Skipness,
I give up ..any journey even on a B787 longer than 7 hoursish needs the runway extension;
Beijing is nearly a 12 hr flight, Bankok over 12 hours Hong Kong even longer.All are targets of BHX, With Beijing a real possibility in the next 5 yrs.
The field length figures are from Boeing themselves.
Do you really think BHX would spend millions build a runway extension if the 787/777 etc could get to these locations off the current runway.
Before final agreement do you not think the financial backersof BHX runway extension taking the risks would not have demanded all available details on if it was needed with current and soon pending aircraft..?
Nigel