A Chinese airline has started selling tickets for the world’s longest direct flight.
From December, China Eastern Airlines plans to operate a 29-hour-long flight from Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, to Shanghai.
The flight will be operated on a Boeing 777-300, one of the world’s longest-range commercial aircraft, but its 12,000-mile distance means it will need to stop mid-journey.
The flight has a two-hour stopover in Auckland, New Zealand, but it doesn’t look like passengers will have the chance to deplane and stretch their legs.
It won’t be cheap to get a ticket on board, either. One-way economy tickets for flights in December are being advertised on China Eastern’s website for between $1,538 and $2,270.
And if you wanted to upgrade to business class to enjoy a lie-flat bed during the immense flight, it would cost at least $5,000.
Meanwhile, the outbound flight from Shanghai to Buenos Aires is a bit faster, thanks to prevailing high-altitude winds, and is scheduled to take around 25 and a half hours.
Both flights are scheduled to operate twice weekly. The outbound flight, China Eastern 745, will operate on Mondays and Thursdays starting December 4. The world’s longest direct flight, designated China Eastern 746, is scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays.
It is set to be three hours longer than the current record holder, Air China Flight 897, which travels from Beijing to São Paulo via Madrid.
There is also a distinction between direct flights and non-stop flights.
Singapore Airlines holds the title for the latter, taking nearly 19 hours to go from New York to Singapore.
However, this record is also set to be broken in 2026 when Australia’s Qantas launches two non-stop flights to the US and UK.
Nicknamed “Project Sunrise,” Qantas plans to fly an Airbus A350-1000 directly between Sydney and New York and between Sydney and London.
The New York route would be about 400 miles longer than the one to Singapore. But the London route would take the title, at nearly 10,600 miles.
It would take about 20 hours, saving up to four hours from the current schedule, which has a layover in Singapore.
The first aircraft for the project is planned to arrive in 2026.
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