Over time, different airline companies have established a number of ultra-long haul non-stop flights. This article covers the longest flights among them. The opening of these super long routes can reduce the number of stops passengers must take to increase passenger comfort in the journey and reduce the time needed to travel between distant city pairs, although stopovers can also be rejuvenating in long distance travel. It also can help build ego and build loyalty among a set of flyers. And thus there is competition among airlines to establish the longest flight.
Video Longest flights
Definition
The term "longest flight" can mean numerous different things. The most commonly used metric would be for distance between the origin airport and destination airport, but it can also refer to longest in term of time needed to fly the route or the distance actually flown by the aircraft (when a longer route can use the jet stream to actually reduce total travel time). Also, although the term is most commonly used to compare between different non-stop flights, direct flights with stops (same flight number used for full journey) might also be compared in some occasions.
Maps Longest flights
Current longest route
The "world's longest flight" has disputed status due to the generality of such a claim. While the distance between two cities is constant, aircraft do not follow a straight path but will adjust the flight path based on headwinds/tailwinds, other weather events, and to avoid flying over certain countries due to politics or war.
By great circle distance and time
Since 5 February 2017, the longest non-stop scheduled airline flight by great circle distance is Qatar Airways Flights 921/920 between Auckland, New Zealand and Doha, Qatar at 14,535 kilometres (7,848 nmi; 9,032 mi). The flights use a Boeing 777-200LR. QR 921 from Auckland to Doha is also the longest flight in duration, taking 18 hours and 20 minutes.
By ground distance travelled
Routings may avoid the shorter ground distance of a great circle route to use tailwinds to save time and fuel, shortening the equivalent still-air distance. The longest flight, by ground distance, is Air India's flight from Delhi to San Francisco, which will sometimes travel up to 15,300 km (8,261 nmi; 9,507 mi) across the Pacific Ocean rather than the 12,395 km (6,693 nmi; 7,702 mi) great circle route, yet saving as much as 2.5 hours travel time due to tailwinds.
Cathay Pacific flights from Hong Kong to New York City-JFK will also sometimes fly 15,000 km (8,099 nmi; 9,321 mi) ground routes, instead of a 12,984 km (7,011 nmi; 8,068 mi) great circle route, for the same reason.
History
From 1943 to 1945, Qantas operated "The Double Sunrise", a weekly 5,652 kilometres (3,052 nmi; 3,512 mi) flight between Perth, Australia and Koggala Lagoon in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with average flight times of 28 hours, using a Consolidated PBY Catalina. One of these flights remains the record holder for longest time airborne (for a commercial flight) at 32 hours, 9 minutes.
On 1-2 October 1957, a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1649 Starliner, the ultimate piston-engine airliner in terms of range and endurance, flew the inaugural 8,638 kilometres (4,664 nmi; 5,367 mi) London-San Francisco polar route in 23 hours, 19 minutes.
In June 1961, an El Al Boeing 707-320 flew a 9,137 kilometres (4,934 nmi; 5,677 mi) route from New York City-JFK to Tel Aviv averaging 9 hours, 33 minutes. This route was previously tested in December 1957 with a Bristol Britannia.
In August 1967, Aerolíneas Argentinas established its non-stop Boeing 707-320B service on a 10,063 kilometres (5,434 nmi; 6,253 mi) route between Madrid and Buenos Aires with a flight time of 12 hours. The arrival of the more fuel-efficient turbofans made easier the possibility of longer flights.
The Aerolíneas Argentinas route was the longest scheduled flight by distance until 1976, when the Boeing 747-SP entered service. In April 1976, Pan American World Airways set the new record with its 10,899 kilometres (5,885 nmi; 6,772 mi) New York City-JFK/Tokyo-Haneda route. In December, the airline set another record with Sydney-San Francisco, covering 11,937 kilometres (6,445 nmi; 7,417 mi).
The dissolution of the Soviet Union eventually opened the airspace over Russia, allowing new circumpolar routes to come into use for commercial airlines. On 1 March 2001, Continental Airlines launched a 12,980 kilometres (7,009 nmi; 8,065 mi) non-stop service from Newark to Hong Kong flying Boeing 777 aircraft. The duration of the non-stop flight exceeded 16 hours. Within a month, United Airlines started its own New York City-JFK to Hong Kong service with Boeing 747-400 aircraft, adding 11 kilometers to the distance.
