The longest flight in the world

The longest nonstop flights in the world
at nearly 19 hours, Singapore Airlines'
Flights 21 and 22, have linked Singapore
and Newark, New Jersey, since 2004.
The route -- which is flown by Airbus
A340s -- is scheduled to be canceled in
November. Analysts blame the move on
low profitability.


(CNN) -- Climbers conquer Everest. Runners complete
the marathon. And globe-trotters master the
ultralonghaul flight.
Amazing advances in technology now let nonstop flights
fly farther and cheaper for airlines than ever before.
Many follow routes that take them near the North Pole
as they whip over the top of the globe to the other side
of the world.
But these giant intercontinental leaps present their own
challenges: How do passengers and pilots deal with
annoying and potentially dangerous fatigue that comes
with marathon air travel? How do twin-engine planes
figure into the future of longhauls?
Let's start with the king of nonstop flights: Singapore
Airlines Flights 21 and 22 between Singapore and
Newark, New Jersey. The route is the longest both in
distance -- about 9,500 miles -- and in time -- about 19
hours.
Business traveler Charles Yap is a big fan
of this route because it avoids a
connection in Germany, which he says
saves six hours. All 100 seats aboard the
flight are business class. Add hundreds of
in-flight movie choices, and longhaul
travel isn't so bad for this Discovery
Channel executive.
"If you're stuck on a flight, you might as
well enjoy it," says Yap, 39.
His long-distance travel tips for surviving
19 hours aloft: "Walk around. Explore the
cabin. Don't force yourself to sleep."
Ah yesssssssss, ssssssssslumber.
Conversations with ultralonghaulers inevitably will turn
to the subject of sleep. Specifically, avoiding jet lag.
"You should try on the day before to get on the same
clock as your destination," advises Chris Uriarte , 36, an
American Express exec who's flown the route about a
dozen times.
"For long west-to-east flights -- a day or two before you
leave, start moving your bedtime earlier in the evening.
For long east-to-west flights, try to delay sleep until late
at night. Planning ahead makes you a lot more
productive when you hit the ground." Uriarte should
know. He logs more than 200,000 flight miles a year.
Your seating position on the plane is "absolutely key,"
to a good longhaul, Uriarte says. Singapore uses Airbus
A340s with a spacious 1-2-1 seating configuration. The
back two rows are even better with 1-1-1 seating.
In general, Uriarte recommends aisle seats in the center
section. Sleeping is easier when "there's no one
climbing over you," he says.
Seats behind the plane's four wing-mounted engines
will be louder, but some travelers enjoy being lulled to
sleep by the jet noise.
'Dr. Sleepgood'
Sleep is Curt Graeber's business.
During his 19 years as Boeing's chief engineer for
human factors, pilots nicknamed Graeber "Dr.
Sleepgood" because he helped them manage fatigue on
longhaul flights. "Buy a seat that has a bed, and you're
fine," Graeber says with a chuckle. (The price tag --
often thousands of dollars -- is the real challenge.)
Sleeping in a coach seat is no easy feat, Graeber
acknowledges.
Try to sleep at the time when your body is asleep, he
says, although "that's not always possible." And avoid
eating a heavy meal.
For the traveler, avoiding exhaustion is nice if you can
swing it. For pilots, it's critical.
Graeber ran a 1989 NASA/Federal Aviation
Administration study that recommended allowing U.S.
pilots to catnap in the cockpit -- but only under
supervision of another pilot. Cockpit napping is allowed
for pilots in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
and elsewhere. It's been accepted by the International
Civil Aviation Organization.
The FAA won't allow it. "Longhaul flights require relief
crews," the FAA said in a written statement to CNN.
"Rest is provided outside the cockpit. The FAA does not
permit napping in the cockpit on U.S. air carriers."
The FAA's rejection of cockpit napping "doesn't makes
any sense," Graeber says. "Everyone I talk to who uses
it says it's an important stopgap measure to improve
safety and reduce sleep loss."
Related: UK probes whether pilots fell asleep
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said
they were concerned that pilot fatigue was a factor in
July's deadly crash landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 ,
a Boeing 777 which caught fire on a San Francisco
runway after a 10-hour flight from South Korea. The
NTSB has not yet issued a final report on the reasons
behind the crash.
International longhaul pilot Justin Schlechter says he's
seen the effects of flight fatigue firsthand. "It's tough,"
Schlechter admits. "It affects your reasoning
surrounding your flying and the speed that your brain
processes information."
