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First commercial non-stop flight from NY to Sydney, 20 hours in the air

Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/qantas-new-york-sydney-flight-scli-intl/index.html

(CNN) — And we have takeoff. A research flight set to test human limits on long-haul flights during what will be the first commercial flight to travel non-stop from New York to Sydney has departed John F. Kennedy International Airport.

With 50 passengers and crew on board acting as ultra long-haul guinea pigs, the Qantas Flight 7879 is expected to complete the 10,200-mile journey in 19-and-a-half hours, subject to wind and weather conditions. It is due to arrive in Sydney Sunday morning, local time.

Research will be carried out on passengers and crew, Qantas has said, to quantify the effects flying such a distance has on those on board, including health, wellness and jetlag.
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The passengers have monitoring devices attached to check their well-being and how they'll be able to hold up during the trip. There will also be a test flight from London to Sydney, which is another 19.5 hour flight.

The next test flight will take place in November, from London to Sydney, while there will be another New York to Sydney flight before the end of the year.
After the test flights, the new planes will enter commercial service.

Qantas has said it hopes to operate direct flights from three cities on Australia's east coast -- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane -- and New York and London by 2022.

Currently the only direct route from Australia to Europe goes from Perth to London, a 9,000-mile journey which started in March 2018.

How will passengers be monitored?
Researchers from Sydney University's Charles Perkins Centre, Monash University and the Alertness Safety and Productivity Cooperative Research Centre -- a scientific program backed by the Australian government -- will examine the impact of the long flight on those on board.
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Almost 20 hours in the air. I know I get antsy around the 3-hour mark when I've flown. I also find it very difficult to sleep on planes, so I imagine I'd be pretty dog tired by the end of the flight. I've taken 8 or 9 hour flights in the past, and by the time those were over, I was more than ready to get out of that flying tube. I have a feeling I would just get stir crazy after a while, where you just feel like you have to get out of there:


Maybe they'll issue parachutes to people who can't make the whole trip and need to bail out.
 
Vinayaka

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
They really need a major overhaul of cabin design to convert most of it into crawl-in sleeping spaces. I would never take this flight. They'd have to pay me, not the other way around.
 
Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
It appears that the fastest airspeed achieved was around 7000 mph (NASA's X-43A scramjet). If they could have airliners fly at that speed, they could fly from NY to Sydney in about an hour and a half.
 
Augustus

Augustus

…
Stevicus said:
Almost 20 hours in the air. I know I get antsy around the 3-hour mark when I've flown. I also find it very difficult to sleep on planes, so I imagine I'd be pretty dog tired by the end of the flight. I've taken 8 or 9 hour flights in the past, and by the time those were over, I was more than ready to get out of that flying tube. I have a feeling I would just get stir crazy after a while, where you just feel like you have to get out of there:
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I do very long flights 8-10 times a year.

Can be a 13h + 4.5h, 8.5h + 8.5h 14.5h + 1h

8.5h x2 is terrible as you don't really get much chance to sleep between dinner and breakfast (especially if you can't sleep well on planes like me)

A long + short combo is much better as you usually get a few hours at least after a few wines + whiskies. 14h really is enough though, and a stopover is more than welcome to get a walk, cup of tea, etc.

20h is really pushing it though without getting off a plane. I'd hate it.
 
beenherebeforeagain

beenherebeforeagain

Rogue Animist
Premium Member
Stevicus said:
It appears that the fastest airspeed achieved was around 7000 mph (NASA's X-43A scramjet). If they could have airliners fly at that speed, they could fly from NY to Sydney in about an hour and a half.
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Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
What a wonderful world it would be
What a wonderful time to be free...
 
beenherebeforeagain

beenherebeforeagain

Rogue Animist
Premium Member
Augustus said:
I do very long flights 8-10 times a year.

Can be a 13h + 4.5h, 8.5h + 8.5h 14.5h + 1h

8.5h x2 is terrible as you don't really get much chance to sleep between dinner and breakfast (especially if you can't sleep well on planes like me)

A long + short combo is much better as you usually get a few hours at least after a few wines + whiskies. 14h really is enough though, and a stopover is more than welcome to get a walk, cup of tea, etc.

20h is really pushing it though without getting off a plane. I'd hate it.
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Do they have running wheels for the hampsters?
 
Audie

Audie

Veteran Member
Nonstop NYC to Hong Kong
Monday morning.

This is one time my small size is a big
advantage!
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
Amtrak takes 20 hours just to get from New York to Chicago, and people do that every day. So I don't see why this is such a big experiment.
 
Audie

Audie

Veteran Member
PureX said:
Amtrak takes 20 hours just to get from New York to Chicago, and people do that every day. So I don't see why this is such a big experiment.
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A train is a whole lot more comfy.


If it would entertain you, look up the China Clipper,
the flying boat that flew from SF to HK!

It sure was not nonstop, took what, 3 or 4 days,
overnights at like Hawaii, Midway, Guam.
 
Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
PureX said:
Amtrak takes 20 hours just to get from New York to Chicago, and people do that every day. So I don't see why this is such a big experiment.
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It's different on a plane. With a train, you're still on the ground at least and not breathing pressurized air. You might able to step out for a few moments at each stop along the way - or just get off entirely if the journey is too much. (I could see myself doing that more on Greyhound than Amtrak.)

If nothing else, you can always jump off the train like they do in the movies. Can't do that from a plane at 40,000 feet over the Pacific - even if they did issue parachutes.
 
Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Audie said:
Nonstop NYC to Hong Kong
Monday morning.

This is one time my small size is a big
advantage!
Click to expand...

You're going to Hong Kong on Monday? Well, good luck and be safe. It seems like there's a lot of turmoil going on there these days.
 
Estro Felino

Estro Felino

Believer in free will
Premium Member
If I don't get a window seat, I won't fly...
Flying without being able to watch Italy coast to coast...or the Alps from the window is not worth it:p:p:p
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
Stevicus said:
It's different on a plane. With a train, you're still on the ground at least and not breathing pressurized air. You might able to step out for a few moments at each stop along the way - or just get off entirely if the journey is too much. (I could see myself doing that more on Greyhound than Amtrak.)

If nothing else, you can always jump off the train like they do in the movies. Can't do that from a plane at 40,000 feet over the Pacific - even if they did issue parachutes.
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The planes are much bigger. They could have bigger seats and lounges, just like the trains do. I think the "experiment" is more about how much inconvenience the passenger can stand in the name of airline profits.
 
sun rise

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
I've been on long flights, 14+ hours, and it's been no fun. Given that the seats are getting smaller, that the rules about not hanging out standing get worse and so forth, a 20 hour flight seems like endless torture unless someone is wealthy enough to afford at least business class (or has work paying for it).
 
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