This New 17-Hour Flight Will Be Among the Longest in the World

Thanks to the many joys of holiday travel, it's all too easy to feel like you've been stuck on an airplane for an entire day around this time of year. A new flight expected to become one of the longest flights in the world, however, is almost literally an entire day at a staggering 17 hours in the air. Really.

On Sunday, Australian airline Qantas announced plans to offer direct service from Perth, Australia to London, claiming the flight will be the third-longest non-stop passenger flight in the world, when it launches sometime in March of 2018. Specifically, the flight will cover about 9,000 miles between the two cities and last 17 hours (possibly longer depending on the winds), according to a press release. Qantas said the journey is made possible in part thanks to the long range of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and a specially designed interior for the crazy-long flights.

The new flight will even eclipse Emirates' non-stop service between Dubai and Auckland, New Zealand, which is currently considered the world's longest non-stop flight at about 16 hours and 35 minutes and 8,824 miles. Before that, Qantas held the title with its Dallas-Sydney flights that covered 8,531 miles in 17 hours.

But don't expect the records to stand where they are, as Emirates previously announced plans to launch an even longer flight between Dubai and Panama City, although it has since been delayed. Additionally, Singapore Airlines plans to revive what'll easily be the world's longest flight with service between Singapore and New York City sometime in 2018. That particular flight will cost you 19 hours of your life, which is just a crazy amount of time to spend trapped in a giant metal tube hurtling through the air. 

So while you're struggling to find a combination of books, movies, games, and music to keep you occupied on your two-hour flight home to say, Chicago, later this month, just imagine having to figure out how to fill 17 or even 19 hours up in the air. You'll probably need a lot more than just some in-flight cocktails. 

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Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and thinks he probably flew for less than 17 hours in total this year. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.