By the time you read this sipping your morning tea, India’s longest direct flight would be in the air. Air India launched its new service at 2.25 am on December 2, flying passengers from Delhi to San Francisco on its Boeing 777-200 long-range aircraft. One of the longest air journeys in the world, the flight will cover 12,400 km in 16 hours and 55 minutes.

 It may seem ludicrous to be locked inside an aircraft for close to 17 hours, but with improving in-flight comfort, fliers now prefer non-stop flights to save time. That is why Air India is not alone. Customer demand prompted Singapore Airlines to recently announce plans to revive its 19-hour flight to Newark (a major departure point for the New York City market) after it stopped the service in 2013. 

“We discontinued the all Business Class, A345 direct flights to Los Angeles and New York in 2013, and replaced it with stop-over flights on our Airbus A380 (with larger business class cabin), which were more commercially viable,” says David Lau, General Manager – India, Singapore Airlines. “(But) new aircraft technologies, better fuel efficiency, as well as the continuous effort to meet customer expectations prompted us to restart direct flights,” adds Lau. Singapore Airlines has ordered seven Airbus A350 ultra-long range aircrafts to launch more such flights. Though this flight will take two years to restart, there are others coming up sooner. From February 2016, Emirates Airline will start flights from Dubai to Panama. The flight will take 17 hours and 35 minutes, and will be the first among many such long routes that the Dubai-based airline is planning.

Currently, the world’s longest flight is Qantas Airways Ltd’s service from Dallas to Sydney, which takes 16 hours 55 minutes to cover about 13,800 km.

 Fully loaded To make the flight memorable, Air India has roped in Rajan Loomba, Chief Executive Chef, The Ashok hotel, to design the meal.

While this will improve the comfort quotient, passengers are willing to hop on to long non-stop flights regardless of the services offered.

The travellers are also willing to pay a premium for the ticket. “Non-stop flights are usually the most desired between two destinations, especially for long and ultra-long hauls. In fact, business travellers also prefer non-stop flights; simply because they are the fastest. Unfortunately, they are usually the most expensive due to the high demand,” says Amit Madhan, chief operating officer, IT & eServices, Thomas Cook (India).

Air India’s new service costs about ₹82,500 for a return ticket, an inaugural launch offer.

A layover or connecting flight may be less expensive, but not as convenient.

A traveller runs the risk of delays due to multiple stops. In case a layover involves changing aircraft, one would have to repeat the process of checking-in.

Compared to that hassle, a 17-hour flight sounds like a breeze.

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