Record flight operated by Qantas on the route New York - Sydney (19 hours and 16 minutes)
These days, Qantas wrote a very important tab in the aviation history book. It operated for the first time a non-stop flight between New York and Sydney. I should mention that the flight was operated over the Pacific Ocean. The plane took off on 18 in October at 21: 27 in New York and landed on 20 in October at 07: 43 in Sydney.
At the same time, it was the longest non-stop flight ever, its duration being 19 hours and 16 minutes. The flight distance was approximately 16 000 kilometers. The flight was operated with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (VH-ZNI). The aircraft was positioned at JFK International Airport, New York, being delivered from Seattle's Boeing base.
Qantas operated record flight
Under normal operating conditions, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner cannot cover the distance New York - Sydney by a non-stop flight. But Qantas operated this flight, reducing the number of passengers to 49 and loading the maximum amount of fuel. In addition to the 49 passengers (Qantas employees), there were also crew members on board, including 4 pilots. Among the passengers was Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas Group.
The flight commander was Sean Golding, who led the pilot team and oversaw the entire operation. According to his statements, the flight took place under normal flight conditions. Everything was very good, the flight having all the support of the air traffic controllers. The flight code was QF7879, being easy to recognize and track including on flightradar24.com.
New York - Sydney (19 hours and 16 minutes)
This flight is part of a series of 3 test flights planned for the project Qantas Sunrise. Qantas, one of the oldest airlines in the world, plans to launch the longest flights on the planet. Their purpose is to be able to travel non-stop from Australia to the most important cities on the planet. We remind you that the national carrier of Australia operates direct flights from Perth to London.
During the flight, everyone on board was monitored at different stages. The tests ranged from neuronal monitoring of pilots, melatonin levels and alertness, to exercises for passengers. The lighting of the cabin and the tables have been adjusted to reduce the jetlag.
Normally, on night flights, onboard services start with dinner and then the lights are off. On QF7879 flight, it started with lunch, the lights were kept on for 6 hours, to be consistent with the time of destination. All this information will be analyzed in order to improve the experience on very long flights.
It can save up to 4 hours by eliminating scales
You may be wondering why Qantas wants to introduce these very long flights. It's all about time. Qantas operates frequent flights on the route New York - Sydney, but with a stopover in Los Angeles. Flight QF12 took off from New York 3 hours before special flight QF7879, but arrived a few minutes later. It would save about 4 hours for many passengers.
Two other research flights are planned as part of the Qantas Sunrise project evaluations: London - Sydney in November and another New York - Sydney flight scheduled for December. After all these flights, a final decision will be made on the Sunrise project.