I bought a seat on a cargo flight and enjoyed its banquet lunch and massive viewing windows

A man found an unusual way to fly - with an $85k a seat ticket on a cargo plane.

Alex Stead, 29, showed off the benefits of being a passenger in an airplane designed for freight.

On a trip to the Antarctic, Alex highlighted the perks, including a banquet lunch, roomy toilets, a movie projector screen and all the legroom you need.

The Ilyushin Il-76 transporter has large viewing windows - perfect for seeing the pristine ice floes passing below.

His trip meant taking two airplanes to reach his destination at the southernmost point on Earth.

During the expedition, which lasted seven days and nights, Alex captured images of Emperor Penguin colonies.

Alex, from Sheffield, said: "I was on an expedition trip to the South Pole and to emperor penguin colonies. The plane leaves from Cape Town and is about a six hour flight south. It lands at a runway called Novo where travel company Ultima Antarctic has their lodges. The flight is to support research bases on the continent. For example, we had about 15 Belgium scientists join us, as well as a lot of cargo."