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The title of airline with the world’s longest flight, which many carriers have sought to claim for themselves, will be returned to Singapore’s flag carrier this fall. On Wednesday, Singapore Airlines officially announced the date when it will take back the title, with the return of the flight that used to be the world’s longest: A 19-hour, 9,500 mile monster nonstop between Singapore (SIN) and New York (EWR) beginning October 11.
Singapore will be flying a special long-haul A350-900ULR, the latest attempt at making ultra-long haul flights profitable for airlines. This special A350 has been designed for these ultra long-haul routes, and makes this far-flung route more economically viable than when Singapore flew its low-density A340-500s until 2013. The A350 has two engines, versus the A340’s four — cue lower fuel burn, and the possibility of making money even with the enormous fuel loads required to stay in the air for such a long time.
For many of the world’s longest flights, direction of flight — in other words, winds — can alter flight times considerably. For this Singapore to New York flight, the prevailing winds could turn this 19-hour flight into a 22-hour ordeal. Yikes. Thankfully, this route, and the others listed here, are almost all flown in some of the most advanced passenger cabins to date, even if most don’t come with a first class cabin, only business.
With Singapore’s announcement, what are the world’s longest flights now? You’ve come to the right place to find out. Here are the top 9.
1. Singapore Airlines: Singapore (SIN) to New York—Newark, USA (EWR)
- Flight Number: SQ 21
- Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900 ULR
- Calculated Distance: 9,534 miles
- Duration of Flight: 18h 45m (before Singapore ended this route in 2013, this flight time fluctuated, sometimes from 17.5 hours to over 22!)
2. Qatar Airways: Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Doha, Qatar (DOH)
- Flight Number: QR 921
- Aircraft Flying: Boeing 777-200LR
- Calculated Distance: 9,032 miles
- Duration of Flight: 17h 30m
3. Qantas: Perth, Australia (PER) to London, England (LHR)
- Flight Number: QF 9
- Aircraft Flying: Boeing 787-9
- Calculated Distance: 9,009 miles
- Duration of Flight: 17h 15m
4. Emirates: Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB)
- Flight Number: EK 449
- Aircraft Flying: Airbus A380-800
- Calculated Distance: 8,824 miles
- Duration of Flight: 17h 15m
5. United Airlines: Los Angeles, California (LAX) to Singapore (SIN)
- Flight Number: UA 37
- Aircraft Flying: Boeing 787-9
- Calculated Distance: 8,770 miles
- Duration of Flight: 17h 55m
6. United Airlines: Houston, Texas (IAH) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)
- Flight Number: UA 101
- Aircraft Flying: Boeing 787-9
- Calculated Distance: 8,596 miles
- Duration of Flight: 17h 30m
7. Qantas: Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)
- Flight Number: QF 8
- Aircraft Flying: Airbus A380-800
- Calculated Distance: 8,578 miles
- Duration of Flight: 17h 15m
8. Singapore Airlines / United Airlines: San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN)
- Flight Number: SQ 31 / UA 2
- Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900 / Boeing 787-9
- Calculated Distance: 8,446 miles
- Duration of Flight: 16h 50m
9. Delta Air Lines: Johannesburg (JNB) to Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)
- Flight Number: DL 201
- Aircraft Flying: Boeing 777-200LR
- Calculated Distance: 8,439 miles
- Duration of Flight: 16h 40m
Will any one carrier surpass Singapore come October when the ultra long-haul launches? We’ll just have to wait and see. Qantas has got to be eyeing the dream route, however: a Sydney to London or New York nonstop regular passenger service. That flight would clock in at over 20 hours regularly. But there’s no airplane currently produced or on the drawing board that could fly that far with a full passenger load.
Know before you go.
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