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Longest non-stop passenger flight arrives in Sydney
SYDNEY, Oct 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The longest non-stop passenger flight
touched down in Australia Sunday morning after more than 19 hours in the air,
a milestone journey from New York that Qantas hopes to parlay into commercial
success.
Qantas flight QF7879 took 19 hours and 16 minutes to fly direct from New
York to Sydney in the first of three “ultra long-haul” journeys planned by
the airline this year.
The national flag carrier is operating the test flights — which also
include one from London to Sydney — as it weighs a rollout of regular
services on marathon routes from the United States and Britain to Australia.
Just 49 people travelled on the Boeing 787-9 to minimise the weight on
board and give the plane sufficient fuel range to travel more than 16,000
kilometres (9,500 miles) without re-fuelling.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce called it “a really historic moment” for both the
airline and world aviation.
“This is the first of three test flights that’s going to come up with
recommendations about how we manage pilot fatigue (and) how we actually
manage passenger jetlag,” he told reporters after arriving in Sydney.
“After 19 hours on this flight, I think we’ve gotten this right. It feels
like we’ve been on a flight a lot shorter than that.”
Qantas partnered with two Australian universities to monitor how jetlag
affected the health of passengers and crew members as they crossed multiple
time zones.
After boarding the flight, passengers set their watches to Sydney time and
were kept awake until night fell in eastern Australia with lighting,
exercise, caffeine and a spicy meal.
Six hours later, they were served a high-carbohydrate meal, told to avoid
screens, and the lights were dimmed to encourage them to sleep through the
night.
Professor Marie Carroll, a researcher from Sydney University who conducted
the experiment, told AFP that she expected the innovative approach would
result in “absolutely minimal” jetlag.
“I expect that they will have a normal day today and a normal night’s
sleep tonight,” she said, adding that she felt “amazingly good” considering
the flight time.
“It’s all an experiment to see if airlines can adjust their schedule of
food, beverages, exercise and lighting to be in sync with the destination
time.”
The four pilots on board — who rotated between flying duties — also wore
devices that tracked their brain waves and alertness.
The Australian and International Pilots Association, which represents
Qantas pilots, has raised concerns about whether pilots will get enough
quality rest during ultra long-range flights to maintain peak performance.
It has called for a “scientific long-term study” into the impacts on
crews.
The airline says the test journeys are just one facet of the work it is
doing to ensure the flights are operated safely. Qantas last year introduced
the first direct service from the western Australian city of Perth to London,
with the 17-hour journey one of the longest passenger flights in the world.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0839 hrs