Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Qantas test flight completes record 19-hour
non-stop flight from New York to Sydney
How long do you want to sit in an airplane
seat? Some say the shorter the better even if they need to make a transit or
two. Others prefer non-stop flights however long they might be. But can those
non-stop-flight passengers, cabin crew members, and pilots stand for as long as 19
hours in the same cabin and cockpit?
The longest regularly scheduled non-stop
flight is Singapore Airlines SQ22 that flies from Singapore to Newark, one of
the gateways to New York, covering 16,600 km in about 18 hours with an Airbus
A350-900ULR. Indeed, Singapore, which lies on the first parallel north and 104
degrees East, is far away from either Europe or North America.
But Australia lies even further from any continent
or major cities in the northern hemisphere. Its flag carrier, Qantas Airline, is
trying to fly even longer commercial scheduled flights between the east coast
cities of the continent, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney and New York and
London.
They flew a test flight from New York to Sydney
in a little over 19 hours with 49 people on board, including test passengers,
crew members and pilots to find impacts on their health, wellbeing, and body
clock.
How many drinks, meals, snacks, movies, books
and magazines, and naps are needed to endure 19 hours in the same seat? Be
reminded. Once you fly to your destination, you’ll most likely need to fly back
in another 19 hours!
Enjoy reading the article and think how long
is too long for you for a single flight.
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