Drifting off-topic, but I used to have a series of graphs that plotted fuel burn against sector distance for several aircraft types. Obviously the figure was very high for ultra-short hauls, and descended steeply thereafter before levelling out and … starting very gradually to rise again (burning fuel in order to … carry fuel).
The consequence was that, for any given type, the optimum stage length in terms of fuel burn was significantly shorter than the capability of the aircraft. For a typical longhaul widebody this might be about 5500km (say, London-Dubai).
So two 5500km sectors (4x taxi, 2x takeoff, climb, landing…) would burn less fuel IN TOTAL than one 11000km (say, London-Singapore).
Seems counter-intuitive, but a tech stop very close to the Great Circle could be a fuel-saving measure.