NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Airlines

The Big Read: Flying long - the growth of ultra-marathon flights and what they mean for Kiwis

Grant Bradley
By Grant Bradley
Deputy Editor - Business·NZ Herald·
22 Mar, 2018 08:38 AM10 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A Qantas Dreamliner will fly from Perth to London daily, the longest flight for a Boeing 787. Photo / Supplied

A Qantas Dreamliner will fly from Perth to London daily, the longest flight for a Boeing 787. Photo / Supplied

When Qantas flight QF9 takes off from Perth on Sunday, heading for London non-stop, it will break new ground in ultra-long range flying.

The 17-hour-plus flight will be the longest service by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will link Australia and Britain for the first time with regular direct services, and by distance it will be the world's second longest flight being flown right now.

Preparation for the Qantas flight has involved analysing years of weather data to prove its viability, planning for any diversions and, most importantly, getting the right aircraft.

The 787-9 in the Qantas configuration of 236 seats has the range to make it to Heathrow with the necessary operational elbowroom, and its cabin is heavy on the premium seats that the airline believes will deliver the financial benefits to make the service economically viable.

The smaller, super-efficient aircraft is already capable of vast distances — and being developed to fly even further — and could result in a shift of power that will benefit airlines from this region. It means that end-of-the-line carriers such as Qantas and Air New Zealand, with new long-range aircraft and heavy outbound loads, are able to offer non-stop services instead of "two-stop" destinations.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has spoken of the history-making route as a watershed for travel, tourism and trade.

"When Qantas created the Kangaroo Route to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops," he says. "This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft. Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge."

Gareth Evans now heads Jetstar, but until late last year he led Qantas' international airline, and was heavily involved in setting up the Perth-London service.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We've been waiting since the Wright Brothers took off for aircraft to do this stuff — joining Australia directly to the UK [from Perth] and potentially eastern Australia directly to the UK, or to New York, or to Rio or Cape Town," he says.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has spoken of the history-making route as a watershed for travel, tourism and trade. Picture / AAP
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has spoken of the history-making route as a watershed for travel, tourism and trade. Picture / AAP

As part of Project Sunrise, the airline challenged Boeing and Airbus to develop planes capable of flying those longer routes, and with full payloads. While the Airbus ultra-long range A350XWB will soon enter service with Singapore Airlines, the next generation Boeing 777, which promises even greater range — 16,110km with 375 passengers aboard — will not be available until early next decade.

Evans says both Qantas and Air New Zealand could benefit from being at the bottom of the world.

"It opens up a world of possibilities, which is going to be great for the airlines and great for customers as they don't have to stop. And also it's a unique opportunity for us because hub carriers have to go through their hubs — that's their business model. There's some uniqueness that we can bring to the market. We've been hamstrung until today."

Discover more

Business

Watch: Herald Business Traveller in a Cathay Pacific luxury lounge

14 Mar 05:38 AM
Airlines

Watch: Inside Changi Airport's gleaming new Terminal 4

16 Mar 06:50 AM
Airlines

NZ craft beer brand flying high at 37,000 feet

16 Mar 04:00 PM
Business

Hawaii just got a whole lot cheaper

16 Mar 04:00 PM

Air New Zealand has already pioneered some long routes, including Auckland to Vancouver at just over 13 hours and Auckland-Houston at 13 hours, 35 minutes.

The airline's chief revenue officer, Cam Wallace, says Kiwis are "match fit" for long duration flights.

"People are very used to long city pairs and have a lot of resilience," he says. "We don't get a lot of high value customers or frequent fliers saying 'we don't want to go that far'."

Passengers would much rather get to their destination with one flight, says Wallace.

"Right now we've got the right aircraft with the right amount of seats and we don't have the planes that were too large and too hard to fill, because our primary market is 4.5 million Kiwis, so we see more and more opportunities not only in Asia, but in the Americas, to be able to connect Kiwis to the world without having to have a stop."

