Chinese airline launches 29-hour ‘direct flight’ – but there’s a catch

China Eastern Airlines has begun promoting tickets for its new route connecting Shanghai and Buenos Aires, in what the service touts as the “world’s longest direct flight.”

The flight departing from Shanghai’s Pudong Interntional Airport (PVG) is scheduled to take about 25.5 hours to attain the Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) in the Argentine capital, while the return flight is scheduled to take a whopping 29 hours, according to the Shanghai-based service.

But there’s a caveat: both legs embrace a two-hour stop in Auckland, New Zealand, during which passengers can step off the plane for a break, so while it’s “direct,” it’s not nonstop.

Various carriers have tried to declare “longest” titles as their half of their advertising and marketing campaigns – but most consultants agree the top prize belongs to Singapore Airlines.

The airline’s nonstop flight between Singapore Changi and New York JFK covers a distance of 15,349 kilometers (9,537 miles) over more than 18 hours, a feat of endurance GWN’s Richard Quest tried in October 2018.

China Eastern Airlines said its flight goes to be “the world’s first commercial route connecting antipodal cities” – cities situated at reverse sides of the earth.

The airline opts for an uncommon southerly flight path, across some of the world’s most distant waters and close to Antarctica, a selection that China Eastern says will help shave at least 4 hours off the entire journey.

The route, flown on a wide-body Boeing 777-300, will operate twice weekly, beginning from December 4, according to the state-owned airline.

“The Shanghai Pudong-Auckland-Buenos Aires route is seen as an important measure to build a new ‘Air Silk Road’ channel between Asia-Pacific and South America,” the airline added.

According to reserving website Skyscanner, the quickest flight from Shanghai to Buenos Aires, provided by Air France and Lufthansa, takes practically 31 hours, with a layover either in Paris or Amsterdam.

But the hole closes for the return journey, with other carriers offering flight choices with durations ranging from a little more than 28 hours to 33 hours.

The Chinese airline has lots of competitors when it comes to the declare of “the world’s longest flight” – though for many air vacationers, the less time spent in the air the better.

Australia’s flagship service Qantas is working on a plan identified as “Project Sunrise,” aimed at developing plane more conducive to fliers’ resting patterns during ultra-long flights.

The airline’s pursuing a longstanding aim of flying nonstop from Sydney to London (cities about 10,000 miles aside).

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