4 ms·

Previously Qantas’s offerings for Europe were flights where you’d do Sydney to Dubai (15hrs) then Dubai to London (8 hours). Sometimes it was Singapore instead

by fwlr 4y ago

Previously Qantas’s offerings for Europe were flights where you’d do Sydney to Dubai (15hrs) then Dubai to London (8 hours). Sometimes it was Singapore instead of Dubai. Their offerings for America were Sydney to Texas (17 hours) then Texas to New York (4 hours). I’ve taken dozens of their previous Sydney to New York offerings. The 17-hour flight seemed okay for most people. I think they would handle 20 or 21 hours equally well. Not having to change flights is definitely a draw, the article worries that only businesspeople will pay the premium but I think most travelers will want to pay as well.

nl 4y ago
Worth noting that these are pretty much the standard AU-EU routes for most airlines. The flight change point varies by airline: SG, Hk, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Doha are the most common. I think Qantas has flights through SF for the US now too?
- fwlr 4y ago
  Yeah, I’ve done a few Sydney -> SF as well, that’s been around for a while I think. I was wondering whether we’ll get to the point where we can go any airport to any other airport direct. That means figuring out what are the longest theoretical flights. After a bit of thinking I realized that is equivalent to the distance between two points opposite each other on the surface of a sphere, which is just half the circumference of the sphere. Earth’s circumference is roughly 25,000 miles, so there you go: a 12,500 mile range gives you the ability to fly from any airport to any other airport direct. Qantas’s research flights for this project clocked 11,060 miles so we’re pretty close to this being possible.
  - smugma 4y ago
    In geography, the term for a point opposite another on the Earth’s surface is antipode.
    - fwlr 4y ago
      Oh, so that’s where “Antipodean” to refer to Aussies comes from! Neat!
  - onetokeoverthe 4y ago
    [dead]
dzhiurgis 4y ago
I feel there's a massive underserved in NZ/AU - there's simply more Europeans than brits here. There are planes that can directly fly to hubs like Copenhagen, Helsinki, Riga, Warsaw or Istanbul. Not having to deal with London and fly backwards sounds like a dream.

by fwlr 4y ago

nl 4y ago

Worth noting that these are pretty much the standard AU-EU routes for most airlines. The flight change point varies by airline: SG, Hk, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Doha are the most common. I think Qantas has flights through SF for the US now too?

fwlr 4y ago
Yeah, I’ve done a few Sydney -> SF as well, that’s been around for a while I think. I was wondering whether we’ll get to the point where we can go any airport to any other airport direct. That means figuring out what are the longest theoretical flights. After a bit of thinking I realized that is equivalent to the distance between two points opposite each other on the surface of a sphere, which is just half the circumference of the sphere. Earth’s circumference is roughly 25,000 miles, so there you go: a 12,500 mile range gives you the ability to fly from any airport to any other airport direct. Qantas’s research flights for this project clocked 11,060 miles so we’re pretty close to this being possible.
- smugma 4y ago
  In geography, the term for a point opposite another on the Earth’s surface is antipode.
  - fwlr 4y ago
    Oh, so that’s where “Antipodean” to refer to Aussies comes from! Neat!
- onetokeoverthe 4y ago
  [dead]

dzhiurgis 4y ago

I feel there's a massive underserved in NZ/AU - there's simply more Europeans than brits here. There are planes that can directly fly to hubs like Copenhagen, Helsinki, Riga, Warsaw or Istanbul. Not having to deal with London and fly backwards sounds like a dream.