Flying long haul these days in Economy class can be painful even though you may get the best in-flight entertainment and service on board.
Singapore Airlines used to fly the longest direct flights from Singapore to Newark, USA but canned this route while keeping its Singapore – Frankfurt – New York (JFK) route. Today, the longest flight originating from Singapore is on Singapore Airline’s flight between Singapore and London with a flight duration of 13 hours and 25 minutes.
KAYAK.sg has ranked the 12 longest non-stop longest direct flights originating from Asia Pacific and Europe with some travel hacks to help you ease your journey in these long non-stop flights.
Long-Haul Non-stop Flights departing Europe and Asia Pacific* |
|||||
Ranking |
Country of departure |
Airline |
Route |
Distance |
Flight Time |
1 |
Hong Kong |
Hong Kong (HKG) – New York (JFK) |
12980 km |
15hrs 50mins |
|
2 |
Australia |
Sydney (SYD) – Dallas (DFW) |
13810 km |
15hrs 35mins |
|
3 |
France |
Paris (CDG) – Santiago (SCL) |
11680 km |
14hrs 40mins |
|
4 |
Germany |
Frankfurt (FRA) – Buenos Aires (EZE) |
11510 km |
14hrs |
|
5 |
Italy |
Rome (FCO) – Buenos Aires (EZE) |
11160 km |
13hrs 55mins |
|
6 |
United Kingdom |
London (LHR) – Buenos Aires (EZE) |
11140 km |
13hrs 45mins |
|
7 |
Spain |
Madrid (MAD) – Santiago (SCL) |
10720 km |
13hrs 30mins |
|
8 |
Singapore |
Singapore (SIN) – London (LHR) |
10880 km |
13hrs 25mins |
|
9 |
Russia |
Moscow (SVO) – Los Angeles (LAX) |
9760 km |
12hrs 20mins |
|
10 |
Austria |
Vienna (VIE) – Taipei (TPE) |
8980 km |
12hrs 10mins |
|
11 |
Switzerland |
Zurich (ZHR) – Singapore (SIN) |
10310 km |
12hrs 10mins |
|
12 |
Poland |
Warsaw (WAW) – Chicago (ORD) |
7520 km |
9hrs 40mins |
- * Routes might be operated by several airlines under code share but have not been considered here. Indicated distances and flight times are subject to change.
Travel Hacks to Beat the Altitude Blues
- Pick your time of travel to suit your body clock – If you can’t really sleep on planes, avoid red eye flights. Book a day flight so that you can sleep when you arrive at your destination and avoid a sleepless night. Personally I prefer to fly during the day for the shorter haul flights with Asia Pacific for flights less than seven hours.
- Pick your seat in advance – You can either do this online and if not, check in early to get your preferred seat. I always prefer to sit in the middle aisle in a two aisle cabin aircraft (such as the A380, B777, B787 aircraft) or if the side aisles when there are only two seats. I usually avoid the seats close to the toilets as well because I won’t be able to get a restful sleep from the disruption of people heading to the loo….. unless, it is a bulkhead seat with lots of leg room.
- Pack your travel essentials – Dress comfortably and layer so you can add or remove extra garments depending on the temperature in the cabin. I’ll usually bring my own eye mask, ear plugs or just my own ear phones. I will definitely bring along in travel pouch that contains Neal’s Yard Remedies To Roll (A lavender pure essential oil roll on in case of smelly travellers in the vicinity), AESOP Resurrection Rinse-Free Hand Wash, AESOP Immediate Moisture Facial Hydrosol, Mints and tissue paper. If the airline provides tooth brush, I wouldn’t bring one along.
- Kill time on board – Bring your own entertainment if the airline you fly on has limited inflight movie selection. I bring along my relaxation music saved in my mobile device from Spotify Premium. Time passes much faster this way.
- Avoid looking at the time – Looking at the time makes me nervous. Counting down to arrival can be excruciatingly torturing.