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Singapore (CNN) – Spending nearly 19 hours locked up on a plane may seem like a nightmare for some, but when Singapore Airlines flight SQ22 takes off from its original airport to New York, it will be a dream for others.
This record flight, involving a brand new Airbus A350-900ULR (Ultra Long Range), will usher in a new era for airline passengers and make the world a little smaller as it will become the longest non-stop service in the world.
For aviation fanatics like me, this rarely becomes more exciting.
I am fortunate to have a ticket for this maiden flight and I will tell my experiences from Singapore Changi airport, then head northeast to the airport. Alaska before landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, just outside of New York.
The takeoff is scheduled for 23:35 Singapore time (11:35 in New York, 16:35 in London) on Thursday, October 11 and, all is well, we will be on the other side of the planet the next day, at 6 o'clock in the morning. in New York (11:00 in London, 18:00 in Singapore).
But what will it be like to spend more than 18 hours in the air? How does the human body cope? How is cabin crew doing? How do the bathrooms of the plane behave?
I will take a look at my observations – good and bad – and those of my 160 passengers in the history of aviation.
Keep checking this story for live updates as we travel the 16,700 kilometers (10,376 miles) to our destination.
But first, a few words about what exactly is meant by the longest flight in the world.
It sounds so easy, but it's not.
There are different ways to define it, pedants arguing for hours about what it means.
Of course, there is the distance traveled. Then there is the duration of the flight. Strong winds can sometimes mean that a shorter distance takes longer and vice versa.
However, we are generally reassured to say that the longest flights are measured when the plane follows the Great Circle route: the shortest distance between two points of the globe.
For example: flying from New York to London, the plane does not go directly over the ocean because it would mean flying over the widest part of the circumference of the Earth.
Instead, the plane heads north, making an arc in front of Canada, Greenland and Iceland and descending through Ireland to London.
With this in mind, here are the longest flights in the world commonly accepted:
Singapore to New York
Previously operated by Singapore Airlines with an Airbus A340-500, this flight took 18 hours to get to Newark.
It ended up being a business class flight. The A340-500 is a heavy, thirsty four-engine aircraft. When fuel prices reached more than $ 100 a barrel, this flight stopped being profitable. (Remember, the longer the flight, the more fuel becomes part of the cost!)
In 2013, Singapore Airlines took advantage of an agreement to return the aircraft to Airbus, thus ending its link.
Five years later, equipped with the A350-900 Ultra Long Haul, more fuel efficient, the airline can fly directly from Singapore to New York and earn money.
From October 11th, it will be without a doubt the longest scheduled nonstop scheduled commercial flight in the world.
Perth to London
Since 1947, the journey from Australia to London has been known as the Kangaroo Route. At the time, several hops were involved – Sydney, Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito, Rome, London – and lasted about four days.
And it was considered fast.
This year, Qantas raced in one jump, when a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner made the trip in just over 17 hours.
There have been other planes capable of supporting this distance, such as the Boeing 777-200LR, Airbus A380 and A340-500, but they are heavier planes, with more seats than necessary. It would have been difficult to make money on this "long, lean road".
Other flights in the top 10
Sydney-Dallas Qantas using the A380, Qatar-Doha Doha, Emirates Emirates-Dubai-Auckland, United Airlines shuttles between San Francisco and Singapore with a 787-9.
The return of Singapore to New York will end the rivalry, at least for now.
By connecting these two shopping centers located on either side of the world, the flight is probably the last long distance connection that an airline can design to operate and remain commercially viable.
Until the Qantas Sunrise project comes to fruition.
The Australian company has tasked Airbus and Boeing to develop long range aircraft capable of traveling 17,000 kilometers non-stop between Sydney and London. Qantas hopes to order refitted aircraft by 2019, with flights starting in 2022.
If this happens, the trip will take about 20 hours and will earn the longest honors in the world.
The longest real flight
Oh, did I say that it was the longest flights?
According to Guinness World Records, the longest flight in reality was a 22-hour, 42-minute flight in 2005 between Hong Kong and London.
Boeing demonstrated the capabilities of its 777-200LR – dubbed the Worldliner – if the flight was long.
I was one of the 30 passengers on board – Boeing had to have paying passengers to meet the criteria to break the record.
During our almost-a-day trip, we played games, did some exercise, chatted with the eight pilots aboard and slept on mattresses arranged at the back, where the seats had been removed.
The flight took off from Hong Kong, crossed the Pacific and landed around Los Angeles.
From there we flew over the United States, crossed JFK Airport from New York before flying over the Atlantic and landing in London for a salute to the water cannons.
Now, it was a long flight.
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