Taking an international flight can mean a lot of things. Depending on the route, it can mean spending as little as an hour in the air — or spending the better part of a day traveling between airports on a long-haul flight. Beginning later this year, the airline China Eastern will begin service on a route that will involve spending more than 24 hours in the air. This flight will connect Shanghai and Buenos Aires, with a stop in Auckland along the way.
As One Mile at a Time’s Ben Schlappig points out, when this route begins service in December of 2025, it will be the world’s longest direct flight. If you’re heading east, Schlappig notes, that translates to 26 hours; meanwhile, westward-bound travelers will spend 29 hours in the air. And if you’re curious how a route that involves three cities can be considered “direct,” Schlappig has also written a helpful primer on why direct flights and nonstop flights are not the same thing.
When China Eastern announced their plans for this route earlier this year, they also noted that the airline sought fifth freedom status for this itinerary; if One Mile at a Time’s news is any indication, they have received approval for this, which could have the effect of making it easier to travel between New Zealand and Argentina.
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A very comfortable seat for a very long flightAccording to the airline’s initial announcement, this massive direct flight will run twice weekly. This is part of a larger period of growth for China Eastern; the airline has also added service connecting Shanghai with Copenhagen, Geneva and Milan. The airline recently shared statistics on its flights in the months of July and August, at which time it transported over 28 million people to their destinations.
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