From New York to Sydney without stopping: the airline broke the record for flight duration

Australian airline Qantas has completed its longest ever direct commercial flight from New York to Sydney. There were 787 people on board the Boeing 9-49 Dreamliner, including six pilots, six flight attendants, a group of journalists, six frequent fliers and the airline's CEO Alan Joyce. They spent 19 hours and 16 minutes in flight, covering a distance of 16 kilometers.

Фото: Depositphotos

The flight was carried out as part of a study to collect more information about the effect of long flights on a person’s condition and the jet lag he experiences after the flight.

Throughout the flight, a team of researchers observed the brain activity of the pilots, monitored the lighting on board, exercise, sleep, and passenger nutrition.

The plane landed at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning. Captain Sean Golding reported that the direct flight was three hours faster than the one that flies in the same direction, but with a change in Los Angeles.

The importance of the experiment

Fleet Manager Qantas Lisa Norman was one of the organizers of the experiment.

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According to her, thanks to the flight from New York to Sydney, a lot of important information was received that will help prevent risks arising from fatigue of pilots, as well as create the most comfortable flight conditions for passengers and determine the optimal work-rest ratio for the crew.

Further research and information processing will be carried out by specialists from the universities of Sydney and Monash, which have been studying for some time methods fight against fatigue and jetlag.

For example, the Charles Perkins Center of the University of Sydney found that 54% of respondents successfully use earplugs and noise-canceling headphones to fall asleep. 38% say they drink alcohol, another 10% take sleeping pills.

At the same time, 47% of respondents admit that they do not make any efforts to cope with jetlag. “We have found that exposure to the sun and fresh air upon arrival in a new time zone helps synchronize the body with the new time zone. Almost half of passengers neglect this information,” said sleep research specialist Dr. Yu Sang Bin.

Nutrition for sleeping and dancing

Boarding the plane, the passengers immediately switched the clock to Sydney time and did not sleep until night fell in eastern Australia. Such measures were taken in order to minimize the negative consequences of such a long flight for the body.

Norman noted that a distinctive feature of the flight was also the choice of dishes that were offered to pilots and passengers. During their preparation, pungent spices such as ginger and lemongrass were used to stimulate attention and alertness. “Nutrition and biochemistry play an important role in this process,” she concluded.

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After six hours of flight, passengers were served a high-carb meal, then dimmed the lights to help them fall asleep as soon as possible.

All passengers were seated in business class, where they had the opportunity to take a lying position. From time to time they moved to the economy class cabin, where they did warm-ups, did yoga and even danced the Macarena.

Another reason for moving people around the salons was the heavier nose of the aircraft from finding all passengers in the business class, which led to increased fuel consumption.

Next Generation Aircraft

Today, as Reuters reports, not a single commercial aircraft can make such a long flight with a full passenger compartment and additional cargo.

Therefore, for a test flight, the air carrier limited the number of people and their baggage, filled the plane with fuel as much as possible (more than a hundred tons of liquid) and did not take any cargo.

For full-fledged long-distance flights, new models are expected from aircraft manufacturers. According to the head of the Qantas Group, Alan Joyce, they could be a new Boeing 777 or a modified Airbus A350.

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The airline plans to offer four levels of comfort. For passengers in the economy class, a place for exercise will be equipped. Perhaps there will also be some kind of a play area for children who are not always given long flights easily.

Save time and effort

“This is a landmark event for aviation. We hope that this will mark the beginning of constant air service, which will speed up travel from one point of the world to another,” said Joyce.

Next month, the airline plans to test a direct flight from London to Sydney, which will take one hour more.

The decision to launch direct communication between the capitals will be made at the end of this year and, in the case of a positive outcome, is likely to begin in 2023.

New flights will require not only official permission at the legislative level, but also the regulation of the working conditions of pilots and crew with the union.

Today, the longest flight is operated by Singapore Airlines from Singapore to New York. It takes 18 hours 25 minutes.

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