National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions has completed its debut round-trip flights between Chile, and Antarctica. This is the first time in its history that the company has done that.
The company also became the first and only expedition cruise operator to offer flights in and out of Puerto Natales. The Chilean port is the gateway to Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park.
The inaugural flights marked the beginning of the first-ever Antarctica Direct: Fly The Drake Passageexpedition. And the completion of the first-ever Antarctica Direct: Sail & Fly The Drake Passage voyage.
Time-crunched travellers
Both occurred on board National Geographic Explorer. The two new itineraries are part of National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions’ brand-new series of shorter ‘Antarctica Direct’ expeditions. These afford time-crunched travellers more accessible opportunities to visit Antarctica. They do so by cutting down travel-time avoiding one or both sea passages from South America. At the same time, they maintain – or even increase – valuable time spent on the White Continent.
The completion of these round-trip flights also marked a historic milestone for Lindblad Expeditions – the operator of National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions.
Pioneer of Antarctic tourism
The company have been leading voyages of discovery to the continent since being founded by the family of, Lars-Eric Lindblad. He was the pioneer of Antarctic tourism and led the first-ever non-scientific civilian expedition to the continent in 1966.
Lindblad Expeditions Founder and CEO Sven-Olof Lindblad, addressed a full flight of guests during the inaugural return flight to Puerto Natales.
He said, “We’ve considered incorporating the flight option for years. But we were concerned about the frequency of flight cancellations. In recent years, our partners have gained more experience and reliability has significantly improved. So, we are beyond excited to now offer more ways to explore Antarctica with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions than ever before.”
Since 1966, the Lindblad family has brought civilian explorers to the White Continent. They come to experience the wonder, beauty and incredible wildlife of this extraordinary location. Prior to the reveal of the new series of ‘Antarctica Direct’ itineraries earlier this year, the traditional Antarctic voyage with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions averaged 12 days in length.
However, travellers now have more opportunities to explore Antarctica than ever before; today. Lindblad Expeditions operates 11 unique itineraries offered onboard four mission-built ships that traverse the region annually, including National Geographic Explorer and National Geographic Orion, which will exclusively sail eight-, nine- and 10-day expeditions that fly round-trip across the Drake Passage, and a 10-day itinerary that crosses from South America by ship with an air return from King George Island.
IAATO
Lindblad Expeditions is a founding member of the governing body promoting the safe and responsible exploration of Antarctica—the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) – and continues to play a vital role in developing and defining polar operation procedures for vessel personnel and guidelines for visitors.
The company also employs the most experienced expedition and ice masters in the world to captain its diverse fleet of intimately scaled ships in the region, having led more than 600 combined voyages to the continent to date.
Working together as one National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions offer modern expedition cruises designed for discovery. The National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions co-brand is the result of a decades-long relationship between the two firms.
Large fleet
They have created expeditions for curious travellers seeking to experience the world from a new perspective. With 100+ itineraries visiting 70+ countries and territories on all seven continents on board ships.
With nearly 60 years of experience and operation, Lindblad Expeditions operates the largest, most diverse fleet of mission-built ships in the industry.
This fleet consists of 20 owned and chartered mission-built vessels ranging in size from 16 – 148 guests.