Long-haul flying can often feel like a serious endurance test. Even if you don’t suffer from travel sickness – and don’t mind the dodgy food – it’s a very, very long amount of time to be trapped in such a tiny space. But it’s all worth it when you end up somewhere new and exotic, right?
If you’re looking to head on an epic post-pandemic trip, we’ve got some good news. A new route between New York and Auckland, New Zealand, is soon to be launched – and it’ll be one of the longest regular, direct flights in the world. It will cover the nearly 9,000 miles (14,000km) between New York’s John F. Kennedy International and Auckland airports in a whopping 17 hours and 35 minutes.
The route will be operated by Air New Zealand, and the planes will be roomy Boeing 787 Dreamliners (featuring the usual range of economy and business-class seats). The flights will run on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, with the first set to take off on September 17 2022. The announcement of the new route has been timed as a kind of celebration that New Zealand will finally reopen its borders to international travellers over the coming months.
No doubt one of the big questions on everyone’s lips is: if this is only one of the longest flights in the world, which is the longest? Well, that title goes to a Singapore Airlines service between New York and Singapore, which clocks in at around 18 hours. Soon, however, Qantas’s so-called ‘Project Sunrise’ project looks set to smash that record with a 19-hour non-stopper between London and Sydney.
In any case, it’s just become a whole lot easier for New Yorkers and Aucklanders to hop from one city to another – if they’re willing to put aside nearly a day to make the journey. You can buy tickets and find out more on the Air New Zealand website.
Got five minutes to spare? Want to tell us what life is like in your city? Take the Time Out Index survey here.