By Contributor,Michael Goldstein,Nicolas Economou
Copyright forbes
China Eastern Airlines Boeing 777-300 commercial aircraft on final approach landing at New York JFK John F. Kennedy International Airport in NY, USA on 23 January 2020. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Are you ready to spend up to 29 hours on the world’s longest direct flight? China Eastern Airlines is launching twice-a-week service from Shanghai to Buenos Aires, with Boeing 777-300ER widebody aircraft. As today’s airliners are not capable of flying the full 12,299 mile distance without refueling, the direct flight will have a “technical stop” in Auckland, New Zealand.
China Eastern described “The Shanghai Pudong-Auckland-Buenos Aires route.. as an important measure to build a new ‘Air Silk Road’ channel between Asia-Pacific and South America.” The flight will be “the world’s first commercial route connecting antipodal cities,” as Shanghai and Buenos Aires are literally on opposite sides of the earth. The southerly flight path will skirt Antarctica, flying over vast empty expanses of ocean.
China Eastern plans to launch service on the route on December 4. One-way economy class tickets currently on sale on China Eastern website are around $1,715 US, while a lay-flat business class ticket starts at around $5,000 each way.
The flight from Shanghai Pudong (PVG) to Buenos Aires (EZE) is not a non-stop flight, but it is direct, with a single flight number. It makes one stop in Auckland, (AKL) for fueling and to change crew. While one would hope passengers can get off and walk around while cleaners freshen up the aircraft, particularly the lavatories, some reports say passengers will not be allowed to disembark during the two-hour layover.
Obviously, China Eastern believes there are customers for this marathon. The carrier, which operates over 800 aircraft, is putting a Boeing 777-300ER capable of holding 316 passengers on the route. Up to six passengers will fly in First Class open suites, with another 52 in Business Class flatbed seats. Somehow, up to 258 will get through the 29-hour experience in Economy class, where the seats have a width of 17” and a seat pitch of 32 to 33 inches.
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Long flights have been on my mind lately. I recently flew Qantas from Los Angeles to Brisbane and back. LAX to Brisbane is 7,163 miles, with a flight time of 14 hours and 10 minutes, over a lot of empty ocean. But that doesn’t even put my Brisbane jaunt among the top 26 longest flights in the world. My Qantas flight, actually about 13½ hours, would take less than half as long as Shanghai to Buenos Aires on China Eastern.
Shanghai, China – May 26, 2024: China Eastern Airlines Cabin Crew Meal Service on the Flight to Budapest, Hungary
The longest non-stop flights are currently the Singapore Airlines twins, Singapore (SIN) to New York (JFK) (9,537 miles, 18 hours, 50 minutes) and SIN to Newark (EWR.) At 9,535 miles, the flight to New Jersey is just two miles shorter than its New York twin. But the vagaries of airline scheduling shaves off 25 minutes, making the flight just 18 hours, 25 minutes. Both routes are served by Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Other day-long journeys include Doha (DOH) to Auckland (AKL). This Qatar Airways trips covers 9,032 miles in just 17 hours, 35 minutes on an Airbus A350-1000. The fourth longest, Perth (PER) to London (LHR) on a Qantas Boeing 787-9 flies 9,009 miles in 17 hours, 20 minutes. And Melbourne (MEL) to Dallas (DFW) on another Qantas 787-9 is 8,992 miles and 17 hours, 35 minutes.
Even #26 on this list Dubai, UAE (DXB) to San Francisco (SFO) on an Emirates Airbus A380-800 is 8,099 miles and almost 16 hours. That’s 900 miles and about two hours longer than my Brisbane trip, which was long enough for me.
How do you survive or hopefully thrive on a long flight? For most of us, the biggest key is getting some sleep. Some people take melatonin or Benadryl, which can help. Qantas gave Business Class passengers some comfy kangaroo pajamas, which I also found helpful.
But sleeping can be a challenge on a full flight, especially if you’re sitting in an aisle or middle economy seat and people are always climbing over you to go to the bathroom. At least with a window seat, you get to do the climbing. Of course, if you go for the aisle seat, you can get up and walk around whenever you want—a must on a long flight.
Shanghai, China – April 11, 2024: In-flight meal on board China Eastern at Hongqiao Airport (SHA) in Shanghai, China.
Some more ideas:
Take your own snacks and water, rather than totally depend on service by the very busy flight attendants.
Bring your medicines and toiletries in a carry-on, and don’t forget to use them.
Also carry on a change of clothes and a sweater in case the plane is cold. You can always use it as a pillow.
Pack your own movies and music on your devices, and a book or two.
The long flights can be daunting, but they eliminate the need for changing planes and planned or unplanned layovers. The China Eastern flight directly connects two of the most important cities in China and Argentina. Direct routes are the most efficient and can save time and money for both business and leisure travelers.
But believe it or not, some passengers seek out the longest flights. Yes, there are people for whom the destination is more or less irrelevant. It’s the journey, the longer the better, that’s the thing. It can be a personal challenge to fly the longest routes, like collecting passport stamps or, in my case, air sickness bags from different airlines.
I’m not immune to the charms of a long journey either, as long as I’m fairly comfortable. I can write on a plane, read, watch films and television or just sleep. Occasionally you will encounter a person you enjoy talking to. The food is generally good on international flights, and wine and beer is often included, even in economy class.
I haven’t tried the current crop of longest flights but I have to admit I’m intrigued by what’s coming in 2027. The distance leader, the Singapore Airlines flights to New York and New Jersey, may be eclipsed by Qantas’ long-promised Project Sunrise.
Singaporean William Chua (R) with family members, all passengers of flight SQ22, Singapore Airlines’ inaugural non-stop flight to New York pose with souvenir cards after their check-in at Changi International Airport in Singapore to board the world’s longest flight on October 11 — a marathon 19 hours in the air between Singapore and New York. (Photo credit ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
The promise of Project Sunrise was to create an airliner that could literally fly from sunrise to sunrise, one point to any other point in the world. In 2027, Qantas will be introducing an Airbus A350-1000 specially adapted with additional fuel tanks to fly more than 10,000 miles.
The human factor has not been ignored, Project Sunrise will have health-focused amenities like special lighting, cabin temperature, meal timing and a “wellness zone” for passengers to exercise and get healthy snacks to help manage jet lag.
The flight distance from Sydney (SYD) to London (LHR) is about 10,573 miles. Passengers can expect to spend 20 hours on the plane. But the size of the market makes it a very tempting target for a nonstop by Qantas; 9 million people live in Greater London.
The distance from Sydney to New York, USA (JFK) is 9,940 miles. This would make that flight the second longest flight in the world. It would also open up the vast New York City area market to Qantas; some 20.1 million people live in the New York area.
But for now, at 12,000 miles, China Eastern Airlines transcontinental journey to Buenos Aires is the distance champion. The new flight should also appeal to frequent flyers. As a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, China Eastern boasts an aviation transport network covering more than 1,000 destinations in 160 countries, serving over 140 million passengers annually. The airline’s Eastern Miles frequent flyers have access to over 750 VIP airport lounges worldwide.
China Eastern says it works together with its customers to uphold its brand core value, “World-class Hospitality with Eastern Charm.” Ultimately, providing that kind of service on the long flight will be what determines the success of the world’s longest airline route.
Commercial plane flying over icy polar isolated landscape
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