Wikipedia

Flight length

(Redirected fromLong-haul flight)
"Long Haul" redirects here. For other uses, seeThe Long Haul.

Inaviation,theflight lengthorflight distancerefers to the distance of a flight. Aircraft do not necessarily follow thegreat-circle distance,but may opt for a longer route due to weather, traffic, to utilise ajet stream,or to refuel.

Commercial flights are often categorized into long-, medium- or short-haul bycommercial airlinesbased on flight length, although there is no international standard definition.

The related termflight timeis defined byICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)as "The total time from the moment an aeroplane first moves for the purpose of taking off until the moment it finally comes to rest at the end of the flight", and is referred to colloquially as "blocks to blocks" or "chocksto chocks "time.[1]In commercial aviation, this means the time from pushing back at the departuregateto arriving at the destination gate.[2]Flight time is measured in hours and minutes as it is independent of geographic distance travelled. Flight time can be affected by many things such as wind, traffic, taxiing time, and aircraft used.[3]

Short-haul and long-haul

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A flight's length can also be described using the aviation term of "Flight Haul Type", such as "short-haul" or "long-haul". Flight haul types can be defined using either flight distance or flight time.[4]

Time-based definitions

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Flight haul type definitions
Short-haul Medium-haul Long-haul Ultra-long-haul
ICAO[5][6] < 8 hours 8–16 hours > 16 hours
IATA[4][7][8][9] < 3 hours 3–6 hours 6–16 hours > 16 hours
CAPA[10] < 6 hours 6–16 hours > 16 hours

Distance-based definitions

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Lufthansa considers theEmbraer E-190a short-haul airliner.
Lufthansa considers theAirbus A320 familya medium-haul airliner.
Lufthansa defines theBoeing 747-8as a long-haul airliner.

David W. Wraggclassifies air services as medium-haul being between 1,600–4,000 km; 900–2,200 nmi; short-haul as being shorter and long-haul as being longer.[11] David Crockerdefines short-haul flights as shorter than 1,000 km (540 nmi),[12]: 208 and long-haul as the opposite.[12]: 140 

Asia & Australia

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  • Hong Kong International Airportconsiders destinations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Southwest Pacific and the Indian Subcontinent long-haul and all others are short-haul.[13]
  • Japan Air Linesdefines routes to Europe and North America as long-haul and all other flights as short-haul.[14]
  • Qatar Airwaysdefines all flights from Qatar to the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand as Ultra-long-haul, and all other flights as medium or long-haul.[15]
  • Virgin Australiadefines domestic flights as within Australia, short-haul as those to South East Asia/Pacific and long-haul as those to Abu Dhabi or Los Angeles.[16]

Europe

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  • TheEuropean Uniondefines any passenger flight between city pairs separated by a great circle distance between 1,500 and 3,500 km (800 and 1,900 nmi) to be medium-haul, below as short-haul, and above as long-haul routes.[17]
  • Eurocontroldefines "very short-haul" flights as being less than 500 km (270 nmi), short-haul flights being between 500 and 1,500 km, medium-haul flights being between 1,500 and 4,000 km (800 and 2,200 nmi), and long-haul flights as longer than that.[18]
  • TheAssociation of European Airlinesdefined Long-haul as flights to Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australasia and medium-haul as flights to North Africa and Middle East.[19]
  • The now defunct airlineAir Berlindefined short- and medium-haul as flights to Europe/North Africa and long-haul as those to the rest of the world.[20]
  • Air Francedefines short-haul as domestic, medium-haul as within Europe/North Africa and long haul as the rest of the world.[21]

North America

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  • American Airlinesdefines short-/medium-haul flights as being less than 3,000 mi (2,600 nmi; 4,800 km) and long-haul as either being more than 3000 miles or being the New York–Los Angeles and New York–San Francisco routes.[22]
  • United Airlinesdefines short-haul flights as being less than 700 mi (600 nmi; 1,100 km)[23]and long-haul flights as being greater than 3,000 mi (2,600 nmi; 4,800 km).[24]

Aircraft-based definitions

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Flight Haul Type terms are sometimes used when referring to commercial aircraft. Some commercial carriers choose to refer to their aircraft using flight haul type terms, for example:

While they are capable of flying further, long-haul capable wide-bodies are often used on shorter trips. In 2017 - 40% of A350 routes were shorter than 2,000 nmi (2,300 mi; 3,700 km), 50% of A380 flights fell within 2,000–4,000 nmi (2,300–4,600 mi; 3,700–7,400 km), 70% of 777-200ER routes were shorter than 4,000 nmi (4,600 mi; 7,400 km), 80% of 787-9s routes were shorter than 5,000 nmi (5,800 mi; 9,300 km), 70% of 777-200LRs flights were shorter than 6,000 nmi (6,900 mi; 11,000 km).[28]

Superlative flights

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See also:Flight distance record

Shortest commercial flight

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TheWestray to Papa Westray flightinOrkney,operated byLoganair,is the shortest commercial flight in the world, covering 2.8 km (1.7 mi) in two minutes scheduled flight time including taxiing.

