Emirates to initiate new "longest flight":

From CNBC:

Emirates has launched the world's longest non-stop flight, with its new service between its home base of Dubai to Panama City expected to take 17 hours and 35 minutes.
The flight, which will kick off in February 2016, will be on a Boeing 777-200LR – the world's longest-range jetliner - in a three-class layout; eight seats in first class, 42 in business, and 216 in economy.
"Panama City will be our first destination gateway in Central America, providing a convenient option for our passengers travelling from or through our global hub in Dubai and onward to destinations throughout Central America, the Caribbean and the northern part of South America," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline.
"We're also pleased to be the only commercial airline to offer a daily, first class service to travelers on what will be the world's longest non-stop flight," he said.

Tickets for Emirate's flight EK251, which will depart Dubai at 8:05am local time and arrive in Panama City at 4:40pm local time daily, are already on sale via the airline's website. The return flight EK252 will leave Panama City at 10:10pm, arriving in Dubai at 10:55pm the next day.

Currently, the longest flights available connect Dallas to Sydney (almost 17 hours), Johannesburg to Atlanta (16 hours 40 minutes), and Dubai to Los Angeles (16 hours 35 minutes), according to the AFP.
Singapore Airlines had previously operated the world's longest flight - an all-business class flight from Singapore to New York that shuttled passengers between Changi and Newark within approximately 19 hours - but it terminated this service in late-2013 amid high fuel prices and subdued demand for premium travel.

Those flights could soon come back, however. According to a Bloomberg report, the airline is in talks with Airbus and on Boeing on developing a plane with new technology that would allow it to fly non-stop to the U.S. profitably.

 

God. 17 1/2 hours in economy?

 

2 beers in the bar before boarding to wash down 30mg of Temazepam has been known to make this length of flight a "non-event."

 

I did 23 in coach last month, Bangalore India to Los Angeles, across three flights. Longest flight was 8,050 miles Doha to Houston. Torture.

 

I've been on a near 17 hour flight from ATL to South Africa in coach. It was brutal...never want to do it again.

 

Anyone ever been on Loganair 312?

A brutal 1.7 mile flight!

 

Singapore and Thai Airways both HAD A340-500s. Both for periods of time had New York and LAX to their hub (Singapore, Bangkok respectively). Thai Airways was quoted that they needed a 110% load factor to break even. The aircraft were operating on their rang limits so they could take very little commercial freight which was another problem.

I used to do the LAX-BKK run regularly. Rumor had it there was a coach section somewhere.
Thai Airways told me that the seat yield on their BKK-LHR was higher than what they could get on LAX or JFK run.

At least 2 of the SIA -500s have ben sold and are being converted to VIP.

The 777-20LR has about 30-45 minute more range than the A340-500.

Jeff

 

A vid is online... the taxi and takeoff almost take as long as the flight. Taxi to landing is less than 4 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AypuEXGgQzc

 

Another video taken from the ground; from one spot you can watch the entire flight!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiZ3MCu4RkQ[/ame]

 

Didn't someone once have a flight from San Francisco to Oakland? That must have been pretty short as well.

 

Would be easy to remind to somebody this type or airplane. I'm trying to find it as a scale model..and i can't remember it!

Thank you.

 

Really?......

May have been different back in the "good ol' days", but I'm pretty sure that nowadays you could *walk* it faster!......

Cheers,
Ian

 

I flew LA to Melbournne non stop on a Dreamliner-- 15h 45 minutes in coach.

Honestly, not that bad. But then I do SFO / Hong Kong 8 times a year and those are usually over 12.

It's the crews who have the tough job on these long hauls.

 

My parents did a SFO flight to Oakland. I think it was PSA. The reason was to catch a flight out of Oakland after landing into SFO.

 

This is the only kit that I know of it.

Britten Norman Islander / Defender, Airfix 03067 (2006)

 

I think it was mostly so they could pick up passengers at both airports before departing. Not too many people actually took it between SFO and OAK.

 

Likely to replace the 747SPs that were being operated.

 

Don't think so. Nothing in that group is ever sold. They still have a G-III that I did for the prior owner back at the start of the 1990s.

Jeff

 

Luckily for me Panama City and Dubai are two places I never need to see.

 

They had the -SP (at least one, but IIRC both were) up for sale about 5 years back. I still have a copy of the ad somewhere along with pictures of the interiors. I think they never got their asking price and instead refurbished them.

 

Imagine the passengers in the last row with seats that do not recline. No doubt, the seats in front of the last row will recline with ease.


The Austin to Houston route is difficult for the stewardess. I think the stewardess has just over 20 minutes, to take drink orders and serve everybody. The flight immediately begins the descent just after reaching it's ceiling. It is a 737 rollercoaster.

 

In a demonstration of the B-52s global reach, on 16–18 January 1957, three B-52Bs made a nonstop flight around the world during Operation Power Flite, covering 39,165 km (21,145 nm, 24,325 statute miles) in 45 hours 19 minutes (536.8 smph) with several in-flight refuelings by KC-97s. The 93rd Bomb Wing received the Mackay Trophy for their accomplishment.

 

And that refueling operation from a prop driven KC-97 to a near stalling B-52 was a dicey and dangerous situation. The KC-97 had to run almost flat out down hill to stay at a B-52's speed as it got heavier.

 

They still have one but there is a different one in San Jose that is with Fry's. That one I have seen listed for sale on Controller.

Jeff

 

Had they fitted the auxiliary jet engines to those KC-97s yet, Bob?

Of course, that's what led to the genesis of the KC-135, and as a result, the 707.