Qatar Airways announces plans for world's longest flight

[FLPanhandle]

Fancy 18-and-a-half hours in economy? That could soon be possible if Qatar Airways gets its way

Qatar Airways has announced plans to launch the world’s longest direct flight: a 9,034-mile schlep from Doha to Auckland.

Should the route get the green light, it would beat the current record holder – Qantas’s Dallas-Sydney service – by almost 500 miles.

The journey time would be an estimated 18 hours and 34 minutes, according to the journey planning website travelmath.com.

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I would still prefer one long flight instead of two connecting flights but man, this would be a tough flight.

[Travis_0004]

1. I've done Detroit to Shanghai

About 15 hours (and I had to fly into Detroit first).

Needless to say, I booked a flight in Business class, but its still a long flight.

[FLPanhandle]

2. I did Auckland to LA

Also in business class. I can't imagine doing it in coach.

[hifiguy]

6. I did that flight both ways back in '03. Coach.

Flew Air New Zealand. Plenty of legroom, a decent pillow and thoroughly palatable food. Not to mention free wine and booze. A stiff shot of brandy and 5 mg of Valium after the meal and I woke up fresh as a daisy about an hour outside of Auckland. There and back on ANZ were the best two long flights of my life, and it's not even close.

[NightWatcher]

3. What about anesthesia for flights that long?

Board the plane, they turn on some gas, everybody gets sleepy, wake up, warm towel on the face, and boom you're at your destination.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. No thank you... medical dangers are significant

like you could have an elderly person or a kid killed... for example

[Nye Bevan]

20. You would need trained anesthesiologists to monitor all of the passengers.

And everyone would need to fast for several hours before each flight.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. I know

the gas people and walla is a nice tv trope

[hifiguy]

4. I did MSP to SLC to Seattle to Shanghai

(23 hours door to door, IIRC) and Shanghai-SEA-MSP on the way back.

I could barely walk when I got off the plane in Shanghai and listed painfully to one side for a week until my host in Shanghai hooked me up with a powerful looking (and it wasn't just looking) masseur who had a velvet touch. I nicknamed him "Bruce" as in Lee and tipped him $20 American for his splendid efforts.

Delta economy on a flight that long is sheer torture. This just HAS to be worse. And I'm 6'1", just under 220#. Not a small person but hardly a Goliath.

[JCMach1]

7. Done Dubai/Dallas and Dubai/Houston several times on Emirates

it's around 16hr.

[matt819]

8. Miami to Cape Town

Or vice versa. Can't remember which was longer, but it was in the 17 hour range. It's a bit much, but doable.

[tammywammy]

9. I did DFW-LAX-SYD, but coming back was SYD-DFW

Preferred the non-stop. They started doing the direct DFW-SYD a few months after I went.

[DFW]

38. A friend of mine did SYD-DFW, explained why it does't work the other way

Why you fly SYD-DFW, you fly with the wind at your back, and the plane can make the trip with the fuel it can hold. When you fly from Dallas to Australia, you fly into the wind, and it isn't safe to make that last hour flying on just fumes, so the flight lands in Brisbane.

[tammywammy]

40. They started a direct DFW-SYD a few months after my trip

[DFW]

41. In both directions?

My friends in Dallas wanted to book a round trip to Sydney, but were told that on the way over, the nonstop portion would have to land in Brisbane. On the way back they did fly nonstop Sydney-Dallas. This was 2014, so maybe that has changed in the meantime.

[tammywammy]

43. Yes, both directions. Started summer/fall 2015

[DFW]

44. They must be using a new plane then.

My friend went a year before that, and it wasn't yet on the schedule then.

[treestar]

10. How does the pilot do it?

I wonder if they need more copilots.

LA to Sydney is my limit so far - 14 hours.

[FLPanhandle]

12. Two crews

One sleep/resting while the other is on duty. Those long haul planes have small crew quarters with bunks.

[hifiguy]

14. Sleeper cabs in the sky.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

33. I wonder if they would need 3 crews?

[treestar]

45. good!

thanks for the info!

[smirkymonkey]

11. Sounds like a nightmare.

But then again, I hate flying.

