A Qantas flight set to take off today is going to be, quite possibly, the most camp flight in history.
Qantas created the special one-off flight from Los Angeles to Sydney to bring members of the LGBTQI+ community to Australia for WorldPride, and they’ve certainly leaned into the theme.
Here’s what they’ve got planned.
Before boarding
I think we can all agree that waiting to board a flight is usually as boring as batsh*t (unless of course you’ve got lounge access and you can throw back a few complimentary glasses of champagne and stuff some licorice allsorts in your carry-on).
But waiting to board the Qantas WorldPride flight will be anything but boring.
Passengers will be treated to a mini-concert of sorts in the Qantas lounge at LAX, featuring performances from Aussie singers G Flip and Hugh Sheridan.
Comedian Joel Creasey will also jump on the mic to entertain ticket holders, who will each be gifted with a special pride-themed pair of Qantas pyjamas.
In-flight entertainment
The party is set to continue once everyone is on-board for the 13-hour flight, with Joel Creasey all primed to live out his ‘avisexual’ fantasy.
“I LOVE planes,” Creasey told news.com.au. “My party trick is, if a plane is going over, I can pretty much pick the aircraft, the airline and where it’s going.
“So, (during the WorldPride flight) I’m ripping tickets, doing the safety demo and I’m serving meals. Don’t tell Qantas, but I would have done this for free,” he said.
Creasey will be joined on-board by drag queens Qantana, Felicity Frockaccino and Vybe, who will be running games of drag bingo during the flight.
Yes, you read that correctly, there will be drag bingo at 40,000 feet, where passengers can no doubt expect to hear lines like: “G-8, don’t be so straight.”
The Qantas fairy godmothers, or whoever came up with this WorldPride flight and the on-board shenanigans, have also arranged a little surprise for those passengers who will be heading straight to the gay bars on Oxford Street after landing on Thursday night.
To make sure they’re looking their best and feeling fresh, there’ll be a MECCA Max team on-board who will be hosting makeup masterclasses throughout the flight. Genius.
Food and drink
Even the in-flight menu has been given a glam makeover by the Qantas team for the WorldPride flight.
Some of the most noteworthy menu items are:
• Black Pearl Kaluga caviar and crème fraiche blini
• Prawn cocktail with avocado, mango and Marie Rose sauce
• Shredded chicken, avocado, kale and quinoa salad with green goddess dressing
• Raspberry rainbow lamington
• Chocolate crackles with sprinkles
As for the booze on-board, there’ll be cosmo cocktails and Kylie Minogue signature prosecco rosé (which is quite possibly the gayest drink on earth).
Speaking of her royal highness, everyone on board the Qantas WorldPride flight will receive a ticket to the Sydney WorldPride Opening Concert (February 24) featuring Kylie, Charli XCX and Jessica Mauboy.
WorldPride
Sydney WorldPride kicked off last Friday and will run through to March 5.
There are over 300 free and ticketed events taking place with 500,000 participants expected to take part, including an estimated 78,000 visitors from interstate and overseas.
Qantas is the official airline partner for Sydney WorldPride, hence the rather outrageous flight they’ve organised from LA to Sydney.
Several other airlines are also hosting pride flights, including Virgin Australia and United Airlines, and there’s also an offering from Merivale.
This writer will be a guest of Qantas on the WorldPride flight from LA to Sydney.