Top 10: World’s longest non-stop flights

Written by jeffrey @ Weekend Blitz

So we’ve covered a few other “Top Lists”, including:

Top 7: Longest domestic US flights
Top 10: Longest Domestic Flights in the World
Top 12: Longest Non-Stop Delta Flights in the World
Top 15: Longest Fifth Freedom Flights in the World
Top 16 Longest Emirates Fifth Freedom Routes: Coming to a City Near You
Top 14: Longest United Airlines Flights In the World

…but what about the longest non-stop flights in the world? Airplane manufacturers are always pushing the envelope trying to design planes that fly faster, farther and more efficiently. So far, the plane that has held the record is an Airbus A340-500 with a range of 9,000 nautical miles (10,357 miles) but it’s interesting to see that Boeing largely dominates the ultra long-haul list.

Here’s an interesting post from the gcmap.com blog:

On Sunday, Boeing announced the launch of the 777X with orders for 259 airplanes including 34 for Lufthansa, 25 for Etihad Airways, 50 for Qatar Airways, and 150 for Emirates. The orders cover two members of the 777X family. The 777-9X will seat over 400 passengers and have a range of more than 8,200 nm. The 777-8X will be similar in size to the current 777-300ER and to the Airbus A350-1000, seating 350 passengers with a range of more than 9,300 nm.

Today’s Featured Map illustrates the range of the 777-9X and 777-8X from Dubai, the hub airport for Emirates. Only a portion of the South Pacific is beyond the range of the 777-8X.

Emirates’ new fleet of 150+ Boeing 777-8/9x will be able to fly non-stop to just about anywhere in the world

Edit record: 11/26/13, 5/12/14, 11/24/14, 1/5/16, 2/20/17

Top 10 Longest Non-Stop Flights in the World

So, what are the top 10 longest (by distance) non-stop flights in the world?

1- Auckland, New Zealand-AKL <–> Doha, Qatar-DOH is the newest flight on the list, having just begun on Feb 6, 2017. The flight will have you seated for a mind and bun-numbing (or comfortable, top notch experience in Business–sorry, no First Class offered on this route) 17 hrs 30 mins on Qatar’s Boeing 777-200LR/F. The flight (QR 921 / QTR921 – click to track) covers 9,032 miles (14,536 km).

Cabins offered: Business (9.1) & Economy (8.2).

2- Auckland, New Zealand-AKL <–> Dubai, UAE-DXB is certainly the longest Airbus A380 flight in the world, clocking in at 8,824 miles (14,201 km). The flight is scheduled to take 17 hrs 25 mins so, if you have to take this flight, just make sure it’s in the lap of luxury in one of the 14 closed suites that Emirates offers on the A380. You can track the flight here: EK 449 / UAE449. This flight began on March 2, 2016.

Cabins offered: First (9.9), Business (9.9) & Economy (8.9).

3- Dallas-DFW <–> Sydney-SYD, once the leader of the list, now comes in 3rd place at 8,578 miles (13,804 km). As of Sep 29, 2014, Qantas switched from flying this route on a Boeing 747 to a new Airbus A380. Unlike the B747, the new A380 aircraft prevents QF 8 (QFA8 – click to track) from having to make a stop in Brisbane-BNE on the westbound flight so the flying time is now 16 […]

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Top 14: Longest United Airlines Flights In the World

Written by jeffrey @ Weekend Blitz

(Updated 9/1/16):

Added SFO-SIN
Added TLV-SFO
Removed IAD-DXB

I recently researched and completed a list outlining the longest Delta flights in the world and was surprised to see that Delta is considered to be one of the biggest airlines in the world based upon a number of metrics. However, I also became curious about the other U.S. based carriers.

Other posts in this series:

Top 7: Longest domestic US flights
Top 10: Longest Domestic Flights in the World
Top 12: Longest Non-Stop Delta Flights in the World
Top 15: Longest Fifth Freedom Flights in the World
Top 10: World’s longest non-stop flights
Top 16 Longest Emirates Fifth Freedom Routes: Coming to a City Near You

Delta might have United beat based upon number of passengers:

Delta carried 164.6 million passengers in 2013 vs United’s 139.2 million

But United excels based upon passenger-miles flown:

In 2013 United had 330 million passenger kilometers flows vs Delta’s 313 million

A few interesting points from this list:

While United loves their Boeing 777-200s, we’re starting to see a shift to the B787. It used to be that of the 18 longest United flights, 13 were operated using the B777-200ER aircraft. They have about 74 of them in their fleet, making up about 10% of the total aircraft. But now, out of 18 flights, 6 are operated by B787s and 10 are flown on B777s.
Although most of the hubs make an appearance a few times on this list, the Houston-IAH hub has the fewest ultra-long haul flights, making an appearance only once.
It makes sense that United beats Delta based upon passenger-miles flown. For example, United has about 18 flights that are longer than 6,500 miles vs Delta’s 10 flights above that threshold.
Of their 23 B787-9s on order, United has already taken delivery of 18 of them. And as expected, they’ve been adding more ultra-long haul routes between unique city pairs (San Francisco to Tel Aviv, for example).

Top 14 Longest Non-Stop United Flights

(Update 9/1/16):
1. San Francisco, CA-SFO –> Singapore-SIN takes place as the new #1 longest United route with 8,446 miles (13,593 km) aboard a new B787-9. The route, UA flight # 1 or UAL1, is scheduled at 16 hr 35 min. Service began on June 1, 2016, and United is tied with Singapore Airlines for 3rd longest flight in the world on this route.

2. Newark, NJ-EWR –> Hong Kong-HKG is currently 2nd longest United flight in the world at 8,065 miles (12,979 km). The 15 hr 50 min flight is operated by United’s B777-200. UAL179 (UA flight # 179) is also tied with Cathay Pacific for the 14th longest flight in the world.

3. Los Angeles-LAX –> Melbourne, Australia-MEL clocks in as United 3rd longest flight. Scheduled service began on October 26, 2014 and was made possible by the airline’s shiny new Boeing 787-9. UA flight #98 (UAL98) will take 15 hr 45 min to cover 7,921 mi (12,748 km). Shared with Qantas, this is currently the 23rd longest flight in the world.

4. Newark, NJ-EWR –> Bombay, India-BOM has a scheduled duration of 15 hr 50 min for the 7,807 mile (12,564 km) journey. Coded as UAL49 (UA Flight # 49), the flight […]

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Hyatt Top 16: Best Use of Free Night Certificates (Category 4 Hotels)

Written by jeffrey @ Weekend Blitz

One of the perks of the Chase Hyatt credit card is the free night certificate that is delivered annually. Usable for Category 1 – 4 Hyatt properties worldwide, an obvious questions is: what are the best Category 4 Hyatt properties?

Criteria:

Must be a Category 4 Hyatt hotel
Relatively expensive in $ to other Cat 4 properties (based upon 2 sample bookings with price averaged together)
Minimum of 4.5 TripAdvisor rating
Well reviewed or recommended as a good Category 4 property here

Ways to stay for free:

Use a free night certificate from the Chase Hyatt credit card
Spend 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for a free night
Spend 7,500 HGP points + $100 for a free night

16. Andaz Savannah

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $278.50

15. Hyatt Escala Lodge at Park City

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $511.50

14. Park Hyatt Toronto

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $251.50

13. Park Hyatt Busan

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $284

12. Hyatt French Quarter New Orleans

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $303

11. Grand Hyatt Dubai

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $315

10. Park Hyatt Saigon

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $321

9. Park Hyatt Siem Reap

TripAdvisor: 5

Sample price: $335.50

8. Hyatt at Olive 8

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $361.50

7. Grand Hyatt Berlin

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $382

6. Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $509.50

5. Park Hyatt Hamburg

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $330.50

4. Grand Hyatt Seattle

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $361.50

3. Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $210

2. Grand Hyatt Melbourne

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $239.50

1. Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort

TripAdvisor: 4.5

Sample price: $523

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