In June 2004, Singapore Airlines introduced Flight SQ 21, using the Airbus A340-500 on a 15,344 kilometres (8,285 nmi; 9,534 mi) great circle route from Newark to Singapore, passing within 130 kilometres (70 nmi; 81 mi) of the North Pole and taking a little over 18 hours. This was immediately surpassed by return Flight SQ 22, which flew the current record of 16,600 kilometres (8,963 nmi; 10,315 mi) back to Newark. Despite the greater distance, SQ 22 averaged a slightly shorter 17 hours, 45 minutes because of prevailing high-altitude winds.
In the late 2000s/early 2010s, rising fuel prices coupled with the Great Recession caused the cancellation of many ultra-long haul, non-stop flights. This included the services provided by Singapore Airlines from Singapore to both Newark and Los Angeles that was ended in late 2013. But as fuel prices have since decreased and more fuel efficient aircraft have come into service, many ultra-long haul routes have been reinstated or newly scheduled.
Record flights
A number of promotional or delivery flights have extended the record of longest non-stop flights by a commercial aircraft.
In August 1989, the first Qantas Boeing 747-400, the City of Canberra, set a non-stop distance record for a commercial aircraft by flying 17,016 kilometres (9,188 nmi; 10,573 mi) between London and Sydney in 20 hours, 9 minutes. The purpose was to publicize the airline's "Longreach" services with the 747-400. In addition to the five pilots, two cabin crew and sixteen passengers were aboard.
This record held until 16 June 1993, when an Airbus A340-200, dubbed the World Ranger, flew from the Paris Air Show to Auckland, New Zealand in 21 hours 32 minutes and back in 21 hours, 46 minutes after a five-hour layover. This was the first non-stop flight between Europe and New Zealand. The 19,277 kilometres (10,409 nmi; 11,978 mi) Paris to Auckland had 22 people aboard and five center tanks.
The record was extended in July 1997, when a Boeing 777-200ER flew 20,044 kilometres (10,823 nmi; 12,455 mi) from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on delivery to Malaysia Airlines.
The record was further extended on 9 November 2005, by a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-200LR. It traveled 21,602 kilometres (11,664 nmi; 13,423 mi) eastward from Hong Kong to London-Heathrow in roughly 22 hours, 22 minutes as opposed to a normal westward routing for that sector, which is much shorter at 9,648 kilometres (5,210 nmi; 5,995 mi). Aboard were eight pilots, including Suzanna Darcy-Henneman, Boeing's first female test pilot, and 27 passengers.
Four months later, on 25 March 2006, British Airways (BA) used a similar Boeing 777-200LR to fly the longest commercial non-stop flight with paying passengers, when chartered by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his entourage of staff and journalists to fly from meetings in Brussels, traveling non-stop to ensure their attendance at the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The flight, covering 17,157 kilometres (9,264 nmi; 10,661 mi) and lasting 18 hours, 45 minutes, included a BA staff of 20 to facilitate cockpit and cabin crew rotation during the flight.
On 27 February 2016, shortly before International Women's Day (6 March), Air India operated the world's longest all-female crewed flight, regularly scheduled AI 173 Boeing 777-200ER service from Delhi to San Francisco. The 14 hour 30 minute, 15,300 kilometres (8,261 nmi; 9,507 mi) flight (ground distance, per above), had an all-women staff, including cabin crew, cockpit crew, doctor, customer care staff and the ground staff including the operator, technician, engineer, flight dispatcher and trimmer. At that time, the flight normally flew westward over the Atlantic, but Air India reversed the direction to set the distance record. On 4 March 2016, the same crew flew return flight AI 174, continuing eastward from San Francisco back to Delhi, completing the longest around the world flight with an all-female crew. A few months later, in October 2016, Air India changed its flight AI 173 to always fly eastward, sometimes flying a great circle route but sometimes repeating the longer trans-Pacific route whenever the jet stream is favorable for saving time and fuel.
