As aviation technology continues to advance, airplanes can stay in flight longer without having to stop and refuel as often. This has allowed for the creation of extra-long flight routes worldwide.
With longer flights comes an advance in the way we travel. Especially on long flights, efforts to make trips more enjoyable come in the forms of healthier food being served in-flight, making the seats more comfortable (not only in business class but sometimes in economy class as well), or reducing the lighting in the passenger cabin to help deal with the problem of jet lag after arriving at the destination.
Today, more and more airlines offer long-haul flights that connect cities that are on the "other side" of the planet. Some of these flights take 17 hours or even more.
In two years: 20 hours between Sydney and London
This trend will continue in the future: the tourism website AFAR points out that in 2025 the Australian airline Qantas will introduce what it calls Project Sunrise: direct flights, without intermediate stops, from Sydney to New York (16,012 km) and Sydney to London (17,015 km). These will be the longest flights in the world, when a flight between Sydney and London will last 20 hours.
As of today, the longest flight in the world is between Singapore and New York (15,425 km). The flight, by Singapore Airlines, lasts 18.5 hours and is carried out on an Airbus A350-900ULR plane in which there are 67 business class seats in cabin configuration and 94 seats in Premium Economy (there are no normal economy class seats on this flight).
The longest flight in the history of Israeli aviation was from Melbourne, Australia to Tel Aviv, lasted 17 hours and 40 minutes and took place in April 2020. It set out with the aim of rescuing Israelis who were stuck in Australia at the beginning of the Corona epidemic.
So whether you like the idea of getting on long flights and "getting it over with" in one long go (including watching a few seasons of your favorite series) or whether you prefer to break up the long journey with one or more layovers (which will allow you to discover new cities in between), get the list of the ten longest flights in the world.
The longest flights in the world (by distance)
10. New York to Manila, Philippines: Philippine Airlines, 13,690 km, 17 hours (Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER).
9. Dallas, Texas to Sydney, Australia: Qantas, 13,801 km, 16 hours and 45 minutes (Boeing 787-9).
8. San Francisco, California to Bangalore, India: Air India, 14,002 km, 17 hours and 40 minutes (Boeing 777- 200LR).
7. Los Angeles, California to Singapore: Singapore Airlines, 14,113 km, 17 hours and 50 minutes (Airbus A350-900ULR plane).
6. Dubai, UAE to Auckland, New Zealand: Emirates, 14,200 km, 17 hours and 10 minutes (Boeing 777-200LR plane).
5. New York to Auckland, New Zealand: Air New Zealand and Qantas, 14,208 km, 17 hours and 35 minutes (Boeing 787-9).
4. Dallas, Texas to Melbourne, Australia: Qantas, 14,471 km "m, 17 hours and 35 minutes (Boeing 787-9 plane).
3. Perth, Australia to London, England: Qantas, 14,498 km, 17 hours and 20 minutes (Boeing 787-9).
2. Singapore to New York (Newark Airport): Singapore Airlines, 15,328 km, 18 hours and 45 minutes (Airbus A350-900ULR plane).
1. New York (JFK) to Singapore, Singapore Airlines 15,425 km, 18 hours and 50 minutes (Airbus A350-900ULR).