The longest nonstop flights in the world at nearly 19 hours, Singapore Airlines' Flights 21 and 22, have linked Singapore and Newark, New Jersey, since 2004. The route -- which is flown by Airbus A340s -- is scheduled to be canceled in November. Analysts blame the move on low profitability.
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Flight 'SQ 21' —
Veteran passengers of the route say they'll miss the flight's generously spacious all-business-class seating configuration, with two seats in the center and single seats on each side of the cabin. A full flight seats about 100 passengers.
Courtesy Chris Uriarte
The seat —
Aboard the flight you'll find 100 flat bed seats measuring 30 inches wide with a pitch of 64 inches, according to SeatGuru.com. Each seat includes access to Singapore Airlines' KrisWorld entertainment system, which boasts more than 700 audio CDs and 22 audio programs.
Courtesy Charles Yap
Meals —
The flight serves breakfast, "light bites" and dinner. Passengers are offered an option of preselecting their meals before boarding. "The meals are paced well," says passenger Charles Yap.
Courtesy Charles Yap
The record holder: Boeing's 777 Worldliner —
In 2005, Boeing set the world distance record for a nonstop commercial airline flight. Its twin-engine 777-200LR Worldliner flew 13,423 miles from Hong Kong eastbound to London in 22 hours, 22 minutes. The plane took an unusually long route by turning toward Midway Island in the Pacific, then cruising over Los Angeles, New York, the Atlantic and finally to London's Heathrow Airport.
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'Part of history' —
The flight took off with 35 passengers, pilots, engineers, journalists and 360,732 pounds of fuel, the Seattle Times reported. Those on board passed the time by eating, watching movies and performing stretching exercises. "No one had time to sleep," journalist/passenger James Wallace told Boeing. "(And) you didn't want to because you were being part of history and you were afraid you were going to miss something."
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The largest and most powerful airline engine —
The Boeing 777's General Electric GE90 is touted by Guinness as the world's largest, most powerful commercial airline engine. It's so huge that its diameter is about the size of the fuselage of a Boeing 737, according to GE. Theoretically, you could fit the body of a 737 inside a GE90 engine -- kind of like a jet-fueled pig-in-a-blanket.
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The commander —
The flight's record-setting captain, Suzanna Darcy-Henneman, said the aircraft performed perfectly. The flight was so long that passengers enjoyed two sunrises along the way. "Most of us got into the flight deck to try to see the sunrise at some point during the flight," she told Boeing. "They were both gorgeous."
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Future ultra-longhauls —
The new fuel-saving twin-engine Boeing 787 Dreamliner opens the door for United Airlines to launch a cost-efficient ultralonghaul nonstop from San Francisco to Chengdu, China, beginning in June 2014, Forbes reports. The 14-hour flight will be Chengdu's first ever nonstop to the United States.
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Airbus A350 XWB —
The new Airbus A350 XWB is expected to compete with other long-range twin-engine wide-body airliners like the Boeing 777 Worldliner and the 787 Dreamliner.