A Qantas Dreamliner will fly from Perth to London daily, the longest flight for a Boeing 787. Photo / Supplied
A Qantas Dreamliner will fly from Perth to London daily, the longest flight for a Boeing 787. Photo / Supplied

Air NZ is eyeing routes between Auckland and the east coast of both North and South America. Chicago is a prime candidate for Air New Zealand's next destination, and is already within range of a Boeing 787-9.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hawaiian Airlines this month announced a move to 787-9s, allowing it to widen its horizons.

The planes, which have a range of nearly 16,000km, give it the potential to expand beyond the Pacific Rim. London and other parts of Europe are now possibilities, says Hawaiian's president and chief executive Peter Ingram.

"The Dreamliner is going to give us certain options that we are physically limited from today," he says.

A challenge for leisure carriers, says Ingram, is getting the fares low enough to consistently fill an aircraft, but high enough to provide a healthy yield.

"Business travel necessarily pays a premium for non-stop service [but] when people are spending their own money, they're very conscious of getting the value."

It's not only airlines in this part of the world that are planning to fly long. Qatar Airways launched the longest flight in the world last February, between Auckland and Doha, and is scoping more ultra-long range flying.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Qatar Airways started the longest flight between Auckland and Doha last year. Photo / Supplied
Qatar Airways started the longest flight between Auckland and Doha last year. Photo / Supplied

Speaking at the launch of Qatar's services to Canberra, chief executive Akbar Al Baker said the airline would rather fly non-stop point-to-point, avoiding congested hubs and preferring to fly passengers through the near-new Hamad Airport, which like the airline, is owned by the Qatari government.

But the further the flight, the greater the variables. While the direct distance between Auckland and Doha is 14,551km, the regional blockade which forces it to avoid Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates airspace has in the past month resulted in flights of more than 14,900km, still well within range for the Boeing 777-200LR the airline is using.

The popularity of non-stop flights to the Middle East is one reason why Qatar's rival Emirates is about to pull its A380 planes off the Tasman from Auckland. Emirates started flying directly to Dubai in March, 2016.

Sean Berenson, general manager of product at Flight Centre, says the direct flights are attractive to the airlines and to passengers.

"Customers are responding by buying the tickets," he says. "We've seen great growth in sales of long-haul routes — Auckland-Dubai and Auckland-Qatar sells well, and from what I'm hearing in the market, Perth-London is selling well."

New aircraft are more comfortable, says Berenson.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We're really lucky in New Zealand. The investment in the cabins has been extraordinary and the economy class cabin is a much different place to what it was five years ago."

It's not only the airlines that can benefit from non-stop flying; so can end-of-the-line airports.

Scott Tasker, Auckland Airport's general manager aeronautical commercial. Photo / Supplied
Scott Tasker, Auckland Airport's general manager aeronautical commercial. Photo / Supplied

Auckland Airport's general manager, aeronautical commercial, Scott Tasker, says the marathon flights through the Middle East are an example of how non-stop flying can benefit both New Zealand tourism and Kiwis travelling overseas.

"It enables the economic establishment of longer, skinny routes and that is really positive when you think about some of the things that are possible with visitor markets as well as outbound travel markets that have quite large volumes of traffic that were connecting through hubs, but now can be connected non-stop."

And there is potential for lower fares for flights in and out of New Zealand, as passengers have access to non-stop seat capacity and don't need to compete for seats that go through hubs, as they do now.

Tasker says one example would be a passenger coming direct from New York to Auckland, who would otherwise be competing with someone flying across the United States to Los Angeles and then on to Auckland.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The internal carrier is going to make more money from them and is keener to get them on their plane on that [domestic] segment," says Tasker.

New Zealand is still well placed to act as a mini hub between Asia and South America, in spite of advances in aircraft technology.

"Asia to southern South America is going to be a stretch too far. What it comes down to is whether there is an interest from an airline perspective and whether the market's big enough."

While airports in this region could be winners, those closer to the Equator may see more aircraft flying overhead, rather than stopping.