Future routes
Scheduled services
A number of soon to be enabled services, with non-stop flights exceeding 12,500 kilometres (6,749 nmi; 7,767 mi), placing them on the top 30 list, have been announced:
Announced but not yet scheduled services
In August 2015, Emirates announced that nonstop flights between Dubai and Panama City, Panama will begin on 1 February 2016, covering 13,821 km (7,463 nmi; 8,588 mi) in 17 hours, 35 minutes westbound. In January 2016, the start was postponed to 31 March 2016. In early March 2016, Emirates postponed the route until the end of 2016 or early 2017 or "as soon as conditions allow." As of July 2018, no further information has been given on the potential route.
In April 2017, Qatar Airways announced that it will begin flying between Doha and San Francisco in 2018. The airline will use Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the 13,015 km (7,028 nmi; 8,087 mi) route.
Delta has announced that it will resume nonstop flights from the United States to Mumbai in 2019. While the origin of the flight has not been declared, if from Atlanta, the flight would be 13,712 km (7,404 nmi; 8,520 mi) and would take about 17h15min to complete. A flight from Mumbai to Atlanta would be the longest flight in Delta's network.
Envisioned services
According to a published report in September 2015, Miami International Airport (Florida) was in talks with EVA Air and China Airlines of Taiwan to launch before 2018 a nonstop 13,923 km (7,518 nmi; 8,651 mi) flight to Taipei. In June 2016, a chartered China Airlines Boeing 777-300ER carrying Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen flew non-stop from Taipei to Miami before continuing to Panama. The airport director spoke with President Tsai about the opportunity for scheduled service between Miami and Taipei. The airport has been actively pursuing a non-stop flight to East Asia since 2015. There are no non-stop passenger flights between Florida, the third-most populous state in the U.S., and East Asia. In May 2017, the region's aviation department director predicted such a flight would happen within the next 24 months.
Qantas could start non-stop flights between Perth and Paris in mid-2018 with Boeing 787-9 aircraft. If a capable airliner becomes available, Qantas could launch non-stop flights by 2022 from Australia's eastern capitals to London. Qantas estimates that a Sydney to London flight (17,016 kilometres (9,188 nmi; 10,573 mi)) would take 20 hours, 20 minutes, while a Sydney to New York City flight (16,013 kilometres (8,646 nmi; 9,950 mi)) would take 18 hours, 7 minutes. The Airbus A350-900ULR is expected to launch in 2018 with a range of 17,964 kilometres (9,700 nmi; 11,162 mi) and will be capable of flying both routes non-stop. The Boeing 777-8 is expected to enter service by 2022, have a range of 16,090 kilometres (8,688 nmi; 9,998 mi), and carry up to 365 passengers. The 777-8X will be capable of flying the Sydney to New York City route non-stop with a higher payload than the A350-900ULR. It will also be able to fly Sydney to London non-stop with a low density configuration which allows to carry less than 365 passengers.
Air New Zealand is envisioning non-stop flights from Auckland to New York City (14,207 km (7,671 nmi; 8,828 mi)) and Toronto (13,867 km (7,488 nmi; 8,617 mi)) beginning in the early 2020s. The airline is considering Boeing 777X and Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft to replace its Boeing 777-200ER fleet.
Air India expects to revive its service between Delhi and Los Angeles (12,895 km (8,013 mi; 6,963 nmi)) by the summer of 2018. The airline previously offered a connection from LAX to Frankfurt, Germany.
Future cancellations
United has announced that the airline will cancel its daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Singapore (UA37/38) on 27 October 2018, citing poor passenger demand between the two cities. In light of this, the airline has expressed interest in adding a second daily flight from San Francisco to Singapore (UA28/29). With this second United flight, there would be 3 daily nonstop flights from San Francisco to Singapore, 2 on United and 1 on Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines, however, will start nonstop flights from Singapore to Los Angeles on 2 November 2018 on a Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft.
Airliners
The longest range Airbus jetliner in service is the A340-500, which is capable of flying 16,670 kilometres (9,000 nmi; 10,360 mi) with 293 passengers. The A380 is capable of flying 15,200 kilometres (8,200 nmi; 9,400 mi) with 544 passengers. The A350-900 can fly 15,000 kilometres (8,100 nmi; 9,300 mi) with 325 passengers. The announced A350-900ULR will be capable of flying 18,000 kilometres (9,700 nmi; 11,000 mi).
