Winds?
 

This link was posted in another forum World's Longest Flights - Yahoo! News

It contains this statement:

Most people are surprised to learn that this trip takes longer than the airline's Newark-Singapore flight, which travels about 800 more miles. The Newark flight path across the North Pole subjects the aircraft to less wind resistance, allowing it to travel faster than the flight from L.A., which crosses the Pacific Ocean.

I'm guessing they're referring to prevailing winds/jetstream but it seems a pretty cackhanded way of doing so.

Cackhanded? Why? I assume the two individual flight paths roughly follow great circles tracks. If the Newark - Singapore great circle takes the flight path polar - then that is the shortest route between the two point, it's as simple as that.

Its interesting to compare eastbound & westbound flight times. The two are fairly close for NYC - HKG but for US West Coast - HKG westbound flights take considerably longer.

Obviously times depend upon the strength of the prevailing jetstream and its direction. (If it is at 90 degrees to the direction of travel obviously it will not have any effect.)

Then again flights can depart from the great circle route to benefit from or avoid jetstreams. (It may be quickest to flt SIN - EWR eastbound over the Pacific and EWR - SIN also eastbound - over the Atlantic.

Here are some sector times I have calculated from the from the CX summer timetable. (Done in my head, lets hope I'm right!) All are operated with 777 aircraft. The differences would probably be more in the winter when winds tend to be stronger.

HKG - JFK 15:55
JFK - HKG 15:55

HKG - YVR 11:55
YVR - HKG 13:10

YVR - JFK 5:10
JFK - YVR 5:50

HKG - LAX 13:10
LAX - HKG 14:50

It is interesting that a stop at YVR between HKG & JFK adds 1hr 10 mins to block time E/B but 3hr 5 mins W/B. Quite a difference!

I'm not to sure about some of the research in the article. It mentions QF Houston - Brisbane but they fly from DFW (a One World hub) & operate non stop from Sydney E/B but stop off at BNE W/B owing to range limitations. (They could do with a 777 200LR but thats another matter.)