Fifty people flew 16,200 kilometers from New York to Sydney in a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The plane flew with maximum fuel and limited passenger and cargo loads to ensure it could go the distance.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Slim
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Australia's flagship airline Qantas completed the world's longest nonstop commercial flight on Sunday morning, flying from New York to Sydney in 19 hours and 16 minutes.
With 50 passengers and crew members on board, the test flight departed from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and flew 16,200 kilometers (over 10,066 miles), landing at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport.
For the flight, the airline repurposed a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with maximum fuel and limited passenger and baggage loads, as well as no cargo, to ensure the aircraft's uninterrupted flight.
"The purpose of the record-breaking flight is to conduct scientific research on passengers and crew on an ultra-long-haul flight, with the aim of increasing health and wellness, minimizing jetlag and identifying optimum crew rest and work periods," Qantas said.
The Qantas flight surpassed Singapore Airlines' longest nonstop commercial flight from Singapore to Newark, which takes 18.5 hours.
Forty passengers including Qantas executives, scientists, researchers and journalists were accompanied by 10 crew members aboard the nearly 20-hour flight. The four pilots on board also wore devices that tracked their brain waves and alertness.
The crew members took a number of measures to ensure passengers, who all flew business class, adjusted to the destination's time zone as quickly as possible. These steps included special exercises and stretches, stringently scheduling meals designed to wake passengers up, like prawns with chili and spicy cod, and instructions given to passengers to not fall asleep for at least six hours, wrote Angus Whitley, a Bloomberg journalist in his account of the flight.
Carbon emissions produced by the flight will be offset by measures to reduce greenhouse gases, Qantas said.
Two more test flights will be conducted before the end of the year in anticipation of the airline's planned launch of commercial flights connecting the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with London and New York by 2022.
Airline logos: Colorful, stark and striking
The large, often stylized logos on airplane tails allow you to immediately recognize the airline when you spot a plane. Many use birds in their designs, but all companies want to let you know where they are based.
Image: S. Barbour/Getty Images
Qantas
The plane tails of Australia's national airline Qantas are embellished with a stylized kangaroo, hence the nickname "the Flying Kangaroo!" Even from a far distance, it's easy to tell which continent the plane comes from. After all, kangaroos only exist in Australia. This animal has become a sort of national logo, appearing not only on planes but also on Australia's coat of arms and currency.
Image: S. Barbour/Getty Images
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
In contrast to its Australian counterpart, the logo of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is more factual. The abstract symbol of a crown in combination with the three letters KLM leaves no doubt as to which country this plane comes from. And that's what logos are all about.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/R. de Waal
Gambia Bird
The tiny West African state is a paradise for birds and their friends. More than 500 different kinds of birds live in the Gambia. Tourists don't even need to take birdwatching trips because many birds can be spotted in hotel gardens — they're just everywhere! Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Gambian national airline went for a bird as its logo when it was founded in 2012. Service ceased in 2014.
Image: flickr/Transport Pixels
Alaska Airlines
The Seattle-based airline has proved its creativity on several occasions during its 90-year-long history. The company was among the first airlines to sell tickets online and to offer online and automatic check-ins. Like its name, the logo of the airline refers to Alaska and its indigenous inhabitants, the Inuit.
Image: Reuters
Iran Air
A trade embargo and political tensions between 1980 and 2016 made it hard for Iran's state airline with headquarters at Tehran's Mehrabad airport to modernize its planes. But maybe the "homa," the mythological bird used in the logo, came to the rescue of the airline. According to Persian mythology, "homa" is believed to bring luck and joy while living its life entirely in the sky.
Image: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt
Air Tanzania
Over the years Tanzania's national airline has also had to face numerous challenges. Sometimes its fleet was in the air, sometimes not, and the airline's owners also frequently changed. It's certainly not the fault of the giraffe logo. The world's tallest animal looks so friendly and inviting on the plane;what passenger could say no to stepping onboard for a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro?
Image: flickr/stevesaviation
Takeoff into the future
A crane has served as the logo of Germany's largest airline since 1918. Some types of cranes cover enormous distances when they migrate, but others are considered pests due to their enormous appetites. Lufhansa is now flying into the future with a new logo design. The symbol will be the same, but the colors will change. Goodbye yellow and gray, hello simple white and blue!
