World’s Longest Flights
The world’s longest flight is from New York-Newark, NJ (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) flown by Singapore Airlines (SQ).
I’ve been very fortunate to be able to fly almost at the drop of a hat. I love very long flights (my friends think I’m weird, you may too) and have taken some of the longest flights in the world including the longest one, the re-launch of Newark, NJ (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines (SQ) using an Airbus A350-900ULR. I’ve also flown San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) and Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Singapore (SIN).
These world’s longest commercial flights have been made possible with advancement in aviation and primarily five airplanes: The Boeing 777-200LR (LR is for Longer Range), Boeing 777-300ER (ER is for Extended Range), Boeing 787, Airbus A380 and the Airbus A350-900. The manufacturers keep pushing the envelope giving us the Airbus A350-900 ULR (Ultra Long Range) and the Airbus A350-1000.
I’ve compiled what is today’s (January 20, 2020) top 21 longest commercial flights by distance flown along with the airlines flying them plus some more details. There’s one route which have been flown in the past and currently not being flown, that’s Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to New York’s JFK which was flown by Thai Airways (TG) on an Airbus A340-500.
Enjoy and please add your comment below. I’d love to hear if you’ve flown any of these routes, airlines and/or airplanes. I’ve flown *1, #6, #11, #12, but on South Africa Airways and #18 when it was a 77LR. How about you?
As of January 20, 2020
Top 20 World's Longest Commercial Flights by Distance Flown
| Rank | Airline | Block Time | From | To | Equipment | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore Airlines (SQ) | 18:30 | EWR | SIN | 359 (ULR) | 9,539M/15,351KM |
| 2 | Qatar (QR) | 16:20 | DOH | AKL | 77L | 9,043M/14,554KM |
| 3 | Qantas (QF) | 18:20 | PER | LHR | 789 | 9,025M/14,524KM |
| 4 | Qantas (QF) [April 2020] | 16:10 | BNE | ORD | 789 | 8,916M/14,349KM |
| 5 | Emirates (EK) | 17:20 | AKL | DXB | 77L | 8,834M/14,216KM |
| 6 | Singapore Airlines (SQ) | 17:50 | LAX | SIN | 359 | 8,771M/14,116KM |
| 7 | United Airlines (UA) | 17:30 | IAH | SYD | 789 | 8,596M/13,834KM |
| 8 | Qantas (QF) | 16:55 | DFW | SYD | 380 | 8,590M/13,824KM |
| 9 | Philippines Airlines (PR) | 16:50 | JFK | MNL | 359 | 8,519M/13,710KM |
| 10 | Singapore Airlines (SQ) | 16:20 | SFO | SIN | 359 | 8,446M/13,594KM |
| 11 | United Airlines (SQ) | 16:20 | SFO | SIN | 789 | 8,446M/13,594KM |
| 12 | Delta Air Lines (DL) | 16:57 | ATL | JNB | 77L | 8,439M/13,581KM |
| 13 | Etihad (EY) | 16:40 | LAX | AUH | 77L | 8,387M/13,498KM |
| 14 | Emirates (EK) | 16:20 | LAX | DXB | 380 | 8,336M/13,415KM |
| 15 | Saudi Arabia (SV) | 16:40 | LAX | JED | 77W | 8,329M/13,405KM |
| 16 | Qatar (QR) | 16:25 | LAX | DOH | 77L | 8,303M/13,362KM |
| 17 | Philippines Airline (PR) | 16:40 | YYZ | MNL | 359 | 8,219M/13,227KM |
| 18 | Emirates (EK) | 16:40 | IAH | DXB | 380/77W | 8,165M/13,140KM |
| 19 | Cathay Pacific (CX) | 16:50 | HKG | IAD | 351 | 8,154M/13,123KM |
| 20 | American Airlines (AA) | 17:05 | DFW | HKG | 77W | 8,120M/13,068KM |
KEY
AKL – Auckland, New Zealand | AUH – Abu Dhabi, UAE | DFW – Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX USA | DOH – Doha, Qatar | DXB – Dubai, UAE | HKG – Hong Kong | IAD – Washington-Dulles, VA USA | IAH – Houston-Intercontinental, TX USA | JED – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | JNB- Johannesburg, South Africa | LAX – Los Angeles, CA USA | LHR – London-Heathrow, United Kingdom | MNL – Manilla, Philippines | PER – Perth, Australia | SFO – San Francisco, CA USA | SIN – Singapore | SYD – Sydney, Australia | YYZ – Toronto, ON Canada
380 – Airbus A380 | 359 – Airbus A350-900 ULR/Airbus A350-900 | 351 – Airbus A350-1000 | 77L – Boeing 777-200LR | 77W – Boeing 777-300ER | 789 – Boeing 787-9
As a comparison, this is what the chart looked like when I first wrote this blogpost in October 14, 2009 :-).
