Air New Zealand has launched a direct route from Auckland to New York City, earning the distinction of being the fourth longest commercial flight in existence.
The route, between the US’ east coast and New Zealand’s international hub, covers 8,828 miles, with an average flight time of 17 hours, 35 minutes.
Long-haul has been getting steadily longer over the past decade, with record-breaking direct routes from Asia to the US and Australia to Europe pushing nonstop flight times past the 17- and 18-hour mark. “Ultra long-haul” is defined as any flight over 12 hours. While many of these routes are served by airlines connecting in the Middle East or Southeast Asia, business travellers and those with ties to far-flung continents are increasingly allured by the prospect of a direct link.
United Airlines had been set to join the list in May, with a direct San Francisco to Bangalore flight covering 8,701 miles, but the airline delayed the launch - initially from May to October, announcing in August that it is now slated to start in March 2023. Meanwhile, Qantas’ Melbourne to Dallas route (8,998 miles) will nudge into the top five when it launches in December 2022.
Below is a list of the world’s current top 10 longest flights by distance in miles.
1. Singapore to NYC - Singapore Airlines
Distance: 9,537 miles
Time: 18 hours 7 minutes
Singapore first launched a direct New York link in October 2018, flying into New Jersey’s Newark Airport. It followed up with a second service from its base at Singapore Changi Airport to New York’s JFK Airport in November 2020. The airline uses the Airbus A350-900ULR (“ultra long range”) aircraft on the route, which has an extended range of up to 9,700 nautical miles.
2. Auckland to Doha - Qatar Airways
Distance: 9,032 miles
Time: 16 hours 30 minutes
Launched in February 2017 - in direct competition with Emirates’ Dubai to Auckland route, which was launched the year before - Qatar’s route is operated on a Boeing 777-200LR. It notably crosses 10 time zones on the journey.
3. Perth to London - Qantas
Distance: 9,009 miles
Time: 16 hours 45 minutes
Qantas flight 9, from Perth to London Heathrow, resumed in late May after a two-year shutdown during the pandemic. In November 2019 the airline also conducted an experimental flight from London to Sydney, known as “Project Sunrise”, lasting 19 hours 19 minutes. Last winter CEO Alan Joyce said these ultra-long-haul routes were still in the works: “We still have Project Sunrise in the pipeline, which is our ability to fly from Sydney and Melbourne to the last horizon, the last tyranny of distance, direct into London, direct into the east coast of the United States.”
4. New York City to Auckland - Air New Zealand
Distance: 8,828 miles
Time: 17 hours 35 minutes
Announced in 2019 but delayed until 2022 due to the global pandemic, Air New Zealand’s east-coast-US link to their home base in Auckland first took off on Saturday 17 September. Just a week in, the route has already suffered some teething problems due to strong winds - management at the airline this week said they had been much more challenging than anticipated during months of data modelling. Around 40 passengers were left waiting in New Zealand for their baggage to catch up with them after their luggage was offloaded from the maiden voyage from New York; while 15 passengers agreed to take alternative flights due to weight issues. Qantas has said it plans to launch a competing route from Sydney to New York next summer.
5. Auckland to Dubai - Emirates
Distance: 8,824 miles
Time: 17 hours 12 minutes
Launched on 2 March 2016, Emirates’ hop from its home base to the major New Zealand hub was added to its existing routes via Australia. Operated on a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, the new flight brought many of the Middle Eastern carrier’s 38 European destinations and cities within one-stop range of New Zealand.
6. Los Angeles to Singapore - Singapore Airlines
Distance: 8,770 miles
Time: 16 hours 53 minutes
SIA launched its Singapore to LA route in November 2018, with the airline’s CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong saying they wanted to “redefine the convenience of travelling between Singapore and the United States”. Operated on its all-premium flagship plane, the A350-900ULR, the nonstop service has fares from £638.
7. Houston to Sydney - United Airlines
Distance: 8,596 miles
Time: 17 hours 30 minutes
United’s Texas to Australia direct flight launched in January 2018, with an airline spokesman saying: “Our Houston-Sydney service brings customers another new nonstop flight between the US and Australia, and connects more than 70 cities across eastern North America that did not have one-stop service to Australia on United before.”
8. Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney - Qantas
Distance: 8,578 miles
Time: 17 hours 15 minutes
Another Texas to Sydney favourite, Qantas’ landmark flight originally launched in 2011. Currently operated on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the service notably does not offer first class or wifi onboard. It relaunched in February 2022 after a substantial pandemic pause, operating three times weekly initially. “Dallas Fort Worth has always been a key route for Qantas and the service will play an important part in enticing American visitors to Australia for the first time in nearly two years,” said CEO Andrew David.
9. San Francisco to Singapore - United/Singapore
Distance: 8,446 miles
Time: 17 hours 5 minutes
United’s SFO to SIN route launched in June 2016, with Singapore Airlines following suit with its own nonstop in October 2016. Taking just over 17 hours on average, the services are currently operated on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner by United and an A350-900 by Singapore.
10. Johannesburg to Atlanta - Delta
Distance: 8,439 miles
Time: 16 hours 35 minutes
One of the older ultra-long-haul services, launched in December 2006, Delta’s Atlanta to Jo’burg route resumed operations in August 2021. It operates on a A350-900neo, which is 25 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous aircraft to run the route, the Boeing 777. Delta intends to add a new route from Atlanta to Cape Town in November 2022 (8,130 miles).
