The World's Longest Nonstop Commercial Flights

Long-haul flights can be extremely difficult. Expensive, stressful, and downright tiring, it's even harder when you have to survive a layover. To minimize stress and the amount of logistics you have to keep in mind, direct flights are often best when you're booking your tickets. As air travel progresses and technology improves, more and more airlines are adding direct flights that go further and further. Today, you'd be surprised just how far some of the world's longest flights can take you.

In the past decade or so, multiple top airlines have added direct flights that are 16 or more hours long. Just this year, a few more flights have been announced that take on impressive distances of over 13,500 miles. While that definitely means you want to brush up on your in-flight stretches and download all your best movies to keep yourself occupied, it's also cutting time for travelers by taking out the hassle of layovers. Covering distances as far as Auckland to Dubai or New York to Singapore, these are the world's ten longest nonstop commercial flights.

Since June of 2009, Delta Air Lines has been offering a route from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Atlanta, Georgia, that takes only about 16 to 17 hours. Covering a distance of approximately 13,580 kilometers (about 8,440 miles) the flight will take off from O.R. Tambo International Airport just outside Johannesburg and land in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport right outside the coolest city in Georgia.

One of the top 10 longest nonstop routes is offered by both United Airlines and Singapore Airlines, which added it to their roster in June and October of 2016, respectively. It'll take you between 16.5 and 17.5 hours to fly from San Francisco to Singapore, a distance of about 13,600 kilometers, or 8,450 miles.

One of the worst airports in the world, Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport just may help its standing once Philippine Airlines launches a new nonstop flight from there to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 18, 2018. The flight is scheduled to cover approximately 13,700 kilometers (8,500 miles) in about 17 hours and 10 minutes to 17 hours and 30 minutes.

Fly straight from cowboys to kangaroos and one of the best cities in the world to spend a weekend with a straight route between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport that takes around 17 hours. The Qantas flight, which has been in service since September 2014, covers a distance of approximately 13,800 kilometers, or 8,570 miles.

Texans can also fly to Sydney out of Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, one of the most expensive airports in America, after United Airlines launched a flight in January that flies nonstop for about 17 hours and 30 minutes. The flight covers about 13,830 kilometers, or approximately 8,590 miles.

The longest nonstop commercial flight with an American airline is United Airline's route between Los Angeles and Singapore. Launched on October 27, 2017, the flight covers approximately 14,100 kilometers (about 8,760 miles) over 17 to 18 hours.

In November of 2018, Singapore Airlines, one of the world's best airlines, will be launching its own route to Los Angeles, tying itself for fifth place with the United Airlines flight covering the same distance (but based in the other direction). The airline plans on launching another flight which covers this route the next month, giving people in the two areas plenty of options for a great vacation across the Pacific.

Flying with Emirates, travelers can book a nonstop trip between Auckland and Dubai, two of the most exciting travel destinations, that covers about 14,200 kilometers (8,800 miles) in distance. The flight takes approximately 17 hours and 5 minutes to 17 hours and 20 minutes and was launched in March 2016.

Since March, Qantas Airways has provided service between Perth Airport and Heathrow Airport, a flight that takes about 17 hours and 20 minutes. The flight covers a distance of about 14,500 miles or just a little over 9,000 miles.

The world's best airline offers the current longest nonstop commercial flight (soon to become the second longest), covering a distance of about 14,530 kilometers, or approximately 9,030 miles. The flight, which was launched in February 2017, has a duration that tends to be between 17 hours and 40 minutes and 18 hours and 20 minutes.

A new route between Singapore and New York is set to become the longest nonstop commercial flight in the world this fall. Singapore Airlines announced in a press release in May that the airline will be relaunching nonstop journeys to Newark Liberty International Airport in October 2018 using the new Airbus A350-900ULR, an ultra-long-range aircraft. Covering a whopping 16,700 kilometers, or approximately 10,400 miles, the flight will take about 18 hours and 45 minutes, but passengers should be in good hands considering Singapore Airlines is one of the best airlines for long-haul flights.