Australia’s national airline Qantas made aviation history by launching the longest flight in the world with the world’s largest passenger plane.
The Airbus A380 super-jumbo will fly six times a week on the massive 13,800 km journey between Sydney, Australia and Dallas / Fort Worth, U.S. You can expect to be in the air for around 15 hours.
The upgrade of the plane from the Boeing 747-400ER, which previously flew the route, means 10 per cent more Australian travelers get to check out the cowboys of Texas.
“Not only will the A380 increase seats on the route by more than 10 per cent each week, it will also provide us with greater fuel efficiency and the range to operate the return service direct back to Sydney,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said at a media conference on Monday.
The route between Sydney and Dallas has been active since 2011, yet stretched the 747 to its capacity when head winds were strong. The double-decker A380 is expected to handle the trip more easily.
“This aircraft is a longer-range aircraft so it is a better payload range than the 747s which were operating on the route previously,” Joyce said. “We believe that over the last four years we have experienced a lot of information, a lot of knowledge on how to operate these long sectors. And we believe this aircraft will operate very successfully on this route.”
There are 41 Qantas services a week from Australia to North America.
After the Sydney to Dallas route, Delta’s flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta takes second place at 13,582 km, while Dubai to Los Angeles with Emirates will see you in the air for 13,420 km.
The longest flight title was held by Singapore Airlines up until November last year, with Flight 21 from Newark, New Jersey to Singapore coming in at a ridiculous 15,343 km and taking around 19 hours. Qantas now holds the gong.