The longest non-stop passenger flight touched down in Australia Sunday morning after more than 19 hours in the air, a milestone journey from New York that Qantas hopes to parlay into commercial success, Bangkok Post reported.
Qantas flight QF7879 took 19 hours and 16 minutes to fly direct from New York to Sydney in the first of three “ultra long-haul” journeys planned by the airline this year. The said airline is Australia’s national flag carrier.
Just 49 people travelled on the Boeing 787-9 to minimise the weight on board and give the plane sufficient fuel range to travel more than 16,000 kilometres without re-fuelling, the report added.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce called it “a really historic moment” for both the airline and world aviation.
Read more at Bangkok Post.
Photo: Skytrax