Move over Emirates: you no longer operate the longest flight in the world. That distinction now belongs to … Air India? Yep, that’s right: India’s national carrier are now the kings of the long-haul flight.
And they didn’t even need to spend too long at all crafting a new itinerary to beat the big boys.
All they had to do was fly in the opposite direction, and BAMM: another 1400 kilometres was added to its route, beating Emirates by over 1000 kilometres.
The change was made on Air India’s Delhi to San Francisco route, which usually flies over the Atlantic to the USA. But from now on, the route will cross the Pacific instead.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
But get this guys: not only are they now flying much further than before, but they’re also getting to their destination much quicker – about two-hours quicker to be exact.
That’s because the airline is able to take advantage of the 138 km/h tailwinds of the Jet Stream.
“The Earth rotates from west to east, and winds flow in that direction too… Flying west means facing strong headwinds, that decrease an aircraft’s actual ground speed, and flying east means getting strong tailwinds, which do the opposite.”
A senior Air India official, speaking to the Times of India.
According to the official – and we’re just going to have to take his word for it, unless we’re closet aeronautical engineers – flying across the Atlantic means flying through headwinds of 24 km/h, making the aircraft’s speed around 776 km/h.
But by changing the direction of flight and setting off in the opposite direction, planes can fly with tailwinds of 138 km/h, making the aircraft’s ground speed around 938 km/h.
Nice work Air India! But you should definitely make the most of your time in the sun, as soon, your title of operating the world’s longest flight will be stripped off you like a band-aid by the those other giants of the skies, Singapore Airlines.
In 2018, Singapore Airlines will begin operating a non-stop flight to New York, a record-breaking service that will last over 19 hours and cover 16,500 kilometres on one of its Airbus A350s.