World's new longest commercial flight touches down in Auckland
The Auckland-bound leg of what is set to become the world's longest scheduled non-stop commercial flight touched down in Auckland this morning, after travelling for around 16 hours from Doha in Qatar.
But it's the return journey that is set to break records – at 14,535km, the Qatar Airways flight from Auckland back to Doha is set to record a regular approximate flight time of 17 hours and 30 minutes, give or take, depending on wind conditions.
The current record-holder is Emirates' Auckland to Dubai service, which takes around 17 hours and 15 minutes, and just pips Qantas' 17-hour, 14,498km route from Perth to London – which is set to take off in March 2018 – at the post.
In a Facebook live video of the inaugural flight's landing at Auckland airport this morning, an on-ground staff member said Qatar Airways would use the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on the daily service until A350 aircraft are available. The route was originally due to be introduced in December 2016, but was delayed due to late delivery of the A350 model.
The Auckland-to-Doha flight is designed to entice Kiwi travellers to European destinations like London or Amsterdam, where connecting services are available, and is one of 13 new routes announced by the airline.
"These new destinations are where our customers are where our customers want to go, and where we see the most opportunity to provide a best-in-class experience at great value," Qatar Airways' group CEO Akbar Baker said in a statement.
