[ad_1]
New York (CNN) – Just a little while ago, I was on the complete other side of the planet.
After touching down at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International airport outside New York – completing the inaugural journey of the longest flight in the world – I can tell you this: It was an unforgettable night … followed by a day … by another night.
In about 17 hours and 25 minutes, we flew from Singapore to the globe nonstop aboard Singapore Airlines Flight SQ22 – now the most ultra-ultra-long haul routes.
It was a little bit of an endurance test for everyone on board – passengers and crew. The sheer achievement, mechanical and human, to make it happen – amazing!
Marketed to business travelers, SQ22 spans 10,377 miles (16,700 kilometers), give or take, depending on the exact flight path. Cruising at around 41,000 feet at about 575 mph, the route was made possible by a new, super-efficient twin-engine Airbus A350-900ULR jet that seats 161 passengers. Also on board at takeoff: 111 tons of fuel.
In addition to checking out the new jet, we have experimented with new gadgets at maximizing sleep and minimizing jet lag.
This may sound weird to the unfamiliar, but to reach our long-distance destination the shortest route is not a straight line. It's a curved line because the Earth is round. So we flew to the heart of Canada to save fuel and precious time.
Now we're back on solid ground, here are five things we learned during our journey:
This is the future
The first thing I was thinking about this flight we were flying down at Newark was: This is a revolution in aviation. These new sophisticated twin-engine airliners like Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and the jet we flew on – the Airbus A350-900ULR – they're designed to make ultra-long routes like this one profitable.
Most surprising about this plane was the smoothness. And it was so much quieter than we expected. In fact, we were told the average decibel level was 80-85 decibels. But in business class it actually was lower: around 70 decibels. In the back, in the premium economy section, it was 80.
Bottom line: The overall performance of the aircraft was exceptional.
The food and beverage manager of the world's longest flights CNN's Richard Quest
Service
The food was excellent. The dumplings were excellent and the beef was good. Of the two meals served in business class, for the second meal, I would have changed the timing in the trip. But if you ever need anything, of course you can ask.
In premium economy they serve meals at fixed times. Hot drinks and cold snacks are available all through the flight.
Overall, more than 500 meals were served to the 161 passengers on board.
As for the crew: They were ready. They were prepared for the long-haul. Even by the end of the flight The aircraft was clean – including the bathrooms – which were kept clean throughout.
Fighting jet lag
Before you board, prep yourself mentally and physically for 18 hours on an airplane. Exercise. Eat lightly, limit your diet, or just snacks. I used a couple of gadgets designed to help with jet lag – special eyeglasses and a wrist band. I will not know if they will help you, because I've been awake since early this morning. (I would have gotten more, but I was gladly working hard, in your service!)
The road
There have been some possible tracks we could have taken across the Pacific to New York via the Great Circle Route, as it's called, which takes you north over Alaska. Because of the prevailing tailwinds, we traveled northerly towards the east of China, east of Japan, making landfall in Alaska and northern Canada, before turning to New York. (The road follows the one shown in the map below).
This is called the NOPAC route. It's the preferred route because it's slightly shorter – thus saving us time and fuel.
Passengers on board told us they would definitely choose this ultra-long route between New York and Singapore over the alternative – which is flying from New York to Frankfurt, Germany, and changing planes. Singapore Airlines says travelers save 4-6 hours of travel time by taking this route. Unlike the previous route between Newark (EWR) and Singapore (SIN), which was flown with gas-guzzling four-engined A340-500s, I believe this route will be profitable and is here to stay because of this new Airbus A350-900ULR is 25 % more fuel efficient then the previous aircraft.
In fact, we landed with 8 tons of fuel in the airplane fuel tanks, after taking off with 111 tons. Albeit we did a nice tailwind pushing us along. Flying the opposite direction – from Newark to Singapore, will burn more fuel.
CNN's Richard Quest says there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of movies to choose from on the world's longest flight.
In-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi
As for the on board video entertainment, airlines like Singapore and Emirates Obviously it's even more important on an ultra-long-range flight. This flight had a different kind of choices. US carriers are promoting their own devices and connecting them to the board where they can watch the blockbuster of the week.
I'd love to go home and get some sleep, but I'm still on the clock. I'm on my way to live TV reports about our journey. And what an unforgettable journey it was!
Source link
