Longest AF flight ever ?

[atakacs]

Nov 6 - Seoul to Paris - 16h48 flight 17h16 Gate to Gate


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/924x327/f_adafcaqaejity_4a323c8c272d8ab265fc81e2f6f6e660a965d2ae.jpg
Flight tracker


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1654x1310/f_a2tprauaalrud_8078ae851722e00e5d37a2b1138b5bc7081b9b64.jpg
Routing (en red, usual in blue)

[UnderASouthernSky]

Long AF

[dixi188]

I thought Air France fly non stop CDG to Papeete (Tahiti), about 21 hours.

[DaveReidUK]

I thought Air France fly non stop CDG to Papeete (Tahiti), about 21 hours.

AF76/77 via LAX both ways, I think (though Google claims non-stop).

[atakacs]

AF76/77 via LAX both ways, I think (though Google claims non-stop).
to the best of my knowledge stops in LAX

[Asturias56]

to the best of my knowledge stops in LAX

Same plane but stops - Air Tahiti Nui do the same

[Kiltrash]

Assuming the stop in LAX is for fuel, crew change, fresh food supplies and Honey Cart with no SLF off or uplift. Do the passengers get off the aircraft into a secure gate or do they have to stay on so as to not need a ESTA??

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[SpringHeeledJack]

AFAIK, the USA always insists transit passengers go through the system, which has always baffled me.

[Peter47]

AF (and French Bee & Air Tahiti Nui) fly between Paris and Papeete stopping at LAX or SFO. However, during covid there was at least one non-stop flight, quite possibly the longest domestic flight ever (any advances?).

As a matter of trivia, and going off topic, the longest domestic flight I have ever flown (certainly according to ICAO) was LHR - HKG. It stopped being a domestic flight in July 97 (and even before then there were passport checks). Right now I suspect the longest domestic flights are within the Kingdom of the Netherlands such as AMS to Curacao.

[Asturias56]

Assuming the stop in LAX is for fuel, crew change, fresh food supplies and Honey Cart with no SLF off or uplift. Do the passengers get off the aircraft into a secure gate or do they have to stay on so as to not need a ESTA??

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yes you all get off the plane - it used to be a real pain but in the last year or so there is a dedicated transfer area very close to the aircraft - you walk into a big room - there are a couple of Immigration service guys who stamp you in (without any questions that I could see) and you then walk out and turn back to the area just outside the boarding area by the plane. There's a small coffee shop that will sell you a beer at an amazing price We arrived at 14:15 and left at 16:30.

Its a long flight - ATN leaves around 12;00 from CDG and arrives Tahiti at local 22:00 ish - but you roll into the hotel, have a drink and go to bed so it's not too bad.

[Asturias56]

"However, during covid there was at least one non-stop flight, quite possibly the longest domestic flight ever (any advances?)."

they operated via Vancouver, or somewhere in the French Caribbean for a while when the US was closed to transfer traffic - even longer flights

[Asturias56]

AFAIK, the USA always insists transit passengers go through the system, which has always baffled me.

the reasoning is that there is no extra-territorial areas (other than the UN) in the USA - they take the view that you arrive so you're IN the USA. Two other reasons of course - one is the US has never seen a lot of international transit traffic (outside of Miami) until the last 20 years, and secondly it gives them a better chance to check on people they might have on a list for all sorts of reasons.

[Trinity 09L]

ATN 789-9 did a non stop flight in Mar 20, light load (Covid) direct to CDG 15’ 45 mins 9,765 miles.
Apparently they called SFO who expected them to land, that they were continuing direct. Info from the “W” site not sure whether to post the link.
French Bee did the same as a freight flight, slightly longer on the same route, a bit later.

[SpringHeeledJack]

I was a regular on flights from Paris to the French Caribbean and back some years back and despite it being a domestic flight (France-Dom Tom), my passport was checked both leaving Paris and on arrival at Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Martin each time, which seemed unusual. Strangely on returning to Paris, no passport check was required. I think that the French are the long-distance domestic champions of the world, never to be beaten, unless the Falkland Islands are included, or some one takes over a territory in the future.