The longest flights in the world (Photo: Shutterstock) Some will see it as the most convenient way to get from point to point, others will find it a terrible ordeal. A 22-hour direct flight from Sydney to London is no longer a dream, but as we announced, a reality that will come to the world next year.
But until Qantas takes to the air its first flight on the Airbus A350-1000ULR, we examined which flights are already the longest in the world, flights known in the professional aviation world as "ultra long haul flights."
The longest route currently in existence is between New York (JFK and Newark, two separate flights) and Singapore Changi Airport. The flight takes about 19 hours and is operated by Singapore Airlines, using the same aircraft that Qantas will use, the long-range Airbus A350.
Photo: SHUTTERSTOCKSingapore Airlines also operates a route between Los Angeles and Singapore, using Airbus A350-900 aircraft, a flight that takes 17 hours and 50 minutes.
Another particularly long flight is by Qatar Airways on the route between Auckland, New Zealand, and Doha. The flight duration is 17 hours and 10 minutes, and it is operated on a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.
As of today, Australian airline Qantas, which is scheduled to open a Sydney-New York route next year, already operates a direct route to London from the city of Perth in Western Australia. The flight duration is 17 hours and 30 minutes.
The A350ULR aircraft. Specially designed for extremely long flights. Photo: QantasEven longer is another Qantas flight, from Dallas, Texas in the USA to Melbourne. The duration of this flight, which is operated on a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, is 17 hours and 40 minutes.
And that's not all. Other particularly long routes can be found between Auckland and Dubai (17:25 with Emirates), between New York and Auckland (17:50, with Air New Zealand or Qantas), Los Angeles-Dubai (16:20 with Emirates) and Dallas-Hong Kong (17:15 with Cathay Pacific).