World's Longest Scheduled Commercial Flight

For decades, multi-segment flights were the norm for those travelers making long distance flights. Due to its location, Anchorage Alaska has been for years the scheduled "technical stop" (refueling stop) for many Asia-North America flights using aircrafts with shorter range capacity.

Long-distance flights are becoming more common in part because aircrafts are capable of flying long-haul trips without refueling. The Official Airline Guide said the number of scheduled long-haul flights has been increasing steadily over the past six years. As these aircrafts can fly nonstop on these long-distance routes, airlines using these long-range aircrafts can put their fleet of aircrafts in better use, eliminate technical stops along the way, save landing fees for refueling airports and fly to their destinations without worrying about landing rights at busy airports or airports in unfriendly countries. Long-distance flights also give airlines a marketing edge. Shorter flight time command higher airfares and business travelers are often in favor of speed and convenience over price.

While the new Boeing 777-200LR is the longest-range passenger aircraft in service, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and United Arab Emirates use the Airbus A340-500 aircrafts on the world's longest scheduled flights. Singapore Airlines' Newark-Singapore flight (SQ21) is the world's longest scheduled flight, traveling 10,314 miles (16,600 kilometers ) to reach its destination in more than 18.5 hours. In contrast to conventional wisdom, SQ21 flies in easterly direction over the Atlantic Ocean, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, etc. to reach Singapore.

Since more fuel is required for these ultra-long nonstop flights, payload that generates airline revenue in normal situation has to be cut to make room for extra fuel carried on board. In addition, the flight needs to carry extra staff as there is no refueling stop in which to bring aboard fresh crew. To compensate for the loss in airline revenue, passengers are expected to pay more to travel on these flights. With a two-class arrangement, the aircraft is more spacious, less crowded and only carries 151 passengers on board. Singapore Airlines, being one of the top-ranked airlines in the world, makes provisions on its A340-500 for its passengers to stretch out, to walk around or even to socialize over the stand-up bar.

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