George Rogers thought he’d booked a ticket for a standard flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia.
So understandably the 29-year-old got quite the shock when he checked in at LAX and realized he’d actually booked a seat on Qantas’ WorldPride flight which was created to bring members of the LGBTQI+ community from the US to Australia for the 17-day festival.
“I had absolutely no idea it was a WorldPride flight,” he told news.com.au. “It dawned on me when check-in opened and I saw a lot of ‘colourful’ people and pride flags.”
George, a British building surveyor who’s lived in Sydney for the last six years, was flying back to Australia after holidaying in South America.
He had spent the past few weeks partying hard with mates in Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica, which perhaps explains how he missed the fact it was a WorldPride flight which was very clearly explained to customers when booking through Qantas.
But for George, it was a happy mistake, and he was blown away by the surprises Qantas had arranged for passengers on the one-off flight.
“After check-in, they took us all into the Qantas First Lounge at LAX,” he said. “There were drag queens and they gave me a hat and a rainbow flag and there were free drinks. There were great vibes.”
Singers Hugh Sheridan and G Flip and comedian Joel Creasey performed in the lounge before the flight and passengers were gifted a special pride-themed pair of Qantas pyjamas.
Once on board, Qantas’ resident drag queen, Qantana, and fellow queens Felicity Frickaccino and Vybe kept guests entertained with a game of drag bingo, and a team from MECCA MAX gave everyone a bag filled with beauty supplies and hosted a make-up masterclass at 40,000 feet.
Joel Creasey also cracked up the crowd during the 13-hour flight with cheeky quips on the P.A system and Hugh Sheridan danced up the aisles as he performed a series of hits from The Village People.
Even though George is heterosexual, he told news.com.au that he considers himself an ally and was thrilled to be a part of the WorldPride flight.
“I’ve been to Mardi Gras in Sydney a few times and it’s always my favourite day of the year, so what better way to kick off the weekend than with a pride flight to Sydney,” he said.
The only downside to George’s experience was that he had his phone stolen in Colombia and couldn’t take photos during the WorldPride flight.
“I ended up on the gayest flight ever and I absolutely loved it,” he told news.com.au.