| Rank | Miles | Routing Information | |||||||||||||
| 1 | 9,539 | Singapore Changi International(SIN) to Newark-Liberty International, Newark, NJ (EWR) on Singapore Airlines (SQ) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| SQ22 | SIN | EWR | 10:40a | 5:50p | same day | 19:10 | Airbus A340-500 (345) | ||||||||
| SQ21 | EWR | SIN | 11:00p | 5:50a | +2 days | 18:50 | Airbus A340-500 (345) | ||||||||
| 2 | 8,771 | Singapore Changi International (SIN) to Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Singapore Airlines (SQ) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| SQ38 | SIN | LAX | 4:15p | 5:45p | same day | 16:30 | Airbus A340-500 (345) | ||||||||
| SQ37 | LAX | SIN | 9:15p | 5:35a | +2 days | 17:20 | Airbus A340-500 (345) | ||||||||
| 3 | 8,589 | Sydney, Australia (SYD) to Dallas/Ft. Worth International, Dallas, TX (DFW) on Qantas (QF) | |||||||||||||
| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| QF7 | SYD | DFW | 1:25p | 1:45p | same day | 15:20 | Boeing 747-400ER (744) | ||||||||
| 4 | 8,448 | Atlanta Hartsfield International, Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Johannesburg International, Johannesburg South Africa (JNB) on Delta Air Lines (DL) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| DL200 | ATL | JNB | 8:10p | 5:15p | +1 day | 15:05 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| DL201 | JNB | ATL | 8:45p | 7:00a | +1 day | 16:15 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| 5 | 8,335 | Dubai International, Dubai UAE (DXB) to Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Emirates Airlines (EK) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| EK215 | DXB | LAX | 8:20a | 1:55p | same day | 16:35 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| EK216 | LAX | DXB | 4:45p | 7:40p | +1 day | 15:55 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| 6 | 8,313 | Dallas/Ft. Worth International, Dallas, TX (DFW) to Brisbane International, Brisbane Australia (BNE) on Qantas (QF) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| QF8 | DFW | BNE | 9:55p | 5:00a | +2 days | 16:05 | Boeing 747-400ER (744) | ||||||||
| 7 | 8,260 | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi International, Bangkok Thailand (BKK) to Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on Thai Airways (TG) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| TG794 | BKK | LAX | 7:20p | 9:25p | same day | 16:05 | Airbus A340-500 (345) | ||||||||
| TG795 | LAX | BKK | 11:10p | 6:40A | +2 days | 17:30 | Airbus A340-500 (345) | ||||||||
| 8 | 8,164 | Dubai International, Dubai UAE (DXB) to Houston-Intercontinental, Houston, TX (IAH) on Emirates Airlines (EK) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| EK211 | DXB | IAH | 9:50a | 4:25p | same day | 16:20 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| EK212 | IAH | DXB | 6:50p | 6:45p | +1 day | 14:55 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| 9 | 8,099 | Dubai International, Dubai UAE (DXB) to San Francisco International, San Francisco, CA (SFO) on Emirates Airlines (EK) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| EK225 | DXB | SFO | 8:45a | 1:45p | same day | 16:00 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| EK226 | SFO | DXB | 4:45p | 7:20p | +1 day | 15:35 | Boeing 777-200LR (77L) | ||||||||
| 10 | 8,068 | Hong Kong-Chep Lap Kok International Hong Kong (HKG) to John F. Kennedy International, Queens, NY (JFK) on Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) |
