6. The upper deck lounge staircase
The long flight of all long flights is already on it’s way. Qantas’s all new 20-hour epic from New York to Sydney took off from JFK International airport at 9.27pm local time on Friday, nearly half-an-hour later than scheduled and is due to land in Australia, Sydney at 7.10am on Sunday. The flight is one of three ultra-long haul flight tests being carried out by the Australian airline in order to “conduct scientific research on passengers and crew with the aim of increasing health and wellness, minimising jetlag and identifying optimum crew rest and work periods”, according to Qantas. Flight 7879 has approximately 50 passengers and crew onboard and is part of the airline’s quest to launch commercial flights between the east coast of Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) and New York and London. These direct flights are set to save passengers up to four hours in total travel time, which during a quick business trip or vacation, can prove significant. The Boeing 787-9, which is being used for the flight, unsurprisingly took off with maximum fuel and restricted baggage load. Qantas have stated that a final decision on “Project Sunrise” is expected by the end of this year and, should it be approved, flights would start in 2022/23.