Air Journey, a Florida-based company that orchestrates aviation adventures, is preparing to launch a special excursion to circumnavigate the South America continent. The group of private airplanes will take off from Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 27 and return to the U.S. April 3, 36 days and 13, 600nm later.
“This turns out to be one of the most popular trips we’ve ever put together,” says Air Journey president Thierry Pouille. “This is our sixth trip around South America.”
The one-of-a-kind adventure allows pilots to fly their own airplanes on a prearranged itinerary, stopping at South America’s most exceptional locales. For example, routing takes the group over the Panama Canal on the way to Cartagena, Colombia, and on down the Pacific side of the continent. In Peru, Air Journey customers will park their planes to take the train to Machu Picchu, the 15th century Incan jewel that lay undiscovered until the first part of the 20th century. After flying into Santiago, Chile, pilots and passengers will explore the area’s vineyards and viticulture that dates back to the Spanish conquistadors of the 16th century.
From there, the only time Air Journey pilots and passengers are not flying their own planes during the trip is during a commercial airliner hop to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Easter Island. Annexed by Chile in the late 1800s, Easter Island is home to hundreds of ancient stone statues, or moai. The schedule also calls for the group to round Cape Horn mid-journey and continue up the Atlantic side with an over flight of the Amazon River, and stops in key destinations along the way, including Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
All Air Journey trips include a journey director that escorts the group for the entire trip. Customs and immigration, fuel, logistics and weather briefings and flight planning are all provided for pilots each step of the way. Despite the distances travelled, the pace will be leisurely, with a minimum of three days in each location, plenty of time to visit local points of interest, shop or just relax. As with all Air Journey excursions, hotels, resorts and meals for the group are first class.
This trip is open to both piston and jet aircraft. “We don’t leave for another month,” Pouille smiles, “so there’s still time to sign up!
For more information: AirJourney.com or 561-841-1551