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| Flight | From | To | Depart | Arrive | Duration | Aircraft Type | |||||||||
| CX830 | HKG | JFK | 9:30a | 1:10p | same day | 15:40 | Boeing 777-300ER (77W) | ||||||||
| CX831 | JFK | HKG | 2:55p | 6:55p | +1 day | 16:00 | Boeing 777-300ER (77W) | ||||||||
| CX840 | HKG | JFK | 5:00p | 8:55p | same day | 15:55 | Boeing 777-300ER (77W) | ||||||||
| CX841 | JFK | HKG | 10:10a | 2:05p | +1 day | 15:50 | Boeing 777-300ER (77W) | ||||||||
My Notes: #8 continues to elude me in either direction. I’ve flown the #3 route, but made a stop in Sal Island using a South African Airways (SA) Boeing 747-400. Flown #2, but made a stop in Tokyo-Narita using a Singapore Airlines (SQ) Boeing 747-400.
Hi Kerwin,
I would love to experience one of these flights one day. How did you stay occupied? Was Wi-Fi on the entire flight?
no airlines or place is from India!!1
admin…what about Aerolieas Argentinas from Buenos aires to Sidney, the transpolar flight..tks,
Hiya Matt,
Thanks for your note and sorry for the delay. It’s only 7,319 miles so it’s not in the top ten.
Kerwin.
Just flew #2 recently. Absolutely amazing experience — SQ has unparalleled service and with a couple of Ambiens it’s only a 7-8 hour flight while conscious.
Hi Steve,
Good deal. So how was that 100 Business class seats? Was it a full flight?
Please tell us more about the experience.
Flew EWR-SIN… too bad they are discontinuing the service. Plane was nice, SQ biz is always nice and service was wonderful as always on SQ. 5 meals…
These aren’t the longest flights in the world. They’re only from America. What about London to Sydney
Jack,
London to Sydney flights stop in Asia; Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, etc.
unbelievable air lines but today believe on Singapore airlines 19hrs stay in air i like SQ and I love SQ
Yeah, I’m still amazed at how long these planes can stay aloft.
What about all the flights to Australia, eg flight from Sydney to Dallas which 8,578 miles?
Dan,
At long last I’ve updated the list to add the DFW to SYD and the BNE to DFW flights from QF. So now #10 and 11 has fallen off and the list is re-numbered to insert those two in the appropriate positions.
Thanks for the update.
I’ve flown #5 (LAX-BKK). LAX to BKK gate-to-gate is scheduled at 18 hrs (15 min taxi on each end tacked onto planned flight time). Thankfully, I was able to upgrade to business class becasue of a 2-cabin configuration with lots of business-class seats.
Sweet @Ken! Glad you were able to do the upgrade. 18 hours is grueling…
Flown #6: iah -> dxb.
How come iah -> dxb is 8164 miles and
sfo -> dxb is only 8099 miles. (plz update the airport code as well to sfo)
Something is not right.
Please verify!
Hi Ali,
San Francisco to Dubai is indeed 8,099 miles and Houston to Dubai is 8,164.
I’ve updated the airport code. Sorry about that.
Does EK use 77W or 77L for DXB-IAH-DXB ?
They use the 77L.
What about the flight from Chicago to New Delhi. I just took it recently, I know it was like 16 hrs flight.
JK,
Chicago to Delhi is 7,478 miles and is scheduled at 14:40 on American Airlines. Still not in the top 10.
Interesting bit of trivia! The longest flight I have taken was DFW-NRT on an MD-11. It was long enough ago that I don’t remember the flight time.
Awesome; on an MD-11 huh? It is showing 13:25 and is current flown by American Airlines with a Boeing 777-200ER. The total distance is 6,421 miles, still way shy of the top ten.