A modern Boeing 747 can fly about 15,000 km (9,500 miles) when it's flying at 900 kmh (550 mph). This means it can fly non stop for almost 16 hours!
Theoretically it is possible but even a supersonic jet would be hindered by factors such as speed restrictions and in-flight refuelling. Yes – but only in theory. The Earth is roughly 40,000km in circumference at the equator, and completes one rotation every 24 hours.
Ultra Long-Haul Flights
An ultra long-haul flight is any flight that flies non-stop for over 12 hours. These flights are almost always operated by widebody aircraft and tend to be flown by major airlines rather than smaller ones.
Passenger jet flies for 13 hours…but lands at the same airport it took off from: Nightmare for travellers as Dubai-Auckland flight has to turn back due to New Zealand flooding. A passenger jet that took off from Dubai flew for 13 hours and landed at the same airport after it was forced to turn around in midair.
Share this article. I've just endured the world's newest longest flight, a 16,200 kilometer (10,100 mile), nonstop ultra-marathon from New York to Sydney. It took about 19 and a half hours, and was almost as demanding as that sounds. The record-breaking Qantas Airways Ltd.
Currently, the bragging rights for the longest flight in the world belong to Singapore Airlines. Its longest flight path, which connects Singapore's Changi Airport with New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, 9,585 miles away, takes 18 hours and 40 minutes. The carrier has been flying the route since 2021.
For long flights over twelve hours, there are one or two relief pilots onboard so that the two pilots who performed the takeoff can take a break and get some sleep or relax. There are just two pilots on short long-haul flights of eight or nine hours.
Flight Duty Limitations
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) limit pilots to 36 flight hours in a week, 100 hours in 672 hours (28 days), and 1,000 hours in a 365-day calendar period. As a hard answer, the maximum number of hours a pilot can fly in a year is 1,000 hours.
Aviation regulators set the total hours pilots fly and how much sleep they must get between flights. During ultra-long-haul flights, pilots sleep in special cabins, which passengers can't access.
Weather and jet streams
So, this is yet another reason why most routes avoid flying over the Pacific since it can be a sort of wild west of weather. Additionally, Bitlux writes that jet streams are a significant factor in flight planning since they are key in lowering fuel costs and time spent in the air.
Westray and Papa Westray, Scotland
The flight, operated by LoganAir has been in use for over 50 years and only takes 2 minutes which makes it the shortest flight in the world. In good weather conditions, you can reach Papa Westray in 47 seconds! The route is mainly used by island residents and tourists.
Night flying restrictions or night-time curfews, including night flight bans, are any regulations or legislation imposed by a governing body to limit the ground-perceived exposure to aircraft noise pollution during the night hours, when the majority of residents are trying to sleep.
Flight times within the duty periods are restricted to a maximum of 8 hours for flight crews consisting of one pilot and 10 hours for flight crews consisting of two pilots. The 8-hour and 10-hour flight time limitations include any additional commercial flying performed by the flight crew during the period.
AMARG: The World's Biggest Boneyard. On average, an aircraft is operable for about 30 years before it has to be retired. A Boeing 747 can endure about 35,000 pressurization cycles and flights—roughly 135,000 to 165,000 flight hours—before metal fatigue sets in. 747s are retired after approximately 27 years of service.
Long haul flights must have two or three pilots on board.
If there are three pilots on board one will be the captain who flies the plane, the second will be the first officer or co-pilot. The third pilot is the flight engineer.
Per diem is generally paid continuously for every hour you are away from base, even while you are sleeping! It generally starts around $1.70/hour and goes up based on company and domestic/international rates.
How Much Is An Airline Pilot's Salary? According to the Bureau Of Labor Statistics, the median salary for airline captains, first-officers, second-officers, and flight engineers in the United States is $203,010 as of 2021.
Flight attendants are also paid an hourly meal allowance known as a per diem (Latin for “per day”) whenever they work outside of their base location. Per diem is paid round the clock (even when you are sleeping!), in addition to the guaranteed hour salary.
Island hopping: Loganair flight LM711 is acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the world's shortest scheduled passenger flight for its below two-minute connection between two Scottish islands. Kirkwall Airport: Visitors typically board the flight at Kirkwall on Mainland Island, the capital of the Orkney Islands.
The Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route is the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world. Flights on the route are scheduled for one and a half minutes, and actual flying time is closer to one minute. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds.
The aircraft departed from the Mojave Air and Space Port and flew approximately six hours across southeastern California, reaching a maximum altitude of 22,500 feet. The company said it plans to have its first hypersonic flight and a separation test of the Talon-A vehicle in the first half of 2023.