The latest data from OAG shows that there are 18 non-stop passenger routes over 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in May. That falls to 17 if airport pairs (where airlines are stripped out) are considered because Singapore Airlines and United Airlines both operate Singapore-San Francisco. The full list is provided later in the article.

Nine airlines have ultra-long-haul flights this month. With about three in every ten flights, Singapore Airlines has more than any other carrier. It is followed by Emirates, Qatar, Qantas, United, Delta, Saudia, Philippine Airlines, and Cathay Pacific.

Across all aircraft, more flights are by the A350-900 than any other equipment, followed by the A350-1000, B787-9, A380, B777-200LR, and B777-300ER. The A350 has over half (53%) of all ultra-long flights.

A 9,537-mile non-stop route

Singapore Airlines' Singapore to New York JFK is the world's longest route. At 9,537 miles (15,348 km), it has a block time of nearly 19 hours in both directions.

The A350-900ULR operates in a light 161-seat configuration, with 67 fully flat beds and 94 recliners in premium economy. There is no normal economy, making it more bearable.

In late 2020, Singapore Airlines switched from Newark, a very large Star Alliance hub, to JFK. It was expected to return to the New Jersey airport, but it now serves both airports. No prizes for guessing the world's second-longest airport pair.

Emirates Airbus A380 in flight
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

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8,000+ mile non-stop routes

May's 18 non-stop routes are shown below. Notice how Singapore Airlines takes the first three spots, and it'll probably stay that way for some time.

Various routes that would have been in the list aren't. For example, there is no San Francisco to Bangalore (United and Air India), Houston-Sydney (United), Newark-Hong Kong (United), or Seattle-Bangalore (American). All are set to fly in October or November.

  1. Singapore Airlines: Singapore to JFK, 9,537miles (15,348km)
  2. Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Newark, 9,534 miles (15,344km)
  3. Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Los Angeles, 8,770 miles (14,113km)
  4. Qantas: Darwin to Heathrow (separate flights starting in Sydney and Melbourne), 8,620mi (13,872km)
  5. Qantas: Sydney to Dallas, 8,578 miles (13,804km)
  6. Philippine Airlines: Manila to JFK, 8,520 miles (13,712km)
  7. Singapore Airlines: Singapore to San Francisco, 8,446 miles (13,593km)
  8. United: San Francisco to Singapore, 8,446 miles (13,593km)
  9. Delta: Atlanta to Johannesburg, 8,439 miles (13,581km)
  10. Emirates: Dubai to Los Angeles, 8,339 miles (13,420km)
  11. Saudia: Jeddah to Los Angeles, 8,332 miles (13,409km)
  12. Qatar Airways: Doha to Los Angeles, 8,306 miles (13,367km)
  13. Philippine Airlines: Manila to Toronto, 8,221 miles (13,230km)
  14. Emirates: Dubai to Houston, 8,168 miles (13,144km)
  15. Emirates: Dubai to San Francisco, 8,103 miles (13,041km)
  16. Cathay Pacific: Hong Kong to JFK, 8,072 miles (12,990km)
  17. Qatar Airways: Doha to Houston, 8,045 miles (12,952mi)
  18. Emirates: Dubai to Dallas, 8,040 miles (12,940km)
Los Angeles to Jeddah Saudia
When writing, SV42 is over Nantes, France, 9h 43m after leaving California. It has 5h 11m until it arrives in Saudi Arabia. Image: Flightadar24.

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Saudia to Los Angeles

Perhaps the most intriguing, and the least discussed, is the 11th longest: Saudia from Jeddah to Los Angeles.

With three weekly B777-300ER flights, it departs Jeddah at 08:45 and arrives at 14:55 local time; it has a block time to California of 16h 10m. Returning, it departs at 20:40 and arrives back the next day at 22:00.

Booking data shows that, in 2019, the majority of passengers were point-to-point. Still, around 33,000 transited Jeddah. They were mainly bound not to South Asia, as might be expected, but across broader Saudi Arabia and to Egypt and Jordan.

Have you flown any of the routes mentioned above? Share your experiences by commenting.