Wine company Invivo is beginning its inaugural wine flight, Invivo Air with a specially curated experience for wine lovers this month. The all-inclusive viticulture vacation will take wine enthusiasts from Auckland to Queenstown for an overnight adventure. The world’s first winery airline will have guests board the Invivo Air Saab 340 plane and enjoy a guided eight-step wine-tasting at 18,000 feet on January 31.
Led by Invivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron, the winery in the sky experience includes an expertly paired selection of local Kiwi snacks with tasting pours from the full award-winning Invivo range including Invivo, Graham Norton wines and Invivo X, SJP wines; a range of low and no-alcohol options.
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At the same time, the flyers can enjoy onboard entertainment which will have a curated playlist compiled by Invivo cofounder Rob Cameron, who is also lead guitarist of a local Kiwi band (Razorback Road). Rob Cameron, co-founder, Invivo Air says, “Invivo Air is the world’s first winery airline as guests can have an ultimate wine lovers experience — both at 18,000 feet in our winery in the sky and also on terra firma at one of our beautiful Central Otago vineyards. Invivo Air is a truly unique experience for those that come on board with tasting some stunning drops in some truly epic locations.” The brand is famous for producing award-winning Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé and Pinot Noir from New Zealand as well as its collaborations with Graham Norton and Sarah Jessica Parker to offer a selection of Pinot Noir. But this is not the first time an all inclusive experience at 18,000 feet in the sky has been introduced. In 2021, Air New Zealand flew its passengers to sub-Antarctica to witness a destination for a special night-time. The tourist flight to Antarctica was organised to view the Aurora Australis natural light phenomenon where more than 250 travel-starved Kiwis boarded an Air New Zealand plane in Christchurch for the 10-hour round trip.
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Virgin Atlantic, too, offered a Christmas celebratory treat recently, serving seasonal favourites including roast turkey with all the trimmings and a mushroom and butternut squash Wellington. Chocolate lovers had an array of festive desserts including milk chocolate and caramel mousse and crunch. A mouth-watering millionaire’s chocolate log, cheese platter of dreams, Lindt chocolate reindeers, special festive-inspired high tea, brie and cranberry and cheese and fig chutney finger sandwiches paired with a chocolate orange mini-Christmas pudding, mince pie éclair, blackberry & bay leaf macaron and a warm scone, to mention a few.
UK passengers on flights departing the UK could relish a taste of Lily O’Brien’s signature chocolates, Keylime Pie and Le Crunch Chocolat. Corneel Koster, chief customer and operating officer at Virgin Atlantic, said, “Be it winter sun or to spend time with your loved ones, we want to ensure travellers start their journey in the best way possible and are more than ready to celebrate the festive period, as we get our customers to their destinations in style.”
Another fly-in resort, Aero Village in India is a luxury experience in a charter plane across the Sahyadri ranges. To reach the resort one gets picked up by a charter plane from Juhu Airport for an elevation of 1200 feet above sea level to enjoy a 20-45 minute short flight to travel for a plush resort stay. There are flights from Goa, Pune and Mumbai for this trip.