Cathay Pacific Plans to Fly World’s Longest Commercial Flight
Cathay Pacific could soon operate the world’s longest commercial flight by rerouting its New York to Hong Kong service over the Atlantic, the airline has said. The route change would steer clear of Russian airspace. The usual path would be over the Pacific.
The new route is not set yet, but Cathay says its transatlantic flightpath would cover just under 9,000 nautical miles, equivalent to 10,357 standard miles. The non-stop flight would stay in the air for 17 hours and 50 minutes.
If and when confirmed, that would make it the world’s longest flight for distance. Currently that title is held by Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to New York, which travels 9,534 miles in 18 hours.
Cathay has declined so far to clarify whether its planes will intentionally bypass Russia.
“We are always running contingency routings for potential events or scenarios within the world of aviation,” a representative for the airline told CNN in a statement. “We compare flight routes daily, and will plan and fly what is the most efficient routing on the day. The transatlantic option relies on the facilitation of strong seasonal tailwinds at this time of the year in order for the flight time to be between 16 and 17 hours, thereby making it more favorable than the transpacific route. We are monitoring the tailwinds situation on a daily basis as it is already tapering off. Our Airbus A350-1000 aircraft can comfortably accomplish this in 16 to 17 hours with similar fuel consumption to the transpacific flights.”
Cathay is seeking an overflight permit for the long journey, which will fly across the Atlantic, Europe and Central Asia.
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