Antarctica Sightseeing Flights announced the cancellation of its planned flight from Auckland to Antarctica in February.
The company said in a statement that while there was “strong Kiwi interest” in the proposed flight, fewer than 100 firm bookings meant it was unable to proceed with the Boeing 747 charter.
“We are very disappointed that our Auckland flight has not attracted the level of interest we anticipated,” said the company’s founder and managing director, Phil Asker. “We know from our research that there is strong Kiwi interest in Antarctica sightseeing flights, but with only one third of the seats sold so far, it would be uneconomical for us to proceed.”
Antarctica Sightseeing Flights will provide full refunds to those passengers who booked to travel on the Auckland service, and offer a discount of AU$250 (US$256) off the price of any Antarctica sightseeing flight departing from Australia.
The company’s five flights from Australia are still on track, with Asker saying they are “selling well”, The Perth departure has already sold out and a second has now been scheduled.
