What's the longest flight you have taken?

You know how you ruminate over odd questions, this one not so odd perhaps ... nowadays long flights are becoming common, and with new planes maybe even longer, e.g. Singapore-New York or Chennai-New York currently weigh in at 15 to 18 hours in a plane. Not sure if that's for me, currently my longest is Hong Kong-San Francisco at 13 hrs and 7,000 miles ... alright if in business or first with a bed but only just.

Wonder if any V-Flyers have been on one of the really long flights and what the experience was like?

[Scrooge]

13 hours, LHR - LAX, in Y, there were tech issues after we left the stand, then had to turn around to get more fuel, then took off with no issues..it was horrible.

Longest is SYD-LHR in economy with a 2 hour stop in Bangkok with Qantas - after that I vowed I would never take a long haul flight in economy ever again. Have also done Los Angeles to Auckland [economy] with Air New Zealand which I think was approx. 16 hours but because of the departure time left on Thursday and arrived on Saturday!!

Flew LHR-BKK-SYD (and SYD-BKK-LHR about 10 days later) on BA in Club World. We had a little over an hour on the ground, in BKK, each way (so it wasn't a non-stop flight). Just long enough to run to the lounge, grab a shower, then run back again...

It was 2002 and BA had the flat bed Club World seats in both directions and I had a seat on the Upper Deck. I hadn't flown a lot of Business Class up until that and these flights were great. I slept a LOT of the way there and quite a bit of the way back too.

Boo

[Neil]

Longest flight time was LHR-SFO just recently at 10:35, but the longest I have been on an a/c was the 14 or so hours when trying to get home from NYC last June. Ok it was in 2 parts but still the flight time was just under 6 hours, so 8 hours sat on an a/c going nowhere was not fun.

We regularly used to do LHR-NRT taking 14 hours before thank god we got permission to fly a shorter route. Used to feel like you were on the a/c forever!
I brought the inaugral MRU home and that took 13 hrs 30 mins. Captain told us it was the longest sector (distance wise) that a Virgin plane had ever flown.

We flew LAX to AKL a few years back, departing on NZ1, which left LAX 10pm Wednesday and arrived in Auckland at 7am Friday - total flight time 13hrs 10mins - 6522miles/10496km.

G.

How about LHR-DXB-MEL-AKL-dinner-sleep-lunch-AKL-MEL-DXB-LHR?

Total scheduled time on board a plane was 53 hours, with 29 hours on terra firma at AKL. Longest single hop though was only 14:15 MEL-DXB.

By the time I'd arrived at DXB on the return, for the first time in F I really felt that perhaps I'd had enough.

H

[Darren Wheeler]

Originally posted by Howard Long
How about LHR-DXB-MEL-AKL-dinner-sleep-lunch-AKL-MEL-DXB-LHR?

Total scheduled time on board a plane was 53 hours, with 29 hours on terra firma at AKL. Longest single hop though was only 14:15 MEL-DXB.

By the time I'd arrived at DXB on the return, for the first time in F I really felt that perhaps I'd had enough.

H

The only real question there is 'Why??'

Originally posted by Howard Long
How about LHR-DXB-MEL-AKL-dinner-sleep-lunch-AKL-MEL-DXB-LHR?

Total scheduled time on board a plane was 53 hours, with 29 hours on terra firma at AKL.

Husband did something similar LHR-KUL-SYD and return with only 48 hours in Australia. The was on Malaysian in Business Class (no flat bed seats though...).

He came out whilst I was in Australia. I was competing in a sporting event there, he couldn't come because he had too much work on. But a week before he decided that he could spare 4 days (1 day out, 2 days there and 1 day back) to come out for just the event... so he did [8D]

Completely mad, but good [:)]

Boo

[Darren Wheeler]

SOU-EDI on a little twin prop lego plane. Might not have been long in distance but it felt like an eternity. Still don't think my stomach has caught up yet.

