If current schedule filings are to be believed, SkyTeam member Xiamen Air will soon be operating the world’s longest duration flight. However, I suspect there’s more to this story…
As it currently stands, the flight from Fuzhou to New York is blocked at 14hr55min, while the flight from New York to Fuzhou is blocked at 16hr25min. At 7,770 miles, that’s roughly what you’d expect the block time to be, especially with this flight avoiding Russian airspace.
But here’s where it gets interesting — as of the start of the IATA winter season (in late October), the block time for the New York to Fuzhou flight increases drastically, to a staggering 19hr20min. The flight still shows as operating nonstop.
Yes, the jet stream is typically stronger in winter, making flights either faster or slower, depending on the direction they’re moving. But that doesn’t explain a three hour increase in the block time from one day to the next.
So I would guess what’s going on here is a combination of two factors. First, it seems likely that Xiamen Air is adding a refueling stop somewhere along the way, and just hasn’t updated its schedule correctly to reflect that.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
