As Air New Zealand’s Auckland-New York route joins the top five, these are the world’s longest flights

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…