The World's Longest And Shortest Airplane Flights
It's always nice to impress people with some useless knowledge, so here's a little morsel of info for when you're at your next dinner party: the airlines and routes that offer the world's longest and shortest flights.
Since the world records are best left to Guinness, we will just clue you into the facts.
Let's start with the longest, since 2013 will cause some interesting movement in that area. Currently, Singapore Airlines holds this title for the longest commercial flight on the planet. SG 12, flying the 9,505-mile journey from Changi International to Newark Liberty takes passengers across the world in about 18 1/2 hours, give or take some time depending on winds.
Singapore has announced that this year will sadly see the cessation of this route, handing over the crown to Qantas' flight from Sydney to Dallas. That 17-hour flight spans about 8,576 miles.
On the other end of the spectrum, there needs to be the shortest flight and that title goes to Loganair, a Scottish airline.
The entire journey between two Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray, can take as little as 47 seconds, depending on winds. The entire 1,750 yard flight costs just about $30 with no in-flight service. Obviously.
Since video documentation of the longest flights would be out of the question, here's a short video of the the Loganair flight from our buddy Seth Miller, of The Wandering Aramean: