How to pass the time on the longest flight
Eli Orzessek suggests ways you can make the most of your time in the air
The past couple of years have seen airlines around the world battling for the title of the world’s longest flight. Auckland was lucky — or unlucky — enough to be the starting point for two of the contenders. Emirates’ Auckland to Dubai flight on the Airbus A380 claimed the title on March 3, 2016, clocking in at an epic 17hr 5m and covering 14,326km along the way.
However, Emirates was promptly knocked off the podium by another Middle Eastern airline, just a week after its milestone maiden flight. Qatar Airways announced the launch of its Auckland-Doha route on March 10, pipping Emirates with a 14,539km flight taking 17hr 40m.
Now Singapore Airlines is taking the throne, connecting between Changi Airport and Newark Liberty Airport, which serves New York City.
Its maiden flight on October 11 will cover a distance of approximately 16,700km with a travel time of up to 18hr 45m — more than an hour longer than Qatar’s Auckland-Doha route.
Singapore Airlines will be the world’s first customer for the new Airbus A350-900ULR, which features 67 Business Class seats and 94 Premium Economy Class seats.
Though the lack of a “cattle class” will mean passengers will travel in relative comfort, a quandary remains: how to pass all that time.
Here are some tips on how to handle an ultralonghaul flight without losing your mind.
Sleep
It’s an obvious one, but try to sleep as much as possible. Set your clock to the same time as your destination and doze off at the appropriate times to avoid jetlag. An eye-mask, neck pillow, noise-cancelling headphones and a cosy blanket
work wonders — and you definitely don’t need to feel guilty about reclining your seat when a flight is this long. If it works for you, appropriate medicine — prescribed by your doctor, of course — can help you catch some sleep. However, even if you manage to get a full eight hours, there are still 10 or so hours to fill, so read on.
Binge-watch
There’s no better time to watch an entire TV or movie series than on a long flight. Still feel embarrassed that it’s 2018 and you’ve never got around to watching Breaking Bad, The Wire ,or
Mad Men? Now’s your chance. During my Auckland-to-Doha flight, I chose to watch all seven of the Fast and the Furious movies. It turns out stupid action movies are perfect plane viewing — every film has basically the same plot so it doesn’t matter if you fall asleep. And heightened emotions at 30,000 feet means it will seem a lot deeper than it actually is.
Read Proust
If you’re too highbrow for Vin Diesel, this could be your opportunity to catch up on the greats of literature. Nothing deserves more bragging rights than Marcel Proust’s In Search of
Lost Time, so load up your Kindle, sip tea, bite into that madeleine and linger over the long sentences. Meditate Stuck on a plane with nothing to do, you may as well make the most of it with mindfulness. Some airlines include meditation in their in-flight entertainment; it’s also useful to have an app on your phone, such as Headspace. If you’re prone to homesickness, Stars of Aroha is a great option featuring the sounds of Aotearoa — it’s available on Air NZ’s in-flight entertainment system. In Business Class, you could see how many yoga poses you can do in a flatbed seat.