The longest range Boeing airliner in service is the 777-200LR, which can cover 17,446 kilometres (9,420 nmi; 10,840 mi) with 317 passengers. The announced Boeing 777-8X will be capable of flying 16,110 kilometres (8,700 nmi; 10,010 mi) with 350 to 375 passengers. A longer range variant of the 777-8X could enable economical non-stop flights on the 17,016-kilometre (9,188 nmi; 10,573 mi) Kangaroo Route between London and Sydney in about 19 hours.
Many long-haul, non-stop routes that have been uneconomical are being made viable by newer aircraft like the Airbus A330neo, the Airbus A350 XWB, the Boeing 777X, and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Longest passenger flights
Non-stop flights (top 30, by great circle distance)
The following table lists the world's longest non-stop scheduled passenger routes by "great circle" distance. The actual distance flown, however, can be longer than the great circle distance for a variety of reasons, such as avoiding severe weather, taking advantage of favorable winds aloft, detouring around closed airspace, and diverting around war zones.
For the purposes of this table, multiple flights operated by the same airline between the same airports are counted as one flight, while different airlines operating between the same airports are counted separately. Also, each airport pair is counted separately, even though some cities have multiple airports supporting long-range flights (e.g. Kennedy and Newark airports serving New York City and Haneda and Narita serving Tokyo).
- Notes
^Note 1 After Qatar Airways began nonstop flights between Doha and Auckland on 5 February 2017, the flight is currently operated by Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The 777-200LR is a temporary solution. In the near future, it will be an Airbus A350 but currently there are not enough available.
^Note 2 The date given for the start of Qantas Flight 8 is when it began flying non-stop after switching to the Airbus A380-800 from the Boeing 747-400ER. Previously, QF 8 required a stop in Brisbane, though the eastbound QF 7 from Sydney was always non-stop. The first flight of QF 7 was 16 May 2011.
^Note 3 This is the date that Aeroméxico began flying the route with a Boeing 787-8, replacing the Boeing 777-200ER.
Direct flights with stops
A direct flight between an origin and final destination has an intermediate stop, with all segments having the same flight number and using the same aircraft. In the following table, the "Origin to final destination distance" column lists the great circle distance between the origin and final destination, excluding the stop. The "All sectors distance" column lists the total great circle distance from the origin to the stop to the final destination.
Discontinued non-stop flights
- Notes
^Note 1 Service began on 28 June 2004, at which point it was the longest non-stop commercial flight. This flight from 2008 to 2013 was business class only, with 100 seats.
^Note 2 Service began on 3 February 2004, at which point it was the longest non-stop commercial flight.
^Note 3 This was the longest flight ever operated by Delta Air Lines.
^Note 4 Service began on 1 Apr 2001, at which point it was the longest non-stop commercial flight.
^Note 5 Air India stopped its nonstop flights from Mumbai to New York City and Chicago when the airline shifted their primary hub to Delhi.
^Note 6 This flight now operates via London on the Boeing 787-8.
Airlines and aircraft types for non-stop flights
The sections below gives two separate views. The first one lists all the commercial aircraft types used for serving non-stop flights and their currently scheduled and operating longest flight. The second section attempts to list all the passenger airline companies in the world and their longest scheduled non-stop flight currently in operation.
By aircraft type
Current
The table below lists the current longest (by great circle distance) non-stop flights operated by different types of aircraft.
- Notes
^Note 1 some QF74 flights are run by basic -400, some by -400ER version. Registration aircraft VH-OJS and VH-OJT are basic -400 as can be seen on https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/qf74
Records
The table below lists the longest (by great circle distance) ever (Current and Historical) regularly scheduled non-stop revenue flights operated by different types of aircraft.
Note: table does not include special promotional or delivery flights, such as shown above.
By airline companies (currently scheduled)
The table below lists international airline companies with their longest (in mileage not time) non-stop flight currently in operation.
See also
- Flight length
- ETOPS/LROPS
- Longest train services
- Flight distance record
Notes
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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