Airline lovers can rejoice as last week’s Singapore to New York flight ushered in a new golden age of aviation, ultra long haul flights.
But those who don’t like flying for long periods can take some solace that these ‘longer’ flight actually cut down the time it takes to reach destinations.
Defined as any flight over 9,000 miles, there are currently only three routes in the world operated by three different airlines that fit the ultra designation.
It began with Qantas opening its new Perth to London route, a long 17 hours traveling 9,009 miles is actually quicker than flying via Dubai or Singapore (Beating them by 4 hours respectively).
Followed by the Doha to Auckland link by Qatar, allowing New Zealand to fly quickly to Europe and other destinations without going through their bigger cousin or one of the south-east Asian port cities.
Last to arrive was Singapore to New York, at 9,534 miles it is the longest route in the world.
What is the next Long Haul Flight?
So far, only rumor and conjecture surround what could be the next long trip. With more agreeing that longer is better. As Singapore to New York currently holds the crown, many are looking at even longer flights that can topple the current king.
It is important to understand the economics of ultra long haul travel. With fuel rising, Airlines need to remain conscious of the oil price and nothing burns more liquid dinosaurs than a plane flying for over 16 hours.
Furthermore, Ultra-long haul has to have enough passengers to make it worth their while. Any routes would be between two major cities that are already popular destinations, such as Perth, London, New York, and Singapore.
Perth To Paris (8,872 miles)
Qantas has already invested in infrastructure for ultra long haul planes in Perth and would be a natural extension to start running a service to Paris or to another central Europe destination. A significant part of their trade would come from passengers transferring onwards from London, so it may cut into the profits of their existing route, but with the right marketing, it could be very competitive.
London to Sydney (10,561 miles)
Connecting Perth to London was only the first step to see if the Australian (and European) markets could stomach such a long flight. Now that is has been very successful, Qantas has promised London to Sydney/Melbourne by 2022.
For this they need a special plane and have actually asked, in an open tender, Airbus and Boeing to create a plane that can fly for plus 20 hours. They have flirted with special versions of the Boeing 777x and the Airbus A350. If we can choose, this author would personally love a giant no cargo (Cargo deck turned into a third passenger area) A390 stretch for the flight.
They also need to work around aviation laws that restrict cabin crew from working shifts longer than 20 hours.
The route could also fly onwards to New Zealand. The economics don’t make as much sense, as Auckland has a much smaller population than Sydney and Melbourne but through making planes more efficient we imagine we would see a route eventually.
Bangkok to Dallas (9,019 miles)
The Thai capital could see a direct link to the large state of Texas, perfect for business interests in South East Asia and holidaymakers heading the luxury island resorts. As Texas is centrally located in the united states, it would allow for easy access for passengers to fly onto smaller regional areas and states. Additionally, the Dallas Fort-Worth area is highly populated and within reach of other big populations of Houston and Austin.
Qantas already flies from Sydney to Dallas and has found the route to be very successful.
Melbourne to New York (10,353 miles)
If Qantas is able to make their direct east coast Australia to Europe routes work, then they might turn to the American east coast. An additional five hour onwards from their usual terminal point of Los Angeles, New York is a new natural endpoint for a long distance flight.
Chicago to Sydney (9,238 miles)
Critics, however, have pointed out that most long-haul flights passengers are transferring onwards to other destinations. With the example above of New York, there are not many routes for passengers to transfer onwards that wouldn’t be better served elsewhere.
However, a flight direct to Chicago would be more appropriate. Passengers choosing to fly onwards to New York are able, whilst others can transfer onto east Canada, the east coast of America or down into the Midwest.
Istanbul to Melbourne (9,085 miles)
Istanbul has a staggering 15 million people and is a ripe destination for ultra long haul flights. It is a natural stopover point for routes heading between Africa, Asia, and Europe and a great candidate for flights heading to the land down under.
Plus, there is quite a large middle eastern population in Australia (Sydney has the largest Lebanese population outside of Lebanon)
Toronto to Sydney (9,667 miles)
New ultra long range routes open up a world of possibilities, such as a flight from Australia to eastern Canada, Toronto, without having to pass through American customs and immigration. Linking the two cities (and respectively Melbourne and Montreal) is an easy link and would be instantly profitable.
Other honorable mentions
There are plenty of additional routes that could be possible, such as from the Gulf to South America, or New Zealand to Europe, but until these former major routes are operated and made profitable then we would not see them.