Longest commercial flight

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Main article:Longest flights

The world's longest ever commercial flight wasAir Tahiti NuiFlight TN64[29][30]in early 2020. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemicand the impossibility of transit in the United States throughLos Angeles International Airport,Air Tahiti Nuischeduled and operated in March and April 2020 Flight TN64 as a non-stop flight betweenPapeeteandParis-Charles de Gaulle,using aBoeing 787-9and covering 15,715 km (9,765 mi; 8,485 nmi).[31][32][33]in a scheduled time of 16 hours and 20 minutes.[34][35]As of 2023,it continues to hold the record for the longest ever scheduled commercial nonstop flight (by great circle distance) as well asthe world's longest domestic flight.[36][37][38][39]

As of November 9, 2020,Singapore Airlines Flights 23 and 24is the world's longest active commercial flight betweenSingaporeandNew York–JFK,covering 15,349 km (9,537 mi; 8,288 nmi) in around 18 hours and 40 minutes, operated by anAirbus A350-900ULR.[40]

Distinctions

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Great-circle distance versus flight length

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Airline routes betweenSan FranciscoandTokyofollowing the most direct great circle (top) westward, and following a longer-distance jet stream route (bottom) when heading eastward

The shortest distance between two geographical points is thegreat-circle distance.In the example (right), the aircraft travelling westward from North America to Japan is following a great-circle route extending northward towards theArcticregion. The apparent curve of the route is a result of distortion when plotted onto a conventional map projection and makes the route appear to be longer than it really is. Stretching a string between North America and Japan on a globe will demonstrate why this really is the shortest route despite appearances.

The actual flight length is the length of the track flown across the ground in practice, which is usually longer than the ideal great-circle and is influenced by a number of factors such as the need to avoid bad weather, wind direction and speed, fuel economy, navigational restrictions and other requirements. In the example, easterly flights from Japan to North America are shown taking a longer, more southerly, route than the shorter great-circle; this is to take advantage of the favourablejet stream,a fast high-altitude tail-wind that assists the aircraft along its ground track saving more time or fuel than the geographically shortest route.

Flight distance versus flight duration

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Even for flights with the same origin and destination, a flight's duration can be affected by routing, wind, traffic, taxiing time, or aircraft used.

