Longest Non-Stop Flights in the World
Few people like flying. We’d say no one, but there’s always that one person that somehow loves their personal space being invaded, crappy food, and wondering if the plane is going to drop out of the sky every time they hit turbulence. If you can’t guess, we aren’t the type that loves boarding those big metal birds, but thankfully, most of our flights only take a few hours tops. Some of the longer ones aren’t too horrible, but we hate being on a plane for more than eight hours.
Granted, the quickest way to get to your destination is by booking a non-stop flight. The only thing that’s worse than a long trip is being stuck in an airport for 12 hours while waiting to get to your destination. Yeah, sure, it’s a lot cheaper that way, but you’re wasting a half a day in a place that you can’t sleep or do anything fun.
You do have the option to book a non-stop flight. They’re super expensive, but they get you to where you need to go without having to deal with a layover. We’re going to go over the longest non-stop flights all over the world. Honestly, these flights will make you begin to rethink the whole “layover” ridiculousness most of us have to deal with. Having a couple of hours to stretch your legs would be amazing.
What we’re saying is that if you’re boarding these flights, you should bring your chargers, headphones, and maybe a second book because it’s going to be an insanely long ride.
15. Vancouver, Canada to Melbourne, Australia
Distance: 8,192 miles
Flying Time: 16 hours
Airline: Air Canada
Flying back and forth between Vancouver and Melbourne will eat up a whopping 32 hours of your life. You could spend that by watching all of Sense8 (including the 2-hour finale special), as well as the entire Matrix trilogy (both created by the Wachowski siblings).
14. Toronto, Canada to Manila, Philippines
Distance: 8,221 miles
Flying Time: 16 hours
Airline: Philippine Airlines
To pass the 16 hours of flying time on this Philippine Airlines flight, you could watch the entire series of Stranger Things, as well as a 1980s movie (like E.T the Extra-Terrestrial) that inspired the TV show’s period setting.
13. Los Angeles to Doha, Qatar
Distance: 8,306 miles
Flying Time: 16.5 hours
Airline: Qatar Airways
In the time it takes to fly from L.A. to Doha, you could watch an entire season of Orange is the New Black (the best TV show about a prison), finish The Shawshank Redemption (the best film about a prison), and still have a couple hours left to contemplate your own steel cage in the sky.
12. Los Angeles to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Distance: 8,332 miles
Flying Time: 17 hours
Airline: Saudia
While only the 9th longest flight in the world by distance, the average flying time from L.A. to Jeddah places it among the most arduous for those who can’t sit still. This flight is so long that you could watch all five films in The Twilight Saga film series and still have 7 hours left of your flight to get a full night’s worth of sleep.
11. Los Angeles to Dubai, UAE
Distance: 8,339 miles
Flying Time: 16.5 hours
Airline: Emirates
When heading to Dubai from Los Angeles, you have just enough time to watch the first season of Mad Men, have a quick bathroom break, and finish your flight with the first season of Breaking Bad. Then you’re well on your way to completing two of the best TV shows of the past decade.
10. Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi, UAE
Distance: 8,390 miles
Flying Time: 16.5 hours
Airline: Etihad
Since you’ll be traveling to Abu Dhabi, why not channel the SATC girls since they visited the city during the second movie. Your 16.5-hour flight time will allow you to relive every episode of the final season as well as both films while still giving you an hour to spare.
9. Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa
Distance: 8,439 miles
Flying Time: 16.5 hours
Airline: Delta
As you fly from Atlanta to Johannesburg, you could listen to the entire first season of the podcast Serial…twice. Trust us; it’s just that good.
8. San Francisco to Singapore
Distance: 8,446 miles
Flying Time: 16.5 hours
Airline: Singapore Airlines & United Airlines
To pass the time on the flight from San Francisco to Singapore, you could watch the first season of drama House of Cards, follow it up with the first season of its comedic cousin Veep, and still have nearly an hour of your flight left to marvel at the ineptitudes of politicians.
7. Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney, Australia
Distance: 8,578 miles
Flying Time: 17 hours
Airline: Qantas
A round trip between Dallas and Sydney would take you a whopping 34 hours. That’s over a full day of simply sitting on an airplane. 34 hours also happens to be the length of A Song of Fire and Ice‘s audiobook. You’re welcome.
6. Houston to Sydney, Australia
Distance: 8,596 miles
Flying Time: 17.5 hours
Airline: United Airlines
The only problem with heading down under is that it takes a long time to get there—pretty much from anywhere on the planet. With an average flying time of about 17.5 hours between Houston and Sydney, you could watch seven of the eight Harry Potter films. Which one is your least favorite?
5. Los Angeles to Singapore
Distance: 8,770 miles
Flying Time: 17 hours
Airline: United
The flight time from L.A. to Singapore is just long enough to listen to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on audiobook in its entirety. Now you can finally cross something off your ever-growing list of books you want to read!
4. Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai, UAE
Distance: 8,825 miles
Flying Time: 17.5 hours
Airline: Emirates
This 35-hour round-trip flying time is enough to view all seven of Sean Connery’s films as James Bond (yes, including Never Say Never Again), Daniel Craig’s four turns at the same role, and all five films of the Mission: Impossible franchise (America’s answer to Mr. Bond). That will still leave you about two hours to process all the jet-setting you just watched.
3. Perth, Australia to London, United Kingdom
Distance: 9,010 miles
Flying Time: 17.5 hours
Airline: Qantas Airways
The newest addition to the longest flights list is the first to fly non-stop from Australia to England. The 1,050-minute average flying time is just 10 minutes shy of the length of seasons 6 and 7 of Game of Thrones combined. Start watching once you get settled in your seat, and the boarding/unboarding/taxiing process will be sure to eat up those 10 minutes. Now you’re all set for the final season.
2. Auckland, New Zealand to Doha, Qatar
Distance: 9,031 miles
Flying Time: 17.5 hours
Airline: Qatar Airways
The world’s longest flight is truly one behemoth. It’s also relatively new, beginning service in February 2017. Since you’re headed to New Zealand, why not spend some time watching their most famous export: their setting as Middle-Earth. Recline your seat back and watch all three Lord of the Rings films as well as all three Hobbit films, while still having a few minutes left in your flight to gaze out the window and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
1. Newark to Singapore
Distance: 9,534 miles
Flying Time: 18.5 hours
Airline: Singapore Airlines
The world’s longest flight is SO LONG that the plane doesn’t even have a basic economy class. The only seats offered are business-class arrangements and “premium economy.” That’s actually a good thing since the average flying time is 18.5 hours one way. That’s nearly a full day of just flying through the air! That’s long enough time to watch all of the Asian-inspired The Legend of Korra series in its entirety.
