Get out your neck pillows, eye masks and noise-canceling headphones. There’s a new long-haul flight coming, and it’s the longest non-stop route in the world.
Earlier this month, Emirates announced that they’ll be adding daily non-stop flights from Dubai to Panama City. The flight will cover a whopping 8,588 miles, and is estimated to take 17 hours and 35 minutes from takeoff to touchdown.
The new route pushes Qantas’ non-stop flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney down to No. 2 on the list—a mere 8,577 miles over 16 hours and 55 minutes. The Emirates route will start taking to the sky on February 1, 2016, and will be the airline’s first gateway destination in Central America.
Travelers can expect to plunk down a sizable chunk of change for non-stop flights from Dubai to Panama City. Tickets can already be booked on Emirates’ website, and a one-way economy-class airfare on the inaugural flight (and subsequent ones) runs a little over $1,500. Business class jumps up to anywhere from $3,500 to $5,100, and the luxurious first-class airfare starts at $7,250.
The Boeing 777-200LR aircraft set to make the journeys will fit 266 passengers (8 in first class, 42 in business and 216 in economy), and can carry more than 33,000 pounds of cargo.
Air travel to the Panama City area is expected to increase—especially on the meetings and events front—with the construction of the grand Amador Convention Center. The $194 million, 570,505-square-foot venue is set to open later this year.
If 17.5 hours on non-stop flights from Dubai to Panama City sounds like too much time to spend on an airplane, travelers can always opt for the opposite end of the spectrum and fly the world’s shortest commercial route: a 1.7-mile jump from Westray to Papa Westray in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Loganair operates the flight, which, in optimal wind conditions, can take as little as 47 seconds. There’s not enough time for drink service on the flight, but flyers can always grab a dram of Scotch after landing.
