Almost 19 hours in the sky: the 10 longest direct flights in the world
Some people prefer to travel with stopovers or stopovers – making stops midway to briefly explore an extra destination – while others abhor the idea of a flight that is not direct.
However, for these direct flights, you need breath – and more than a few in-flight hobbies – because they spend more than 17 hours in the air.
From time to time, airlines try to beat each other’s records and make even longer trips, resulting in one-off flights outside their regular routes that have flown almost an entire day, such as the stretch from Hong Kong to London (over 5,500 km) run by Pakistan International Airlines in 2005 in 22 hours and 22 minutes.
These ten, however, are the record-breaking commercial direct lines worldwide, ranked by the greatest distances covered.
Would you take on this journey? Check it out:
1º: NEW YORK – SINGAPORE
Terminals: from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (USA) to Changi Airport (Singapore)
Flight: SQ23 by Singapore Airlines
Distance: 15,348 km
Duration: 18 hours and 40 minutes on average
2º: NEWARK – SINGAPORE
Terminals: from Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey (USA) to Changi Airport (Singapore)
Flight: SQ21 by Singapore Airlines
Distance: 15,343 km
Duration: 18 hours and 45 minutes
3º: PERTH – LONDON
Terminals: from Perth Airport (Australia) to London-Heathrow Airport (UK)
Flight: QF9 from Qantas Airways
Distance: 14,499 km
Duration: 17 hours and 45 minutes
4º: DALLAS/FORT WORTH – MELBOURNE
Terminals: from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas (USA) to Melbourne Airport (Australia)
Flight: QF22 from Qantas Airways
Distance: 14,471 km
Duration: 17 hours and 35 minutes
5º: NEW YORK – AUCKLAND
Terminals: from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (USA) to Auckland Airport (New Zealand)
Flight: NZ1 from Air New Zealand
Distance: 14,207 km
Duration: 17 hours and 50 minutes
6º: AUCKLAND – DUBAI
Terminals: from Auckland Airport (New Zealand) to Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates)
Flight: Emirates EK449
Distance: 14,200 km
Duration: 17 hours and 10 minutes
7º: LOS ANGELES – SINGAPORE
Terminals: from Los Angeles International Airport, California (USA) to Changi Airport (Singapore)
Flight: Singapore Airlines SQ37/SQ35
Distance: 14,114 km
Duration: 17 hours and 10 minutes
8º: SAN FRANCISCO – BANGALORE
Terminals: from San Francisco International Airport in California (USA) to Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore (India)
Flight: AI176 from Air India
Distance: 14,004 km
Duration: 17 hours and 55 minutes
9º: HOUSTON – SYDNEY
Qantas (Photo internet reproduction)
Terminals: from George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas (USA) to Sydney Kingsford/Smith International Airport (Australia)
Flight: United Airlines UA101
Distance: 13,834 km
Duration: 17 hours and 45 minutes
10TH: DALLAS – SYDNEY
Terminals: from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas (USA) to Sydney Kingsford/Smith International Airport (Australia)
Flight: QF8 by Qantas Airways
Distance: 13,804 km
Duration: 17 hours and 5 minutes
COMING SOON
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, Qantas is already discussing record-breaking new flight launches.
As part of its “Project Sunrise”, which would take direct flights to virtually all destinations, the Australian airline is working with Boeing and Airbus on upgraded versions of the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350.
If the project is completed, the new planes could cover more routes between the UK and Australia and the country’s connections with New York, USA, Cape Town, South Africa, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 2025.
The trips could total 20 hours of flight time.
With information from UOL