Just took the longest non-stop flight in my over 3 million miles of flying around the world. This time it was a non-stop from LA to Melbourne Australia -- 15 hours and 45 minutes long, in coach -- on a Dreamliner. Honestly, this plane impresses me more and more each time I fly it. Long haul flights do appear to be easier on the body. The overhead space is excellent. It's pretty quiet. It may be my imagination but the seats appear just a little wider than in coach on a 747. It's amazing to me that you can have a crew though that will work on almost 2 shifts. The flight was completely sold out with 44 people in business first. The longest I've been on before is 13hr 15 minutes hours LA to Hong Kong. The Dreamliner doesn't have some of the elegant design details of other planes on the inside but as you step off and see the exterior, this is really a beautiful looking airplane. The elegant bends on the wing tips and the way the nose blends into the body are something very attractive. I'm starting to feel the love.
Now you'll appreciate how far Aussies travel all the time ... a short hop is 8 hrs to Singapore.. 23 to London etc.. On my most recent trip despite coffee, wine and OJ I didn't even need the bathroom once since it was a mere 13hr leg
Those long international legs are the most sought after. Crews can get their hours in much quicker than catching however many shorter flights. Competition for those routes is fierce! Mark
You have a source on that? Metal attenuates radiation better than carbon-based compounds (like people) unless there's something in the resin on the plane I'm not aware. Our mammography machines use carbon fiber plates on top of the receptor where the patient's breast rests. It's easy to sterilize with bleach wipes when done and is radiolucent (see through for xrays) so doesn't mess up the image like a metal plate would. An aluminum body plane can do better at blocking radiation than CF depending on thickness. They make OR tables out of CF so they can shoot fluoro images without getting metal artifact from the table: X-ray transparent operating table top / carbon fiber - NUOVA BN Btw, there isn't much exposure to radiation as a passenger. I think it's something like a chest radiograph's worth of radiation (very low) for a US cross-country trip.
Almost 16 hours in Coach???? My hat's down to you, admire your stamina! I was stuck in Vegas on Sunday Super Bowl (snow storm in Chicago) and the only seat I could get on Monday was in Coach. Barely 3 hour flight and I thought they would have to bring a stretcher to carry me out. My back was absolutely killing me (I'm 6'5", 220lbs).
When I was in college Jakarta-Los Angeles is 24hrs total time. Was OK when I was 18-22yo. Not anymore
I flew EWR (Newark) to Mumbai, India on a 777ER, about 13.5 hours. I think the way back was over 14 hours flight time, ALL in Coach. Unisom didn't work, need Ambien next time...
The nose on that airplane was designed by a young technical designer who also worked out the windshield design to retain the RVR's of the previous Boeing airplanes. An amazing young man.
.3 inches wider than the coach seats in the 747 assuming you were on United. Coach seats on Qantas 747s are .5 wider than the coach 747 seats on UAL.