For example, on theLuxembourgtoBucharestroute operated byLuxair,the scheduled flight length remains constant while the flight duration varies depending on aircraft used. On Thursday mornings, Luxair operates aDHC-8turboprop with a scheduled duration of approximately 3 hours,[41][42]while on Saturday mornings, Luxair's use of anEmbraer 190jet reduces the scheduled duration of the flight down to approximately 2 hours 20 minutes.[41][43]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"ICAO ADREP 2000 Taxonomy"(PDF).
  2. ^"What is" Block Time "in Airline Schedules? Why Does it Matter?".Cirium.Retrieved2021-07-15.
  3. ^"Your Random Flight Arrival Time Isn't So Random After All".Condé Nast Traveler.2017-08-18.
  4. ^ab"FHT Flight haul type".guides.developer.iata.org.Retrieved2023-04-25.
  5. ^"Fatigue Management Guide for Airline Operators, Second Edition 2015"(PDF).ICAO.
  6. ^"FRMS: Challengesand Lessons Learned"(PDF).ICAO.
  7. ^"Air Transport & Travel Industry IATA Edifact Version 20.2"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2022-10-22.Retrieved2022-12-13.
  8. ^"Fatigue Management Guide for General Aviation Operators of Large and Turbojet Aeroplanes. First Edition, 2016"(PDF).Flightsafety.org.
  9. ^"IATA Cabin Waste Handbook. August 2019"(PDF).IATA.org.Archived(PDF)from the original on 25 April 2023.
  10. ^"Aviation Industry Glossary".CAPA - Centre for Aviation.InformaMarkets /Aviation Week Network.Retrieved2021-07-15.
  11. ^Wragg, David W. (1973).A Dictionary of Aviation(first ed.). Reading, Berkshire, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd. p. 189.ISBN9780850451634.[medium haul:] air services [...] of a range of between 1,000 and 2,500 miles{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^abDavid Crocker (2007).Dictionary of Aviation(2 ed.). A & C Black.ISBN978-1-4081-0226-8.
  13. ^"Airport Construction Fee Effective on 1 August 2016"(Press release). Airport Authority Hong Kong. 30 May 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2017.Retrieved2 March2017.
  14. ^"JAL Applies for Revision of International Cargo Fuel Surcharge"(PDF)(Press release). Japan Air Lines. June 28, 2007.Archived(PDF)from the original on March 3, 2017.RetrievedMarch 2,2017.
  15. ^"Optional Services and Fees | Qatar Airways".Qatar Airways.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2022.
  16. ^"Flight Definition".Virgin Australia.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-03-26.Retrieved2017-02-20.
  17. ^"Long-haul delays | UK Civil Aviation Authority".UK CAA.Archived fromthe originalon 16 April 2019.
  18. ^"Study into the impact of the global economic crisis on airframe utilisation"(PDF).Eurocontrol. January 2011. p. 21.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2015-06-06.Retrieved2017-02-20.
  19. ^"The future of long-haul air services from europe".Association of European Airlines. 2004. p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-02-21.Retrieved2017-02-20.
  20. ^"What are short-haul, medium-haul and long-haul flights?".Air Berlin.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-01-29.Retrieved2017-02-20.
  21. ^"Issuance fees".Air France.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-02-21.Retrieved2017-02-20.
  22. ^"Your travel just got more rewarding".American Airlines.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-11-12.Retrieved2017-03-02.
  23. ^"Sweet spots for redeeming United MileagePlus miles".USA Today. April 22, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on January 8, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 8,2019.
  24. ^"United Airlines Offers Bonus-Miles Promotion for Premium-Cabin Travelers"(Press release). United Airlines. January 9, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on October 20, 2020.RetrievedMay 22,2022.
  25. ^"Delta to Upgrade In-Flight Wi-Fi and Expand Coverage Areas for Customers"(Press release). Delta Air Lines. 5 March 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2017.Retrieved2 March2017.
  26. ^"Fleet".Lufthansa. Archived fromthe originalon 2017-02-21.Retrieved2017-02-20.
  27. ^"TUI Planes | Our Fleet".TUI.Retrieved14 December2022.
  28. ^"INFOGRAPHIC: Asia-Pacific ultra-long-range flights".Flight Global.2022-12-14. Archived fromthe originalon 14 December 2022.
  29. ^"TN64 Flight Status / Air Tahiti Nui THT64 / TN 64 Flight Tracker".airportinfo.live.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-01-08.Retrieved2021-01-05.
  30. ^"Air Tahiti Nui – New Record For World's Longest Flight – Tahiti to Paris – WORKING"(Press release). Air Tahiti Nui. 19 March 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2020.Retrieved28 April2020.
  31. ^"To All Passengers Bound For French Polynesia".Air Tahiti Nui.2020-03-11.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-03-05.Retrieved2021-01-05.
  32. ^"World's longest domestic flight flies under radar - AeroTime".2020-05-27.Retrieved2024-02-02.
  33. ^"Moins de 150 passagers pour le premier vol sans escale Tahiti-Paris".TNTV Tahiti Nui Télévision(in French). 2020-03-15.Retrieved2022-06-10.
  34. ^"COVID-19: Decision of the US administration to prohibit travel from Europe to the US | Air Tahiti Nui".2020-11-28. Archived fromthe originalon 2020-11-28.Retrieved2023-01-11.
  35. ^"TN64 Flight Status / Air Tahiti Nui THT64 / TN 64 Flight Tracker".2023-01-11. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-01-11.Retrieved2023-01-11.
  36. ^Street, Francesca (March 18, 2020)."Virus creates world's longest passenger flight".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on December 3, 2021.RetrievedJune 3,2020.
  37. ^"Air Taihiti Nui schedules nonstop Papeete-Paris repatriation flights in April 2020".www.routesonline.com.Archived fromthe originalon December 24, 2022.Retrieved2024-01-02.
  38. ^Air Tahiti Nui - Annual Report 2020(PDF).2021. pp. 4, 29.
  39. ^"Air Tahiti Nui: un nouveau direct Papeete – Paris dimanche prochain – Air Journal".April 13, 2020.Retrieved2024-01-08.
  40. ^"Singapore Airlines To Begin Non-Stop Services To New York's JFK International Airport".Archivedfrom the original on February 2, 2021.RetrievedJan 5,2021.
  41. ^ab"Luxair Flights from Luxembourg (LUX) to Bucharest (OTP)".FlightMapper.net.Retrieved15 December2022.
  42. ^"LG8903 - 27. Oct 2022: Luxair (LGL8903) from Luxembourg to Bucharest".Flightera.2022-12-15.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2022.Retrieved2022-12-15.
  43. ^"LG8903 - 29. Oct 2022: Luxair (LGL8903) from Luxembourg to Bucharest".Flightera.2022-12-15.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2022.Retrieved2022-12-15.
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