Take off for the longest non-stop flight
The world's longest commercial flight has left Singapore for New York, beginning a journey expected to cover more than 15,000km in almost 19 hours.
Singapore Airlines is relaunching the service five years after it was cut because it had become too expensive.
A spokeswoman for Singapore Airlines said Flight SQ22 departed at approximately 15:35GMT with 150 passengers and 17 crew.
The flight from Changi Airport to Newark took off amid much fanfare.
The flight time is about 90 minutes longer than the previous longest non-stop service.
Qantas launched a 17-hour non-stop service from Perth to London earlier this year, while Qatar runs a 17.5-hour service between Auckland and Doha.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said there was demand for customers for non-stop services which help cut travelling times compared with flights which have a stopover.
Ahead of the take-off, the airline told the BBC that business class seats for the flight were fully booked, and there were "a very limited number" of premium economy seats left.
The airline is not planning to offer any economy bookings on the route.
A business class ticket will entitle passengers to two meals, and the choice of when they are served, plus refreshments in between. They will also have a bed to sleep in.
Premium economy fares will get three meals at fixed times, with refreshments in between.
Do people want to fly for 19 hours?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by MostCynical on Friday October 12 2018, @11:15AM (4 children)
Eight sentences earlier..
so.. yes?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday October 12 2018, @12:14PM (1 child)
No, people would rather use teleportation. But since we don't have that technology, a skip jet that can go halfway around the world in 2 hours would be nice to have.
An 18+ hour flight sucks. That's a lot of sitting. And, at some point you're going to want to sleep, and sleeping in a chair is no fun if you're used to a bed. Not going to sleep as well. When you finally arrive, tired from lack of sleep, you're a lot of timezones away from where you started, with day and night swapped. You're going to be jet lagged to the max.
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Friday October 12 2018, @01:11PM
Not all of them, some want to arrive the other end without swapping body parts with other travellers (economy class seats are bad enough today).
[Singing] Take me apart, take me apart, What a way to roam And if you have to take me apart to get me there I'd rather stay at home.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday October 12 2018, @05:14PM (1 child)
Also
> Do people want to fly for 19 hours?
If you have to go over 5 hours, a non-stop flight pretty much always beats the alternative (unless the prices are insane).
There's a lot of value in boarding a plane only once and landing at destination. Having more than one 3-hr flight in a trip is really a pain (done that, and with young kids it's 20x worse).
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Saturday October 13 2018, @05:04PM
Also, each layover increases chances of delays and lost luggage.