How you can see the North Pole by plane – but you have to be lucky

HEADING on a bucket list getaway to Japan? If you’re already splashing the cash on a huge trip like this, you may as well make your flight part of the adventure.

I’m not talking about splurging on business class tickets – although with plush seats that turn into a flatbed and as much wine as you can stomach, you might be swayed for a special occasion.

AlamySpecial routes from Finland to Japan fly directly over the North Pole, allowing travellers a spectacular view[/caption]

This one-off experience didn’t cost me an extra penny, however – and I didn’t even need to move from my plane seat to enjoy it.

“You might want to open your window blind now,” the steward told me, several hours into our return flight from Tokyo.

“We’re passing over the North Pole.”

I was flying Finnair’s Northern route from Japan to Helsinki – and it was certainly a pinch-me moment when I lifted my window blind to reveal nothing but layer upon layer of ice below.

The scene was such a bright white that the reflecting glow lit up most of the surrounding seats in the dark plane cabin.

Every passenger was peering from their window as we passed over miles of barren, snowy landscape.

Even the crew shared passengers’ excitement, with one lady on my flight only having flown the route three times in her 30 years of working as cabin crew.

So, how do you bag this special experience?

Although it’s not guaranteed, quite often Finnair’s flights from Japan to Helsinki and the UK pass over the North Pole – so chances are you’ll get to experience it on the return leg from Japan if you’ve booked with the Finnish airline.

This polar route may not be new to Finnair pilots, but it is being flown more frequently following the closure of Russian airspace.

A Finnair captain, Tomi Tervo, said: “There’s still a little taste of pioneering on these flights – for a Finnair pilot, it is a privilege to observe the natural wonders.

“The views of the Arctic landscape provide a rare perspective on the beauty of our planet.”

And the best part is, travellers will even receive a mini certificate or “diploma”, that is signed and dated by the pilot, to commemorate the moment.

After visiting the grand Japanese temples of Kyoto and gorging on traditional sashimi dinners, there couldn’t have been a better way to round off my bucket list adventure in Japan.

ShutterstockEvery passenger receives a certificate to prove they have flown over the North Pole[/caption]