Qantas to fly world’s longest 747 route

A Qantas 747-438ER pictured at LAX in 2009 is the same model aircraft to be utilized on the new route. (Photo: Mark Plumley - OPShots.net)

In 1989, just to show off, Qantas demonstrated the phenomenal range of the new-fangled Boeing 747-400 by flying non-stop from London to Sydney in a little more than 20 hours. The trip required special ”high specific gravity” fuel and there were no passengers as they would have made the plane too heavy to get the 18,000-kilometre range.

More than 21 years of 747-400 service will have passed when Qantas finally gets to use the model’s ultra-long range with a full load of passengers 13,804 kilometres non-stop from Sydney to Dallas, Texas, the longest 747 route in the world.

via Qantas to fly world’s longest 747 route.