The Longest Flight in the World Takes Almost 19 Hours

Glad you like the view. It's going to be the same for about 18 hours. Peter Cade / Getty Images

If you've traveled between the Americas to Europe or Asia, you're probably familiar with some of the longest nonstop flights available. These commercial flight routes across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans can easily take over 10 hours to complete, but what is the longest flight in the world?

To understand how flight paths are measured in distance, it helps to know the geometric concept known as great circle distance. Essentially, a great circle distance is the shortest distance between two points along the circumference of a sphere, such as Earth.

All flight of the routes quoted in this article are based on the estimated great circle distance between two airports. However, real-world commercial aircraft usually have to deviate from the optimal path in order to avoid severe weather, other planes or the borders of territories with closed airspace. In all likelihood, the actual distance will be a bit longer than the quoted distance on paper.

Here, we've ranked the longest flights by time, rather than by distance. After all, when you're crammed into an economy seat and wondering how the lucky ducks up in business class are faring, you're typically thinking about how many hours you left left on the plane, not how many miles lie between you and your destination.

Contents

New York (JFK) to Singapore Changi (SIN)
San Francisco, California (SFO) to Bengaluru, India (BLR)
Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Perth, Australia (PER) to London Heathrow, England (LHR)
Dallas Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) to Melbourne, Australia (MEL)
Paris Charles De Gaulle, France (CDG) to Perth, Australia (PER)
Houston, TX (IAH) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)
Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to New York (JFK)
Shenzhen, China (SZX) to Mexico City (MEX)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore Changi (SIN)

1. New York (JFK) to Singapore Changi (SIN)

This Singapore Airlines route between two commerce capitals of the world is the longest commercial flight available anywhere. It has a great circle distance of just over 9,500 miles (15,289 km) with the direct flight lasting an average of 18 hours and 40 minutes from takeoff to landing.

The neighboring airport in Newark, New Jersey, also services a Singapore Airlines route to Changi, which is nearly identical but just a tiny bit short of being the world's longest flight.

2. San Francisco, California (SFO) to Bengaluru, India (BLR)

If San Francisco can be considered the cultural capital of California, then the same can be said about Bengaluru at the tip of South India. The city is home to more than 8 million Kannada, Urdu, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil speakers, with roots dating back almost 1,500 years.

India Airways operate flights along the route at 9,700 miles (15,610 km) in a Boeing 777, with a scheduled flight time of 17 hours and 55 minutes.

3. Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to Doha, Qatar (DOH)

The lush greenery and coastal charm surrounding New Zealand's largest city couldn't be any more different than the harsh desert environment of the Qatari capital city of Doha. This Qatar Airways nonstop flight charters an Airbus A350-900 for 9,026 miles (14,526 km), with an estimated flight time of 17 and a half hours.

4. Perth, Australia (PER) to London Heathrow, England (LHR)

If you want to escape the summer heat of Australia and check out Big Ben via London Heathrow in the dead of winter, you'll have to board a Qantas Airways Boeing 787-9 and cross a 9,010-mile (14,500-km) gap over Asia and Europe.

One of longest nonstop flights in the world, this flight time is quoted at 17 hours, 35 minutes.

5. Dallas Fort Worth, Texas (DFW) to Melbourne, Australia (MEL)

As the most remote continent in the world (well, aside from Antarctica), we will see many of the "longest flight" contenders coming in and out of Australia.

With this commercial flight, Melbourne residents get the chance to check out Dallas oil field and men in cartoonishly large hats. That'll set you back 17 hours, 35 minutes, on an 8,990-mile (14,468-km) trip.

6. Paris Charles De Gaulle, France (CDG) to Perth, Australia (PER)

If you're in Perth and have already seen Big Ben, you can instead chart your course to the Eiffel Tower. Qantas Airways offers direct flights from Perth to Paris aboard a Boeing 787-9. The great circle distance is 8,863 miles (14,264 km) with a scheduled flight time quoted at 17 hours and 25 minutes.

7. Houston, TX (IAH) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)

This is the only flight on this list operated solely by a U.S. company — United Airlines — but the route recently appears to have been discontinued (but we can always hold our breath for a return).

While in operation, these direct flights could take you to beautiful Sydney, Australia with a scheduled flight time of 17 hours, 26 minutes over a distance of 8,895 miles (14,315 km).

8. Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) to New York (JFK)

There are currently two direct commercial flights available from Auckland to New York City, with one being operated by by a collaboration between Qantas and American Airlines and the other operated by United Airlines and Air New Zealand. Both routes, however, are quoted at the same flight time and distance: 8,828 miles (14,207 km) over 16 hours, 15 minutes.

9. Shenzhen, China (SZX) to Mexico City (MEX)

Shenzhen and Mexico City are both huge economic and industry hubs for their respective countries, so it's not too surprising to find a direct flight route between them.

This flight is operated by China Southern and will take you on an Airbus A350 for 8,776 miles (14,123 km) with a flight time of about 16 hours.

10. Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore Changi (SIN)

This Singapore Airlines nonstop flight can ferry the actor and model denizens of LA to the best shopping malls and five star restaurants that Singapore has to offer.

The great circle distance covered by this route aboard an Airbus A350-900 is a staggering 8,758 miles (14,095 km) with a quoted flight time from Singapore Airlines at 15 hours and 55 minutes.