In praise of long-haul flights... 20 hours in which to do nothing
My first thought on reading recently about Qantas’s trial of a regular route between London and Sydney – the longest-ever commercial flight by distance – was revulsion. The idea of being in an aluminium tube, surrounded by eating, drinking, snoring, farting, possibly coughing, crying and snivelling strangers for almost 20 hours with zero option to leave, sounded like hell.
But then I reconsidered. I always dread long-haul flights, but actually being on them can be strangely peaceful. Could being stuck on a plane, and crucially being locked offline (plane Wi-Fi being both unreliable and expensive) for nearly an entire day, actually be a perversely perfect antidote to the attention-fracturing stresses of modern life?
As I read on about the new London-Sydney flight, I became convinced the answer is yes. In fact, it began to sound rather like a spa; Qantas is proposing new social and stretching spaces, and prepping exercise and jet lag tips for passengers. Plus, it will be an
offline stretch longer than most of us have had in years. Locked out of alerts, updates, emails, and fake-urgent distractions for twice the length of most long-haul flights, this 20-hour monster actually offers a unique chance to unwind and switch off.
Think about having nearly a whole day where nobody can ask you to do anything, and nothing is expected of you. This is a truly rare opportunity to do everything you want: watch all the films you desire, eat, sleep, read a book or more, and repeat. There’s no rush to finish anything on a ride like this; all you have to do from time to time is get up and do some stretches using one of the new handles Qantas chiefs are talking about affixing to the luggage racks.
Social spaces may well include yoga mats – why not? Looked at this way, this record-length flight is more like a holiday in itself. Sydney is lovely, of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if harried people started flying there as much for the retreat of the journey as the destination. Let the booking lines open.