Worlds longest flight...again!

RyanB

RyanB

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This can’t be correct...or is it?

NEWARK — On Friday, Singapore Airlines will once again take the claim of operating the world’s longest commercial flight when flight SQ21 makes its return connecting Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN), nonstop.

Clocking in at a staggering 18 hours and 45 minutes, the flight will overtake Qatar Airways’ 17 hour and 40 minute Auckland to Doha route as the world’s longest commercial flight.

“Singapore Airlines has always taken pride in pushing the boundaries to provide the best possible travel convenience for our customers, and we are pleased to be leading the way with these new non-stop flights using the latest-technology, ultra-long-range Airbus A350-900ULR,” said Singapore Airlines’ CEO.

Flying 9000’ miles over the North Pole as filed on FlightAware. Doesn’t this filed route seem abnormal and very extreme? But than again, who in their right mind wants to go to Newark!

45E2138F-9048-41E2-8463-694B78440835.jpeg
 
I don't think it's close to longest - read something, somewhere, about a scheduled 23+ hour flight - maybe in a Connie?
 
I would have thought that they would fly the North Atlantic Tracks to avoid spending so much time over inhospitable terrain (the Arctic Ocean and Siberia). If you put the flight plan that Flightaware claims was filed (below) into Skyvector, what you find is that the route goes feet wet at Alert, Nunavut, and then flies for 1,016 nm before reaching Komsomolets Island in Russia. If you plot out a route of KEWR.YYR.KFV.AND.WSSS, you add about 250 nm to the total flight and still have about 730 nm over water (Iceland to Norway).

I would really enjoy spending some time at the weather office of the airline while they planned this flight out, to hear all the different considerations that went into choosing the direct route.

I would also enjoy having a window seat on this flight. It covers some parts of the world that you are very unlikely to see otherwise.

Filed route according to Flightaware:
GREKI JUDDS CAM YMX MT HENDY J482 YFM 6000N/07300W 6500N/07100W 7000N/07000W DAPAK THT LT 8400N/06000W 8700N/04000W ABERI M153 MOTEM M153 LUMIG B155 IKT A492 ADIDA R497 BABTA G917 LABOB A809 MEBEG A809 LETBI B480 MORIT B330 YBL B330 ZYG W24 HX G212 XFA A581 SAGAG B218 LPB B346 YAKUA B346 BKK M751 VPK B469 BIKTA PIBAP PASPU NYLON
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Just google Polar Routes and you will find some good explanations. On a flat map it looks longer to go North, on a real globe it's actually shorter.
 
Sundancer said:
I don't think it's close to longest - read something, somewhere, about a scheduled 23+ hour flight - maybe in a Connie?
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They must mean the longest duration scheduled commercial flight that is currently being operated. Otherwise I think that some of the scheduled routes from before the jet age would hold the crown forever.
 
jkaduk said:
ETOPSADOH
Engines Turn Or People Swim And Die Of Hypothermia.
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Off airport forced landing in a modern airliner. . .maybe some chance, like with the Hudson River, or maybe on a real flat surface, or paved road? I guess there haven't been too terribly many, to get a good handle on the probability of success? But water, Siberia, or just about anywhere else, I'd guess it's likely no survivors in any case. . .
 
vman said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TACA_Flight_110

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Wow... and the plane was recovered and flew until 2016....

Initially, it was planned to remove the wings and transport the airplane to a repair facility by barge, but Boeing engineers and test pilots decided to perform an engine change on site. The aircraft was towed from the levee to the nearby NASA facility, fueled to the minimum amount needed and departed from Saturn Boulevard, a roadway built atop the original second world war era runway. Following takeoff, the 737 flew to Moisant Field, where further maintenance work was performed.

After its return to service, the plane was eventually acquired by Southwest Airlines as registration N697SW. It continued in service until December 2016, when it was retired and placed into storage at Pinal Airpark.
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"world’s longest commercial flight"
 
I have to say, nineteen hours in an aluminum tube is not my idea of fun. I'd much rather have an intermediate stop somewhere.
 
Stan Cooper said:
I have to say, nineteen hours in an aluminum tube is not my idea of fun. I'd much rather have an intermediate stop somewhere.
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I dunno. The 15hr direct from DFW to DXB with Emirates is my preferred choice versus 2+ stops flying anyone else. Sometimes it’s just better to get it done in one shot. I don’t have to worry about aircraft delays, baggage transfers, meals in between layovers, etc.


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