LHR-BKK-SYD-CBR then lunch - afternoon/ eve meeting - night(Zzzzz) - breakfast meeting then CBR-SYD-BKK-LHR, more than once

and with BA F I didn't have to deplane in BKK from LHR to SYD (and return)

Hackneyguy

Originally posted by hackneyguy
and with BA F I didn't have to deplane in BKK from LHR to SYD (and return)

Was given this option (to stay onboard) in CW too, but chose to get out and stretch my legs and get a shower.

Boo

My longest is the Kangaroo route, SYD-LON and back again, have been doing this route for most of my life. Many times when I was young in Y because my parents wouldn't have us in J class with them! [:#]

Don't think I would like to do the 18hrs on SQ unless it was in F! [y]

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by DMetters-Bone


Don't think I would like to do the 18hrs on SQ unless it was in F! [y]

Speaking of which, didn't young Mr Ben do that ?

I did DXB-MEL non-stop on EK A340-500 in Y. Yes it was very long. Normally do LHR-HKG route.

JNB-CPT-MIA
Seventeen hours on the plane, with a 1+ hour refuel stop and passenger pick up in CPT. All in economy. Then a whole 40 minutes to clear immigration, pick up luggage and catch MIA-SFO in economy.

SYD - KUL - LHR - LAX in one go. Had three hours in KUL and 5 hours at heathrow. Not sure of how long as, understandibly, I was sha9knackrified. Reckoned to be 36 hours. Could have gone syd - lax but syd and lax meetings were different projects!

Although I left it a little vague, anticipating interesting reminders like Neil's torment in getting to JFK. The intent was single flights not e.g. LHR-SYD via X ... and sorry Hwoard, you did still have 29 hrs in New Zealand.

For info, some of the longest anywhere are:

EWR to SIN on Singapore 10,300 miles and 18 hrs 40 mins
LAS to SIN on Singapore 8,700 miles and 18 hrs 10 mins
IAD to JNB on South African 8,600 miles and 15 hrs 25 mins

In fact there are plenty now over 15 hrs for a single flight, VS's longest is I believe Hong Kong, but it's a whistle in comparison [:p].

[preiffer]

I think Ben's done the EWR-SIN one.... [;)]



OUCH.

This probably doesn't count , but in 1992 I did London to Jo'Burg via Lisbon on Tap airways (air portugal) in economy. London to Lisbon..then four hours in the transit lounge...then on to Jo'Burg via DRC (The Congo...i kid you not) where we had to get off the plane under armed guard and claim our luggage before being allowed back on. Arrived at Johannesburg and had to wait hours for my internal to Port Elizabeth which had to avoid tracer fire from Soweto (terrifying)and we ended up on the evening news when i arrived. All in all a 26 hour journey and as for Tap crew....I'd rather fly Aeroplop...ooooops I mean aeroflot!

My longest is an Airtours charter flight back in 1997 MAN-SYD in economy.

I believe it was 27 hours with a refuelling stop in Bahrain and Singapore.

Never again but at £99 (return) it was worth it at the time.

Jilly

For me the longest direct flight was MEL-DXB 14h15m in J so not too bad and managed a good 6-7 hours sleep. Despite the particularly uncomfortable seats.

Longest non direct LHR-LAX-AKL-MEL with just the on ground time between flights again in J (ANZ Bus Premier). Actually not that bad for a trip that took over 30 hours.

Nothing over LHR-LAX for me by civvie means, but during Gulf War 1 in 1990 I had the pleasure of spending 27 hours in the back of a C-130 (a bit like a noisy removals truck, for those who have never experienced it). Thumrait - Seeb - Bahrain - Riyadh - two Tornado bases (one was Tabuk I think, can't remember the other) - Akrotiri - Lyneham!

Ouch....good job I was but a young sprat at the time!

I did EWR-SIN in 04,just had a look in my sad anorak log and I wrote it up as 18H 20.