The World's Longest (and Shortest) Flights

I hate to fly, but I have to sometimes.  Sure, I can tolerate a trans-con to California in Business or First Class.  And with my wife we once flew to Japan on a surprisingly tolerable 10 hour flight that just felt like a really long day.

But now the big international carriers have newer jets capable of much longer distances non-stop, and the race is on for the bragging rights of “the world’s longest flight”.

In the early days of jet aircraft an El Al 707 going (5677 miles) non-stop from JFK to Tel Aviv in nine and a half hours was quite a feat.  But in the mid-1970’s when Boeing introduced the 747-SP, a stubby version of the famous jumbo, Pan Am was making it all the way from JFK to Tokyo (6772 miles) non-stop.

In 2001 both Continental and United were flying from NYC to Hong Kong (8065 miles) in 16 hours thanks to new polar routes opened up by Russia.  But in 2004 Singapore Airlines began non-stop service from Newark to its home port (about 10,000 miles) in just over 18 hours.

Mind you, these are regularly flown, passenger-carrying commercial flights.  On demonstration flights the distances and hours aloft are much higher.

When Boeing delivered a brand new, but empty, 777-200ER (Extended Range) from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, the flight traveled 12,455 miles non-stop.  Of course, the plane wasn’t carrying passengers, allowing more weight for fuel.

Starting this fall, a new aircraft will offer even greater range:  the Airbus 350-900ULR (ultra long range).  These plans are 25% more fuel efficient than the 777’s but don’t offer coach seating, only Business and Premium Economy.  More seats would mean more weight, the enemy of being able to add fuel for these mega-distances.

They also have higher ceilings, maintain better humidity and keep cabin pressures higher and noise levels lower, reducing jetlag.

The 19 hour flight for 161 passengers will be expensive:  Premium Economy is $1649 with Business going for twice that.   In its next generation of ULR aircraft Airbus is looking at installing bunk-beds “downstairs” where cargo would normally be carried.  No idea what pricing for that would be.

What’s the limit for non-stop flying?  Experts say about 21 hours.  That’s enough time to fly between any two spots on the globe.

On the supersonic front, Boom, Aerion and Spike are working on prototypes for smaller jets that could carry a dozen up to 55 passengers at speeds ranging from mach 1.5 to 2.2 for distances up to 6200 miles, almost the distance of NY to Tokyo.  By comparison, the Concorde carried 120 passengers a maximum of 3900 miles at mach 2.02.

Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have invested $10 million and pre-ordered 20 of Boom’s XB-1 aircraft.  The manufacturer estimates JFK to London flight time of just over three hours at a fare of about $2500 one way.

So much for the future and growing present of ever longer non-stops.  For you trivia fans:  what’s the shortest non-stop commercial jet flight?  It’s from Aruba to the Venezuelan city of Punto Fijo, a 50-mile, 8-minute flight that costs $235 one-way.

Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media