12 hours in duration. You can expect to spend 8 hours flying to and from Antarctica (4 hours each way), which leaves about 4 hours to fly over the continent.

The flight does not land, and must maintain a minimum altitude of 10,000 feet above sea level. The flight itineraries primarily operate along the northern Victoria Land coast, and the Oates, George V and Adélie Coasts. The pilots also avoid known penguin colonies to prevent disruption to wildlife.

Flights depart from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Since the flight returns to where it departed, it’s a domestic flight. Ticket pricing is based on class of travel, and there is a rotation of seating during the flight so that everyone gets a chance at a window seat. Also, there are lectures during the flight. Service includes two meals and complimentary drink service.

Lan Chile and Aerovias DAP operate overflights from Punta Arenas, as well as, landings on the South Shetland Islands. These flights are usually in conjunction with cruise trips.

Would sure be a great way to catch a high overview of the penguins if it flies low enough. :D

I couldnt see any penguins. Flew low enough to make out research station and their vehicles.

Can I play the 1up game and say my buddy lived in Antarctica for 6 months? :D

Sure. :)

Does Aeroleneas Argentina still fly to New Zealand?
They used to fly over Antarctica.

Also a charter company fly from Chile to Antarctica for skiing trips

There are no commercial flights over Antarctica. Nearest are the twice-weekly Aerolineas A340 from Buenos Aires to Auckland, the 4-times weekly LAN A340 from Santiago to Auckland, and the 4 times-weekly Qantas Sydney - Johannesburg flights. All drop down over the Southern Ocean but none get as far down as Antarctica.

The Air New Zealand Mt. Erebus accident was a long time ago (over 25 years ago) and confidence has recovered. Navigation techniques like GPS have also come along and have overcome the difficulties that faced the crew on that day. Therefore sightseeing overflights from southern hemisphere cities have long since restarted.

There are several military operations supporting government bases down there, but the only quasi-commercial operations are from southern Chile to the nearest Antarctic point. The actual operators seem to change from year to year, and can be regarded as charters rather than actual schedules.

Those who saw the BBC television series "Pole to Pole" some years ago, hosted by Michael Palin, will know he used a Canadian-based Bradley Air Services Twin Otter to get to the North Pole and a wonderful old DC-6 for the leg from Chile to Antarctica. Apparently the DC-6 has gone now.

Yes Aerolineas Argentinas fly EZE-AKL-SYD

The charter company would be Adventure Network International. They have flights departing from Punta Arenas to the South Pole. Fares start at $33,500.

http://www.adventure-network.com/