Australia and New Zealand: The ultra-long flight revolution

Australia and New Zealand are two markets that are experiencing a boom in ultra-long-haul air routes.

Using Cirium Diio data, we can see that in 2010, just after the Global Financial Crisis, the longest-distance route from either country was Melbourne-to-Los Angeles, flown by Qantas and Virgin Australia. That’s a journey just shy of 8,000 miles, or roughly 13,000 kilometers.

→ Qantas resumes seasonal flights between Perth and Rome

Fast forward to 2023, and there are now 10 routes longer than that. The very longest is Auckland-Doha, flown by Qatar Airways (that happens to be the third longest route in the world, currently, behind Singapore-New York and Singapore-Newark; it tops 9,000 miles).

Other new ultra-longhaul routes from Australia and New Zealand include Perth-London, Melbourne-Dallas/Fort Worth, and Auckland-New York (the latter flown by both Qantas and Air New Zealand).

The expansion is thanks to longer-range widebody aircraft like the B787-9 and the A350-1000. As Boeing and Airbus introduce new variants of these planes with even greater range, the number of ultra-longhaul routes from Australia and New Zealand will continue to grow. Qantas is already planning A350-1000 flights from Sydney and Melbourne to New York and London. Sydney-London, for one, is more than 10,000 miles, or more than 16,000 kilometers.