twitter facebook e-mail youtube flickr RSS   
What’s The Longest Nonstop Flight In The World?

sleepingplane

One of the first questions people have been asking me about my upcoming trip to Africa is: How long is the flight? To which I answer: I don’t know, a few hours. Well, it’s actually roughly 15 1/4 hours, by far the longest flight I’ve ever taken. And it got me thinking: What is the longest nonstop flight in the world?

Well, the answer’s not exactly exact, given that you’re looking at different times due to jet streams, weather conditions, and the whim of the airlines (flying slower saves expensive jet fuel).

The overall consensus is that the 8,285-mile flight from Newark to Singapore, clocking in at a whopping 18 hours and 50 minutes takes the crown. Wikipedia’s listed out the top 30 longest flights, with L.A. to Singapore, Mumbai to Atlanta, Johannesburg to Atlanta, and Dubai to L.A. rounding out the top five (each running from about 16 1/2 to 17 1/2 hours long).

But this list only includes current flights. The record for the longest commercial flight ever is actually a Boeing 777 13,422-mile trek from London to Hong Kong, which lasted 22 hours and 43 minutes and saw two sunrises, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

And just so you can sound really smart at your next cocktail party, the shortest commercial passenger flight is Aerovías’ 12-minute flight from Punta Arenas to Porvenir, Chile.

The lesson here? I’m going to bring a good book, sleeping pills, and the reminder that I should at least be glad I’ll be deboarding 3 hours earlier than those unfortunate few en route to Singapore. Not that I mind.

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts

posted by Matt Stabile on Thursday, August 20, 2009 @ 1:13 pm

  

Tags: , , | Comments (6) Permalink


This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.


  1. bring a few books and some good music to sleep too :) have an amazing trip! can’t wait to hear all about it.

    Lindsey — Thursday, August 27, 2009 @ 6:06 pm


  2. Wow; I’m going to Uganda in January and my trip there will consist of 3 flights; 3 hours, 12 hours, and 13 hours, plus 5 hours total in layovers between the last two. I hope your trip went well!

    LK — Saturday, October 31, 2009 @ 5:34 pm


  3. the shortest is actually LoganAir 'island hopper' service between Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland. Air New Zealand fly DIRECT from LHR (London Heathrow) to AKL (Auckland) but I think it refuels in LAX (Los Angeles) so that might not count :)

    tomcon — Thursday, December 24, 2009 @ 10:01 am


  4. the shortest is actually LoganAir 'island hopper' service between Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland. Air New Zealand fly DIRECT from LHR (London Heathrow) to AKL (Auckland) but I think it refuels in LAX (Los Angeles) so that might not count :)

    tomcon — Thursday, December 24, 2009 @ 10:01 am


  5. Well, I can say a pretty short trip is NHT's from Rio Grande to Pelotas, that are two neighboor cities, in southern Brazil, and lasts 10 min.

    Advogado Porto — Wednesday, January 27, 2010 @ 1:51 am


  6. And I thought my 8 1/2 hour flight from Paris to Chicago was bad… lol

    Vince — Saturday, February 20, 2010 @ 1:30 am


Leave a comment


Europe Week

 feature articles 

On Safari . . . In The North Atlantic? NORTH ATLANTIC



2010 New York Times Travel Show Blog 2010 TRAVEL SHOW BLOG


Burning Down The Neighborhood: The Jeju Fire Festival SOUTH KOREA


2010 Olympics Blog 2010 OLYMPICS


Is Thomas Kohnstamm Going To Hell? A Travel Writer's Real Take On Travel Writing TRAVEL WRITING


Why You Haven't Really Seen Turkey Until You've Seen The Whirling Dervishes In Konya TURKEY


 most popular today 
  1. Travel Trivia: Can You Answer This Final Jeopardy Question?
  2. Let Them Eat Vegetables! (In Buenos Aires)
  3. Video: This Is The Way To Experience Paris
  4. Ahhhh... Swimming In Austria’s Beer Pools
  5. Top 5 Spots For Street Food In Paris
  6. Why You Haven't Really Seen Turkey Until You've Seen The Whirling Dervishes In Konya
  7. Wednesday Travel Deals (Europe Week Edition: Aer Lingus, Madrid, Dusseldorf)
  8. What's The Longest Nonstop Flight In The World?
  9. Can You Actually Afford Europe This Summer?
  10. How Many Americans Have A Passport?

 most recent comments 
  1. Leslie on Thursday, March 11, 2010 @ 2:33 pm: I lived in Bs As for a year and kept to a vegetarian diet. I just focused on pizza and pastas,...
  2. Jon Wick on Thursday, March 11, 2010 @ 12:38 pm: I just found out Lufthansa has a monster spring flight sale going on between 4/5 and 5/13, to...
  3. Jess on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 @ 6:14 pm: What a beautifully written and compelling article. It was as though I too was standing on the deck...
  4. Hal Amen on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 @ 4:38 pm: Good to know that Spain figure–I'm headed there in 3 weeks! Maybe we can shave another...
  5. Brit on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 @ 2:49 pm: Not to nerd out (well, a little) but Wikipedia (that's right… Google always leads you to...

 article archives 
Africa (7)
Asia/Pacific (18)
Europe (35)
North America (11)
South America (17)



 feature video 

season two
Southern Africa
TheExpeditioner Guide to Southern Africa
Montreal
TheExpeditioner Guide to Montréal
Dublin
TheExpeditioner Guide to Dublin, Ireland
season one
Colombia
Scandinavia
Argentina/Chile