Qatar Airways mulling world's longest direct flight launchJanuary 28, 2016 - 15:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A whopping 18½-hour journey between Doha, Qatar, and Auckland, New Zealand, is poised to become the world's longest direct flight if Qatar Airways follows through with plans for the new route, CNN reports. Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker revealed plans for the ultra-long haul in an interview at last week's Bahrain Air Show. Boeing 777-LR aircraft would be used to make the trip. The aircraft can carry 259 passengers. No word yet on when the airline might start the service. Currently, the world's longest flight is operated by Qantas between Dallas-Fort Worth and Sydney, according to statistics portal Statista.com. At 16 hours and 55 minutes (8,577 miles/13,804 km), the Qantas flight's duration falls short of Qatar's proposed Doha-Auckland route (9,034 miles/14,539 km) by more than an hour-and-a-half. Setting records for flight distance or duration is a moving target. Emirates Airline is set to eclipse current frontrunner Qantas in the spring, when it launches a route from Dubai to Panama City, Panama, that would last 17 hours and 35 minutes, CNN says. And Singapore Airlines, which held the record for the longest nonstop flight until 2013, has considered taking the title back with possible resumption of its nearly 19-hour flights between New York and Singapore. Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |