Flights that are generally longer than 16 hours are considered ultra-long-haul. The flight duration is calculated from the time the aircraft is pushed back from its departure gate (technically, upon engine startup) to its arrival at the destination gate or apron. Flight duration can sometimes be referred to as "chock-to-chock.
" Most of today's ultra-long-haul flights are between Asia, Oceania, or the Middle East to Europe and the Americas. This article focuses on the longstanding history of ultra-long-haul travel, where such flights are operated today, and what seems to be the future of longhaul travel. 42 years on On November 4, 1982, Pan American World Airways inaugurated its 7,487-mile (11,979-km) service from Los Angeles, United States, to Sydney, Australia.
Two years later, Qantas began flying this route and offered services between Melbourne and Los Angeles. These flights were operated by the Boeing 747, at around 16 hours long. Today, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has shortened this duration to just over 13 hours.
According to an OAG blog , "The world’s first commercial flight took off from St Petersburg, Florida on January 1st 1914, and landed about 30 minutes later in Tampa, Florida, covering a distance of 17km. Since then, advances in aviation technology have made it possible to fly thousands of kilometers non-stop, and as of October 2023, the list of the world’s top 10 longest flights includes destinations in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East." In Oc.
