QR921 world's longest commercial flight

[Bonzo777]

https://planefinder.net/data/flight/QR921
En route now, flight tIme expected 17,5 hours.

[vctenderness]

How many people want to fly from Auckland to Doha? Can this be commercially successful?

[Mlambin]

Maybe it's a shortcut for others destinations. It's like the new Perth to London, maybe an easiest way to go to Europe for Australians.

[ATCO1962]

It's all to do with connections. Qatar draws a lot of tourists from Europe and the Americas to Doha and simply connects them on to NZ. We get a lot of tourists, believe it or not. Emirates has 5 flights a day to NZ, one of them non-stop from Dubai to Auckland and they are having no trouble filling the seats. I can't remember the last time we had much more than a smattering of empty seats going over there and that's about two flights a year for a decade.

[rjtjrt]

Vctenderness
I am surprised you ask.
I imagine NZ people who want to get to a European city. Auckland has 1.4million plus population, a booming economy and first world wealth and lifestyle.

[Chris2303]

Auckland has 1.4million plus population, a booking ecomomy and first world wealth and lifestyle.

First world wealth and lifestyle?

Must be a Government politician speaking.

:rolleyes:

[vctenderness]

Rjtjrt: I was more thinking of why would all those well educated, sophisticated, wealthy New Zealander's want to fly directly to a concrete jungle rising out of a dust bowl

[donpizmeov]

Saves a lot of folks getting a transit visa for the Oz stop.

[PoppaJo]

Auckland and beyond is nothing more than a pi$$ing match from the land of the sand.

This picture says it all.

AKL
https://www.aucklandairport.co.nz/~/media/Images/Traveller/Terminal-Updates/EmiratesA380s.ashx?h=620&w=994&la=en&hash=23D8978DF32C6FCB0CEDF67058C79DAC6D986B59

[dixi188]

It is the longest commercial flight at the moment, but SIA did SIN-EWR for a few years and I believe are planning to start it up again.

GC tracker has AKL-DOH as 7843nm and SIN-EWR as 8279nm.

[ExXB]

Bragging rights, nothing more, nothing less.

Is this more fuel efficient than having an intermediate stop? It does take fuel to carry the fuel, doesn't it?

[RAT 5]

Doha - NZ, non-stop. It has often been said that going to NZ from the northern-western hemisphere is like time travel, backwards. I've never been to Doha, but I wonder at boarding an a/c in either land and emerging in the other. Which is the forward time & which is the backward? They are certainly both very different and a culture shock in either direction.

[Groundloop]

Is this more fuel efficient than having an intermediate stop?

No. The amount of fuel burnt simply to carry enough fuel to fly non-stop is a lot more than flying half-way to land and refuel.

[IcePack]

Guess it depends how much it costs to land & take off.

[rjtjrt]

Rjtjrt: I was more thinking of why would all those well educated, sophisticated, wealthy New Zealander's want to fly directly to a concrete jungle rising out of a dust bowl
I didn't say they were sophisticated. Not compared to we Australians!!
However, on further reflection, I agree. I think the middle east hubs are not in any way attractive. Singapore as a hub for onward transfer to Europe flights is much more desirable. Or US as a transfer to onward flights.

[vctenderness]

I rest my case.......

[Heathrow Harry]

What can you say.......................

Australins and Kiwis arguing over who is the most sophisticated...............

brings to mind the immortal line from Jorge-Lius Borges over the Falklands War

"two bald men arguing over a comb"

[HeartyMeatballs]

I'm just waiting to see where is next. Once QF start PER-LON the ME3 will need a new 'worlds biggest'. And then after that, QF will need a new longest route, and so on.

[racedo]

Let Virgin spaceflights get operating and then ask the airlines about longest flight.

[DaveReidUK]

I'm just waiting for someone to start serving Hamilton (NZ) to Cordoba (Spain).

12,418 statute miles - beat that ! :O

[SunchaserMIA]

In Business it is okay but how can someone opt for Y on this? In that case I would rather add some ground time to make the whole journey more enjoyable.

Weren't many of these ultra longhauls in an all-business configuration in the past?