Flight to the Lights 1 was the initiative of Otago Museum director and former Nasa Space Telescope Science Institute public outreach head Ian Griffin.
Dr Griffin has again teamed up with Orbit World Travel and chartered an Air New Zealand Boeing 787 Dreamliner to take about 160 people on another flight south on March 22.
Dr Griffin said the 12-hour flight from Christchurch would head as far south as 62deg, and take advantage of the equinox aurora effect.
The flight would leave from Christchurch rather than Dunedin because Air New Zealand no longer had a suitable long-haul plane that could land or take off at Dunedin Airport.
Economy class seats cost from $3980 per pair, premium economy cost $7600 per pair and business class seats were $6000 each.
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Don't agree with this part of the article: "The flight would leave from Christchurch rather than Dunedin because Air New Zealand no longer had a suitable long-haul plane that could land or take off at Dunedin Airport."
It sounds like the blame is being labelled onto Air NZ for not having a suitable plane, but the reality is that it is the fault of Dunedin Airport for continuously putting off the MUCH needed runway expansion.
As the saying goes, 'build it and they will come'. No point in the airport waiting for demand to rise for a longer runway, as it won't happen.
I also believe that one day we'll lose the last international flight too.
What is it going to take to get that blimmin runway extended?