Originally Posted by
msjh
(Writing solely as a passenger: I am not an airline pilot)
If you've ever been on a 747 taking off from Johannesburg to Europe, a 60+ second take-off roll was standard. But then it's at 5,500' altitude and flying distance to London is 5,600 miles/9,000km. Runway 03L in JHB is 4,400 metres/14,000 ft long.