Airbus A380's longest flights feature global connections from major airlines

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Airbus A380's longest flights feature global connections from major airlines

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Simple Flying | Simple Flying

By Sky Industry News

Dec 3, 2024

Ten airlines currently operate the Airbus A380, including All Nippon, Asiana, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines. Over the coming months until next August, these carriers will fly over 90 routes with an average distance of 3,606 nautical miles (6,678 km). Among them, Qantas operates the longest route while Asiana has the shortest.

Qantas' Sydney-London Heathrow via Singapore service is recognized as the world's longest one-stop A380 flight. Meanwhile, Emirates' Dubai-Auckland route holds the title for the longest nonstop flight operated by an A380. This information aligns with current expectations in aviation.

Etihad's upcoming new A380 route may not enter the top 10 list according to their Chief Commercial Officer. When considering all nonstop flights on any aircraft type globally, Dubai-Auckland ranks eighth for nonstop services behind routes such as Singapore-New York JFK and Doha-Auckland.

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The distances mentioned are calculated based on Great Circle calculations but may vary in real-world operations due to various factors.

Some notable long-haul A380 routes include:

- Sydney-London Heathrow via Singapore by Qantas: This daily service first introduced the A380 in January 2009 and briefly stopped in Dubai between March 2013 and March 2018.

- Dubai-Auckland by Emirates: Known as the world's longest nonstop double-decker quadjet flight.

- Dubai-Sydney-Christchurch by Emirates: Began using the A380 in October 2016.

- Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth by Qantas: Scheduled to return in August 2025 as a four times weekly service.

- Dubai-Los Angeles by Emirates: Has mostly been a daily operation since its inception in December 2013.

Additional noteworthy routes include Melbourne-Los Angeles by Qantas and Doha-Sydney by Qatar Airways among others.

Previously between March 2013 and March 2018, Qantas' Sydney-London Heathrow service was routed through Dubai instead of Singapore due to a partnership with Emirates. This increased the one-way distance slightly compared to stopping in Singapore. Despite changes over time including reverting back to a Singapore stopover after five years into a ten-year partnership with Emirates—Qantas continues strong collaborations with codeshares across multiple routes.

Historically other long-distance A380 flights have featured routes such as Melbourne to London Heathrow via both Singapore and Dubai or one-off charters like Melbourne-New York via Los Angeles among others offered sporadically over recent years.