The second best seats on the best flight in the world

The second best seats on the best flight in the world

The best flight in the world is certainly over the Tongan archipelagos of Vava'u and Ha'apai, streaking across bright blue skies with magnificent views

We have been traveling for three months now and have completed 15 flights and counting. Since we first left mainland Australia, we've had some stunning aerial views from our windows over the Pacific thousands of feet below us.

In general, we have reserved air travel for international travel and instead use inter-island ferries for domestic travel. However, we were short on time in Tonga and weren't prepared to spend 24 hours or more traveling between island groups.

We were also just days away from whale watching season, after which the majestic humpback whales would migrate south to the colder waters of Antarctica. Fortunately, airfares between the southern main island of Tongatapu and the northern Vava'u archipelago, almost unique to Tonga, are not much more expensive than ferry crossings.

Our plane was tiny! A twin-engine Jetstream 32 turboprop with space for a maximum of 19 passengers. When we flew there were only nine of us on board. Kia and I sat in seats 1A and 1B: directly behind the pilots. And when I say right behind, I mean right behind. There's no post-9/11 paranoia here - an open cockpit meant we could literally reach out and touch the pilots if we wanted.

No cabin crew either. The co-pilot gave us the briefest safety briefing, essentially pointing out that in an emergency we should help our fellow passengers exit the plane and hope for the best. Sitting in a small plane actually made me feel much safer than larger, longer flights, and flying at just over 7,000 feet as opposed to 36,000 feet was more reassuring. Plus, once we were in the air, we were too awestruck by the view below us to care about safety.

Tonga is made up of 176 islands and from the air, each one looked like an island paradise: more beautiful and alluring than the last. I'm not going to launch into a flowery monologue to describe the landscape - just watch the video above.

With a direct flight, the distance of 300 kilometers is usually covered in just over an hour. Our plane made a quick detour to the isolated Ha’apai archipelago to drop off a few passengers along the way. During the short stopover, we were allowed to get out and stretch our legs while the pilots oversaw the unloading and redistribution of luggage and made sure the small plane remained balanced. During this time, Kia had the plane all to herself! A scary but enviable experience!

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Soon we were back in the air, racing across the bright blue sky with magnificent views stretching out below us. As we landed in Vava’u, I caught the pilot’s eye and asked, “Do you ever get used to this?”

He beamed at me like a schoolboy. "Never."

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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