Two weeks ago, Singapore Airlines reclaimed the title for the world’s longest commercial flight with the relaunch of its 9,540 miles Singapore to New York route.
This record-breaking 9,540 miles/18.45 hours non-stop flight ( that’s like flying from Abuja-Lagos-Abuja 7 times , and 14 times in terms of distance) was made possible due to the availability of cheaper fuel and the new generation of fuel-efficient airliners like the A350-900 ULR (ultra long range) twin-engine passenger aircraft that uses 30% less fuel.
The A350-900 ULR’s has a modified fuel system that can carry an additional 24,000 litres (6340 gallons ) of fuel, making an over 20 hours (or almost a day) of flying time possibly .
You can also See What It Costs To Fuel A Plane From Lagos To London here
But why would anyone want to sit in an aeroplane for an over 18 hours flight journey ?
The answer is simply because they’re not flying economy class.
Both business and Premium economy class passengers can get a bed space or better legroom, more than one meal and snacks , Free WiFi to surf the web and an extra 200 hours of films and TV shows . So it’s like real home from home.
Presently, these are the top ten world’s longest nonstop commercial flights by distance
1) Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Newark, New Jersey: 9,540 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 50 minutes
2) Qatar Airways: Auckland, New Zealand to Doha, Qatar: 9,026 miles
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 40 minutes
3) Qantas: Perth, Australia to London, England: 9,009 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 20 minutes
4) Emirates: Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 8,820 miles.
Scheduled Flight Time: 17 hours 5 minutes
5) United Airlines: Los Angeles, California to Singapore: 8,759 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 50 minutes
6) United Airlines: Houston, Texas to Sydney, Australia: 8,593 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 30 minutes
7) Qantas: Dallas, Texas to Sydney, Australia: 8,576 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 15 minutes
8) United Airlines/Singapore Airlines: San Francisco, California to Singapore: 8,435 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 17 hours, 5 minutes/16 hours, 40 minutes
9) Delta Air Lines: Atlanta, Georgia to Johannesburg, South Africa: 8,434 miles.
Scheduled flight time: 16 hours, 35 minutes
10) Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to Los Angeles, California: 8,375 miles
Scheduled flight time: 16 hours, 30 minutes
(Note that the distance and flight time duration varies with headwinds, tailwinds,weather condition and aircraft’s model.)
The average flight time of all the top 10 longest nonstop flights is about 17 hours . That’s enough to watch the last 11 matches of your favorite football team ,or 25 episodes of your favorite DC comics films like Flash or Arrow, or about eight 2hr Nigerian movie.
What do you think?
CDT: AJ