As the aviation industry evolves out of the pandemic, airlines are once again focusing on long-haul flights. In this post, we share the top 10 longest flights in the world in 2022.
Singapore Airlines flight between New York JFK and Singapore is currently the World’s longest non-stop flight. The flight slightly edges out another Singapore Airlines flight between Newark and Singapore by a mere five kilometers. Both of these flights are operated by an Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft.
The 10 Longest Non-Stop Flights in the World in 2022
*Note that all routes are ranked by “great circle” distance and the flight times fluctuate throughout the year.
1. New York JFK – Singapore, Singapore Airlines SQ23
First flight: November 9, 2020
Flight distance: 15,349 km (8,288 NMI)
Average Flight time: 18 Hours, 15 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900ULR
2. Newark to Singapore, Singapore Airlines SQ21
First flight: March 27, 2022
Flight distance: 15,344 km (8,285 NMI)
Average Flight time: 18 Hours, 10 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900ULR
3. Doha-Auckland, Qatar Airways QR921 (Currently Suspended)
First flight: February 5, 2017
Flight distance: 14,535 km (7,848 NMI)
Average Flight time: 17 Hours, 25 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR
4. Perth-London Heathrow, Qantas QF9 (Resume in June 2022)
First flight: March 24, 2018
Flight distance: 14,500 km (7,829 NMI)
Average Flight time: 17 Hours, 20 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
5. Dallas-Melbourne, Qantas (Planned)
First flight: December 2, 2022
Flight distance: 14,471 km (7,814 NMI)
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Once operated, this flight between Melbourne and Dallas would be the World’s fifth-longest flight, by great circle distance.
6. New York JFK-Auckland, Air New Zealand (Planned)
First flight: September 17, 2022
Flight distance: 14,207km (7,671 NMI)
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
7. Dubai-Auckland, Emirates EK449 (Resumes December 2022)
First flight: March 2, 2016
Flight distance: 14,200 km (7,667 NMI)
Average Flight time: 16 Hours, 39 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR
8. Los Angeles-Singapore, Singapore Airlines SQ37, SQ35
First flight: November 02, 2018
Flight distance: 14,114 km (7,621 NMI)
Average Flight time: 17 Hours, 9 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900ULR/ A350-900
9. Bengaluru-San Francisco, Air India AI175, United Airlines (Planned)
First flight: January 9, 2021
October 28, 2022 (United Airlines)
Flight distance: 14,004 km (7,562 NMI)
Average Flight time: 15 Hours, 33 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR/ Boeing 787-9
10. Darwin-London Heathrow, Qantas QF1, QF9
First flight: November 1, 2021
Flight distance: 13,872 km (7,490 NMI)
Average Flight time: 17 Hours, 12 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
The flights between Darwin and London Heathrow are temporary. Once the Qantas’ Perth to London Heathrow service is reinstated in June later this year, it will be replaced.
Cathay Pacific’s New York to Hong Kong Flight
Cathay Pacific had planned to operate the World’s longest flight between Hong Kong and New York JFK. The re-routed 10,000+ miles non-stop flight, avoiding the Russian airspace completely would become the world’s longest flight by distance once operated as planned.
Cathay is deploying its Airbus A350-1000 aircraft on this route. However, the current flight didn’t cover the 10,000+ miles as estimated, rather it completed the flight in 8,071 miles, with a flight time of 17 hours and 30 minutes over the Pacific.
Several airlines have opted for long-haul routes to avoid the Russian airspace amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although these flights are temporary, the flight time has been prolonged by multiple hours, with some of the flights making a fuel stop before reaching their destination.
Multiple long-haul flights have been announced, some of them are to avoid the Russian airspace whereas some of them are scheduled flights. Some of these flights are as follows:
Delhi-Chicago, United Airlines UA713/UA899
Flight distance: 12,025 km
Average Flight Time: 16 Hours, 37 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Delhi-New York-JFK, American Airlines AA293
Flight distance: 11,758 km (Direct), 12,392 km (via Bangor)
Average Flight Time: 15 Hours, 42 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
American Airlines initially operated its flight between Delhi and New York-JFK via Bangor to avoid the Russian airspace. However, the flight is now operated without a technical stop, although the flight time has been prolonged by around two hours, with Air India operating the same route for around 14 hours.
Which of these ultra-long-haul flights have you flown and found interesting? Let us know in the comments below:
Source: Bloomberg, Flightradar24, GC Map