Changi Airport in Singapore is one of the world's biggest north-south hubs, and is expanding aggressively as it sits at the heart of the fastest-growing aviation region.

Ivan Tan, the airport's group senior vice-president of marketing and communications, says ultra-long-haul would benefit Changi with one particular flight — the Singapore-New York super marathon that Singapore Airlines is reinstating this year, which at 16,600km will be the longest flight in the world.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And he believes there will still be a market for those who want a stopover.

"We think there will still be passengers who don't relish 20 hours in an aircraft. Breaking the journey is important for them for health reasons, sanity even."

The longest flights

A Boeing 777-200LR flew the longest route yet, as part of a promotional tour.

Boeing is developing a new version of its 777.
Boeing is developing a new version of its 777.

During a 2005 test flight, the 777-200LR "Worldliner" flew 21,601km during its 22-hour, 42-minute flight from Hong Kong, flying eastbound over the north Pacific Ocean, across North America, then over the mid-north Atlantic Ocean to London.

There was plenty of room: the plane had just 35 people on board. In service, the 777-200LR can carry more than 300 passengers and their baggage up to 17,445km.

In 1989, Qantas flew a Boeing 747-400 from London to Sydney, setting a distance record for the day of 17,982km, and taking just over 20 hours. Like the Worldliner, the flight had few people on board — only 18 passengers and crew.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hamish Fletcher: My 17 hours in seat 75D

There are still more than four hours to go when the cabin fever sets in. I'm gripped by a restless desire to be anywhere other than seat 75D on Emirates' non-stop Auckland to Dubai flight.

There are still 10 inflight movies that I tell myself I want to watch. There's still three-quarters of an good book to read. There's still sleep that I should be trying catch up on from the previous week. But I don't want to do any of that because it all involves staying on this 17-hour long flight.

Like a child stuck inside on a rainy day who only wants to go outside, all I want is to get off the plane. My sinuses are ravaged by the pressurised cabin, I feel dehydrated despite downing buckets of water and no amount of twisting and turning will get me into a comfortable position.

I'm glued to the inflight map — willing the time-to-destination counter to move faster as it inches towards zero.

The previous 13 hours were, by economy-class standards, pleasant enough. The crew on our A380 were attentive, the food (beef curry and steamed vegetables) perfectly edible, and the in-flight entertainment packed to the brim with the latest Oscar nominees.

And there were just enough empty seats to make moving around the cabin easy and keep the bathroom queues short.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

None of which is much solace as we approach the tail end of the journey.

But for all my histrionics, a non-stop flight to Dubai is leagues ahead of one that involves a layover.

Because while a stop gives you the chance to stretch your legs and get a change of scenery, it also means there's a chance of delay or cancellation.

And when you've been stuck in an airport terminal for a while, all you want to do is get back on a plane.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Airlines

Airlines

'Toxic management': Air traffic strike causes mass flight cancellations

04 Jul 03:41 AM
Airlines

Pacific airlines team up, four countries sign new trade and food deal

04 Jul 01:13 AM
Premium
Business|economy

18,800 people booked for NZICC; anaesthetists, ophthalmologists the latest

03 Jul 10:39 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Airlines

'Toxic management': Air traffic strike causes mass flight cancellations

'Toxic management': Air traffic strike causes mass flight cancellations

04 Jul 03:41 AM

Ryanair cancels 170 flights as French workers' strike affects about 300,000 passengers.

Pacific airlines team up, four countries sign new trade and food deal

Pacific airlines team up, four countries sign new trade and food deal

04 Jul 01:13 AM
Premium
18,800 people booked for NZICC; anaesthetists, ophthalmologists the latest

18,800 people booked for NZICC; anaesthetists, ophthalmologists the latest

03 Jul 10:39 PM
Qantas cyberattack: Airline says scammers active but systems secure

Qantas cyberattack: Airline says scammers active but systems secure

03 Jul 09:31 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP