Qantas's longest-ever commercial flight bringing stranded Australians home from Buenos Aires

[SeatBackForward]

A COVID-19 repatriation flight due to arrive in Darwin from Buenos Aires tonight will set a new record for the longest commercial flight ever operated by Qantas.

Key points:​

• The 18-hour flight from Argentina will touch down in Darwin this evening
• It will make Darwin airport the first in the country to receive non-stop flights from all six inhabited continents
• An announcement on the possibility of rerouting Qantas's London flight through Darwin is expected within days

Passengers will be in the air for nearly 18 hours before touching down at Darwin Airport this evening after travelling 14,683 kilometres.

A repatriation flight swinging past Antarctica has broken some records on its way to Darwin

A COVID-19 repatriation flight due to arrive in Darwin from Buenos Aires tonight will set a new record for the longest commercial flight ever operated by Qantas.

www.abc.net.au

This is the part that I find really interesting:

"They are going to be flying over parts so remote they could well be the first people to ever see that part of the world."

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Longest ever Qantas Commercial Flight - Darwin from Buenos Aires

A COVID-19 repatriation flight due to arrive in Darwin from Buenos Aires tonight will set a new record for the longest commercial flight ever operated by Qantas.​

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Passengers will be in the air for nearly 18 hours before touching down at Darwin Airport this evening after travelling 14,683 kilometres.​

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"It is just under 200 kilometres longer than the [Perth-to-London] flight, which currently holds the record for Qantas," aviation analyst Bruce Dale said.​

The flight also marks a milestone moment for Darwin Airport, which will become the first airport in Australia — and one of very few in the world — to have received non-stop flights from all six permanently inhabited continents.​

A repatriation flight swinging past Antarctica has broken some records on its way to Darwin

A COVID-19 repatriation flight due to arrive in Darwin from Buenos Aires tonight will set a new record for the longest commercial flight ever operated by Qantas.

www.abc.net.au

 

[UP4014]

Currently over the Antarctic, look for QFA14

 

[dannews]

Hi there,

I'm keen on tracking QFA14, and especially love to listen to aircraft while watching them on radar.

I'm in New Zealand so am not that familiar with which channels/Centres the flight is likely to transmit on, but I do know there are plenty of Australian deeds on LiveATC.net.

Does anyone who knows more about that side of things know which channels its likely to use as it flys up to Darwin?

 

[NickCorr]

Here you are;

Follow Flight VH-ZNH from Honolulu, HI to Sydney, NSW on AirNav RadarBox

Real-time flight tracking with one of the best and most accurate ADS-B coverage worldwide. Check airport arrivals and departures status and aircraft history.

www.radarbox.com

 

[justinbrett]

"Commercial flight" is a bit of a subjective term. It's not a scheduled flight and is effectively a government charter.

The sunrise trial flights (JFK/LHR) were both longer than this one and did have passengers.

Also, while the great circle route goes through the middle of Antarctica, the actual route flown only skirted the coast in order to stay within ETOPS (divert) range of New Zealand.

Still cool, but the article was written by an employee of Darwin airport, so can understand why he's personally excited by it. SYD/MEL-SCL flights sometimes get Antarctic views too.

 

[Quickstatus]

This is the part that I find really interesting:

Obviously the writer does not read Antarctic aviation history. Or Antarctic history.

SCL-SYD flights often skirt Antartica.
So there is nothing special.
The 787 was not full.

I’m not a keen on ultra long haul for a variety of reasons.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Obviously the writer does not read Antarctic aviation history. Or Antarctic history.

SCL-SYD flights often skirt Antartica.
So there is nothing special.
The 787 was not full.

I’m not a keen on ultra long haul for a variety of reasons.

Oh no it wasn't the flying over Antarctica part, but the "First people to ever see" part. I imagine there's not many places that humans have not seen in one way or another any more.

 

[Mattg]

Obviously the writer does not read Antarctic aviation history. Or Antarctic history.

SCL-SYD flights often skirt Antartica.

This is true, but I have never been on a SCL-SYD or SYD-JNB flight that has gone as far south as today's QF14. They would have had some rather spectacular views of Antarctica that you wouldn't normally get on a commercial flight, assuming the weather was good and the windows weren't forcibly dimmed by the cabin crew.

 

[Quickstatus]

windows weren't forcibly dimmed by the cabin crew.

Was daylight when they went seal watching. Unless the crew got the pax to do the change your bodyclock routine which is what the JFK-SYD did. Which I don’t think they did because the best time to go to sleep on that flight would be when the aircraft turned NW

They should have got great twilight photos weather permitting of course

I don’t recall specific flights but I have seen the odd EZE-SYD and SCL-SYD going that far south.

 

[justinbrett]

It wasn't that far south. They didn't follow the great circle route.

This was their flight plan:

 

[Quickstatus]

This was their flight plan:

I wonder if they saw Mt Erebus which was slightly SW when they turned NW. A little further south but within the ETOPS curves they might have overflown Erebus

 

[Quickstatus]

"First people to ever see"

That person needs to travel more and join AFF to get some tips on how to do that and look at all the trip reviews

 

[AussieJasmine]

Not that far south but would still have had some great views. I've never flown that far south and would love the chance. On that note it's a shame that QF never sustained their SYD-EZE route, given the amount of effort and prominence they've given to SCL, which is already operated by LATAM anyway. One of the more obvious holes in the network, imho (along with SYD/MEL-PPT and PER-JNB/CPT)

 

[Lynda2475]

On that note it's a shame that QF never sustained their SYD-EZE route,

I flew one of the last QF to EZE flights and then came home QF SCL-SYD a month later.