8,578 miles in one sitting! Qantas launches world’s longest non-stop route

For those keen to explore the furthest corners of the globe, long-haul flights are an unavoidable part of the travelling equation.

However, flying on some long-haul routes can be more of an undertaking than others, and even an extensive in-flight movie list and stopover in one of Asia’s capital cities does little to take the edge off a 24-hour flight to the land down under.

Now Qantas has decided to break with the tradition of a two-leg flight to Sydney for one of its routes, introducing a 15-hour, 30 minute non-stop flight from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) on a Qantas Airbus A380.

The inaugural journey of the world’s longest non-stop flight on the world’s biggest passenger plane took off with a full load of 484 passengers on board.

The airline’s previous Dallas-Sydney route with the Boeing 747 required a stopover in Brisbane.

"The 747 served us really well, but it doesn't have the range of the A380," said Vanessa Hudson, Qantas senior executive vice president. "The A380 is much bigger, so we can actually now provide 10 per cent additional capacity."

Those travellers keen to test out the new route will probably need to start saving now as flights are approximately $1,900 (£1,170) in economy; $7,000 (£4,300) for business class; and $12,000 to $13,000 (£7,380 to £7,990) for first class.

The new route claimed the title of world’s longest non-stop flight following Singapore Airline’s cancellation of its Singapore-Newark route.

If you are going down the long, long haul journey on your route, here are a couple tips to keep things interesting:

• Dig into a copy of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton – Winner of the Man Booker Prize, this 832-page novel is bound to keep you guessing throughout your long haul flight.
• Build your own sandals – Impress your fellow passengers by using your flight to create your very own pair of sandals using one of the DIY kits that are widely available on the internet. This way you’re guaranteed to step onto the airport tarmac in style!

Date Created: 01/10/2014