Mystery flights

An $8 outback NSW adventure

In the mid-1960s Ansett-owned Airlines of NSW would offer ‘mystery flights’ as a means of filling otherwise empty seats and introducing the public to the benefits of air travel. The arrangement was simple, you made a booking and arrived at Mascot on the appointed day to be offered a return flight allocated at the airline’s discretion. For this adventure you paid the princely sum of $8.00.

It was a generous offer as the small revenue would hardly cover the cost of administrative overheads, at a time, much like today, when regional air routes were only marginally financially viable.