[FLPanhandle]

13. I'm on over 150 flights a year for work

With status and first class upgrades along with access to airport lounges, it's not that bad.

[smirkymonkey]

15. I have traveled quite a bit for pleasure, mostly to Europe, however the older I

get, the less I like flying. It's not terrorism. It's more a combination of claustrophobia and the feeling that my luck is going to run out. I mostly hate taking off more than anything.

[FLPanhandle]

16. I'm at over 3 million life time air miles

If my luck hasn't run out yet, you are fine!

[BigDemVoter]

17. I dislike flying more and more. .

But it's generally the cramped, uncomfortable seats with no leg room. I am miserable trying to sit for that long--even getting up to walk around occasionally.

[Reter]

23. 150 flights a year?

I wonder how many Obama or Trump do per year. Can't be much more. That's an awful lot of flights.

[FLPanhandle]

31. It becomes routine after a while.

I go through 2 books a week reading. It's my quiet time.

[DFW]

39. You get used to it after a while

I used to do that many a year, too, but when Germany and France improved their high-speed trains, and routed them through Holland, Belgium and Switzerland as well, I dropped a lot of my flying, since many of the routes were just as quickly covered by train if you include the time necessary to get to the airport, go through security, wait for luggage at the other end, etc.

[a la izquierda]

18. Not all at once, thanks.

My longest trip was MEX-LHR-BER, and what a nightmare. The Mexico to London leg was fine, long, but fine. Good food, free booze, and I slept the whole time. When I arrived at Tegel in Berlin, my luggage (and that of about 60 passengers) was nowhere to be found.

[Initech]

19. First? Sure! Coach? Fuck it.

[Nye Bevan]

22. Even business class I would be fine with.

An excuse to veg out on a flat bed for 18 hours, being waited on with food and booze, nobody bothering me and binge-watching whatever I feel like? I've had worse experiences.

[FLPanhandle]

24. We are soft in the modern age.

150 years ago a trip like that would mean weeks in a leaky sailing ship going across the Indian Ocean in storms, rancid food, smelly water, and a good chance of drowning.

Now we complain about 18 hours in a climate controlled, safe environment with food, drinks and entertainment.

[Nye Bevan]

27. This is a fascinating map of how many days it took to get somewhere from London in 1914:

Sydney was 30 to 40 days!

[FLPanhandle]

29. and that was in the era of steamships!

Great map! I saved it. Thanks!

[Initech]

36. I saw Life Of Pi.

That is not a situation I ever hope to be in. But if I am in, I hope I'm not on the same boat as a live tiger.

[closeupready]

47. lol, this is a good point.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

34. Sounds like New Year's Day.

[Blue_Tires]

25. The Doha-Auckland route gets that many butts in seats?

[pugetres]

26. No way...

The risk of blood clots would be way too high for me to risk a flight of that duration. I could see a flight like that coming with advice to please consult your physician before booking.

[kelly1mm]

28. Rapid City SD to Panama City, Panama - in a C-130, on a wood bench, with a rucksack in

my lap, with my knees up against the guy's knees across from me.

Longest flight ever!

[FLPanhandle]

30. but it was a free trip!

Seriously, that had to suck. C-130's aren't the quietest way to travel either.

[kelly1mm]

32. Loud, barely presurized, no heat, one bathroom (not that we were allowed to use it) and an MRE

for the in flight meal.

but yeah, it was free .....

[pinboy3niner]

35. Heading to Ft. Gulick in Colon?

They had the Jungle Warfare School there and one of the SF Groups. I was there twice, spending a few months. Back when they had La Guardia on every corner in town.

[gladium et scutum]

42. In the Late 70s

Flew from Diego Garcia to Clark AFB in the Philippines in cargo configured C141. About 8500 miles and 14 or 15 hours. Steel bench along fuselage sides. Ate cold MREs. Not my best plane trip, but one of the most memorable.

[Orangepeel]

37. I flew Qantas’s Dallas-Sydney route. Wasn't too bad.

A few hours sleep, a couple of on-demand movies, a book to read... Totally worth it to visit Sydney!

[DFW]

46. Good thing it's not on United or American

You could go broke just paying for the on board snacks and drinks.