[C19fan]

Purgatory.

[wbarmy]

I flew several 17 hour flights; from BWI to Manas. Now that was painful. I also took one flight from El Paso to Kuwait. I do not even remember how long that one was.

[Vigilanteman]

Used to fly back and forth to Japan and Korea quite regularly. Even the 10-14 hour direct flights from various points in the USA were quite enough. It was a LOT more comfortable when they made a stop in Anchorage or Honolulu to refuel.

I'll gladly add a little for the total extra flight time for a couple of hours to get off the plane, walk around and breathe fresh air in a huge airy terminal. And maybe pinch a loaf in something bigger than a smelly broom closet.

[SkyDancer]

OTOH, another story was quite favorable. Then too, think of the pilots (they would have had two, maybe three flight crews).

[DoodleDawg]

Purgatory.

Average coach in the U.S. is purgatory. This is absolute hell.

[PGR88]

Sorry, but if you are flying to Perth, you will one way or another be stuck in an aluminum tube for at least 17 hours. If you follow the traditional route and layover in Dubai or Singapore, your total flying time will even longer - and you’ll be sitting at least at one airport in the middle.

Give me the direct flight every time.

[Malsua]

The longest straight through flight I’ve taken was just about 16 hours and change air time from Newark to Hong Kong. That said, it was more like 18 hours from the time you sit down until you get off.

I did it in Business class, I can’t imagine the hell of steerage. The end of that flight must have been hell for anyone near the toilets.

[atc23]

The worst part of long flights is the stench of the gassy old people and the near constant line of people lining up to take a dump.

Who needs to go to the crapper at 10 or 11 pm? And then 3 or 4 more times before 3AM.

[Delta 21]

One of these days, technology will advance to the point that we will be able to breath fresh, sterile air, while riding in all our manspeading comfort inside of cylindrical shaped petri dishes to our destination of choice.

Some day.......

[Bonemaker]

Enjoy the pulmonary embolisms.

[demsux]

Do they have a smoking section?

[BitWielder1]

As long as the toilets work, it beats sail ships and wagon trains. Stop whining.

[GoldenPup]

Many years ago, used to regularly fly from JFK to BA...first class, of course...12-13 hours air time. Upon takeoff, several free belts of favorite beverage..night, night😴 no problem.

[Fiji Hill]

I once took a 19-hour flight from Wrightstown, NJ to Frankfurt, Germany aboard a DC-6, but we stopped to refuel in Gander, Newfoundland.

[dinodino]

Big deal. I’ve flown longer direct flights. Sitting in Qantas economy is not the end of the world—the article makes it sound like the passengers were waterboarded.

[OrangeHoof]

Qantas.

[Red Steel]

Waiting for a broken C5 sitting for 2 days in the Aviano terminal after the first leg of the trip. No compliants but this guy would.

[rottndog]

Seventeen hours...that’s nice. Once spent 67 days in a metal tube with 130 others.

[libertylover]

That’s a loooooong flight!

[ml/nj]

And while I’m not the only journalist on the flight, I am the only one who has been sat in economy for the nine thousand and one mile journey.

Do the English really speak this way: "has been sat"?

ML/NJ

[Daniel Ramsey]

They should offer free knock out pills.
I flew 11 hours once, only way it was better than any other flight was the advanced compartment humidifier and lower altitude adjustment on the 787.