Qantas completed the world’s longest commercial flight over the weekend.
The non-stop journey from New York City to Sydney landed Sunday, after 19 hours and 16 minutes in the air.
Forty-nine passengers and crew served as human guinea pigs, participating in experiments to assess their health and well-being.
Tests ranged from monitoring pilot brain waves, melatonin levels, and alertness to exercise classes for passengers. Cabin lighting and in-flight meals were also adjusted to reduce jetlag.
“This is a really significant first for aviation,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement. “Hopefully, it’s a preview of a regular service that will speed up how people travel from one side of the globe to the other.
Exercise classes keep passengers and crew members limber and alert (via James D. Morgan/Qantas)
“We know ultra-long-haul flights pose some extra challenges, but that’s been true every time technology has allowed us to fly further,” he continued. “The research we’re doing should give us better strategies for improving comfort and wellbeing along the way.”
Qantas night flights typically start with dinner and lights off, reflecting external conditions and keeping time with passengers’ body clock.
But this time, cabin crew kicked off with lunch, then left the lights on for the first six hours, matching the time of day at their final destination—Sydney, Australia.
“It means you start reducing the jetlag straight away,” Joyce explained.
Data from the trial will be used to help shape future crew rostering and customer service of Qantas’ ultra-long-haul flights, including Project Sunrise.
At least the meals look good (via James D. Morgan/Qantas)
“What’s already clear is how much time you can save,” according to Joyce.
Qantas’ regular one-stop New York-to-Sydney service (QF12) took off three hours before the direct flight, but arrived “a few minutes” after it.
“Meaning we saved a significant amount of total travel time by not having to stop,” Joyce added.
The flight, according to lead pilot Captain Sean Golding, went “really smoothly.”
“Given how long we were airborne, we were able to keep optimizing the flight path to make the best of the conditions,” he said. “Overall, we’re really happy with how the flight went and it’s great to have some of the data we need to help assess turning this into a regular service.”
Two more research flights are planned as part of Project Sunrise—London to Sydney in November and a second New York-to-Sydney in December. Emissions from all research flights will be fully offset, Qantas promised.
A decision about Project Sunrise is expected by the end of this year.
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