Schlechter predicts that the FAA eventually will reverse
itself and allow cockpit catnaps. "The international
standard allows it," he says. "I think it's safer to take a
controlled catnap. I'm in favor of it."
Here's what U.S. longhaul pilots are allowed to do to
manage fatigue:
Typically, during a 14-hour flight, the captain and first
officer will fly the first three hours. Then, they hand off
the plane to a second crew and get some rest in a
special compartment -- or in reserved seats in the
passenger cabin.
During the cruise portion of the longhaul, pilots use
various methods to keep sharp, such as checking fuel
consumption and navigation, adjusting the ventilation,
turning up cockpit lighting and engaging in energetic
discussions with the other pilot.
Every three hours, the two crews will switch off
command of the cockpit until about 90 minutes before
landing, when the captain and first officer will land the
aircraft.
Twin-engine longhaulers
So, those are some of the ultralonghaul challenges for
humans. As for the machines -- they have their own
hurdles.
Obviously over vast oceans it's critically important for
airliner engines to be reliable and powerful. But hey, it's
a business, so the engines also have to be efficient
enough to keep airline fuel costs low.
Decades ago, that meant ultralonghaulers were likely
four-engine planes, like the 747. In the unlikely event
that an engine failed, the other three engines could
power the plane the rest of the trip, no problem.
The downside: Four engines guzzle a lot of fuel.
"Now, engines are way more reliable," says travel
expert and former airline manager Brett Snyder of
CrankyFlier.com . They're also more powerful and fuel-
saving.
That's why Boeing's twin-engine 777 Worldliner flies so
many of the world's longest nonstop routes.
In the coming years look for newer wide-bodies to fly
more longhaul routes, like Boeing's twin-engine 787
Dreamliner and the twin-engine Airbus A350 XWB. Both
aircraft are made with superlightweight materials which
also cut down on fuel costs.
Already, United Airlines has announced its Dreamliners
will begin 14-hour nonstop service from San Francisco
to Chengdu, China. British Airways plans to use the
plane for a 10-hour nonstop from Austin, Texas, to
London.
The FAA requires twin-engine planes to fly within close
reach of a safe landing spot, in case of engine trouble.
Some travelers seem intrigued by the idea that an
airliner can fly in a straight line with only one engine.
"Wouldn't the thrust from the engine be unbalanced
and make the plane fly in circles?" they ask.
If a 777 lost one of its two engines, the plane has a
computer that automatically adjusts the aircraft's
controls to compensate for unbalanced thrust. Pilots
flying other airliners may have to manually adjust the
plane to compensate.
How reliable are those engines?
"We've never seen an issue where a twin-engine plane
has lost one engine during a transoceanic flight and
can't make it somewhere with the other engine," says
Snyder. "And engines almost never fail. With high
reliability, airlines are free to look at economics and
say, 'Why would we have aircraft with four engines
when we can have one that performs the same mission
with two and save us money?'"
What killed the longest flight in the world?
In fact, money is exactly what's being blamed for killing
the longest flight in the world.
That's right -- after nine years of service, Singapore
Airlines Flights 21 and 22 are scheduled for
cancellation .
Snyder and most other experts suspect the airline got
tired of dealing with poor profit margins on the fuel-
guzzling four-engine Airbus A340. "They do use a ton of
fuel, and that's always painful," says Snyder. "But the
schedule advantage isn't that great either when you fly
so far."
Also, the world's second-longest nonstop -- a Singapore
Airlines 18-hour flight between Singapore and LAX -- is
scheduled to be canceled this month.
That will leave Qantas Flight 7, a Boeing
747 from Sydney to Dallas, atop the list of
world's longest nonstops by distance, at
8,600 miles. The longest nonstop by time
will be Delta's Flight 201 -- a 777 from
Atlanta to Johannesburg which clocks in
at about 17 hours.
Fans of the Singapore-Newark flight say
they'll miss its spacious seats and well-
trained flight attendants.
On a Singapore passenger website, commenter Buster
CT1K -- tongue firmly in cheek -- called the airline's
decision to cancel the flight a "very sad day in the
history of aerospace and aviation. First, man stops
going to the moon. Then the space shuttle stops flying.
Then Concorde stops flying. And now this. I will miss
the Newark-Singapore nonstop very much."
The way Amex exec Uriarte sees it, for now, the airline
industry appears to have pushed the longhaul envelope
to the maximum.
"That's about as long as we're going to get," he says.
"The days of the 19-hour flight are over."