The world's 25 longest airline routes

What are the longest airline routes in the world? It's a question I get frequently at Today in the Sky, so I reached out to the folks at OAG to help us list the longest flights for 2016. And that list has just been updated with the latest ultra long-haul route launched by United.

OAG, of course, is a top airline data provider, but they also specialize in airline schedules. OAG provided Today in the Sky with the world’s 25 longest regularly scheduled flights (by distance) on the books as of 1, 2016. That's the date United launched its new San Francisco-Singapore service, a route that jumped up to No. 3 in the updated rankings of long-haul flights.

In October, Singapore Airlines launched its own nonstop service on the route, creating a two-way tie with United at the No. 3 spot. United flies Boeing 787 Dreamliners on its SFO-Singapore route while Singapore Airlines uses its new Airbus A350s.

You can see the full "top 25" longest routes (based on distance) in the above gallery, starting at the bottom – a tie for No. 25 between Newark-Mumbai and New York JFK-Taipei – and going the whole way through to No. 1: Dubai-Auckland.

Singapore Air is again flying nonstop to USA from Singapore

Emirates overtakes Qantas for world's longest flight

Emirates' Dubai-Auckland route launched March 1, bumping the previous title holder – Qantas’ Dallas/Fort Worth-Sydney flight – to No. 2.

Another route that's received a lot of press -- Qatar Airways' planned route from Doha to Auckland -- is not included because it has not yet launched. The carrier has said the route will launch in December, though it appears that has been pushed by to early February 2017. When that route launches, it would become the world's longest flight by distance.

But even that route's stay at the top could be short-lived. Singapore Airlines said it plans to resume nonstop service from Singapore to New York as it takes delivery of a new "ultra long range" variant of the Airbus A350 jet. Singapore Airlines has said it plans to use that new variant of the jet to resume nonstop flights from Singapore to both New York and Los Angeles. Those routes could begin as soon as 2018, and would likely retake the title of being the world's longest regularly scheduled nonstop routes.

One shake-up that failed to materialize was Emirates' planned route between Dubai and Panama City. That route -- which once appeared as if it would briefly hold the "world's longest" title -- ultimately was indefinitely "postponed" just four weeks before it was supposed to begin.

As for the details of our latest list, it was compiled with flights operating as of the first week of fall 2016. The list of "longest" flights is based on the mileage of the flights flown. The listed "block times" of the flights are included in the list, but our rankings are based solely on distance.

One notable flight not appearing on our Top 25 list is Air India's San Francisco-New Delhi flight. The U.S.-bound leg of the flight is scheduled for 17 hours, which would make it one of the world's longest by scheduled flight time. However, at 7,690 miles (according to OAG), it ranks only at No. 30 worldwide based on distance.

We’ll team up with OAG to update our list of world’s longest flights in early 2017 -- when perhaps Qatar will have begun its Doha-Auckland route. But, for now, you can click through the above gallery to see the world’s 25 longest flights as of this fall.

Enjoy!

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