Qantas Flight Makes History by Travelling for Over 19 Hours
They’re in it for the long haul
People who like flying often claim that they can spend an entire day on a plane. It seems that this would be true soon as a Qantas flew for 19 hours 16 minutes non-stop from New York to Sydney recently. That’s actually enough time to watch all the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, eat, do toilet breaks, do stretch breaks and sleep for the duration of the entire flight. This is the first in three long flights planned that will research the health of passengers on ultra long-haul flights. If such flights are proven to be successful, you can expect commercial services from as early as 2022.
The Qantas flight QF7879 had a successful touch down in Sydney. Fifty Qantas passengers and crew were fitted with technology devices to test their overall well-being when the flight left from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
A few medical experts were also on board to ensure the health of the crew and passengers. Everything was monitored from sleep patterns to how much water they drank or how much food they consumed. The flight crew, that consisted of four members who worked or rotation wore EEG (electroencephalogram) monitors to track their alertness and brainwaves. The research aims to minimize jet lag and to help pilots in managing their rest patterns.
Qantas Airways also highlighted that testing of crew and passengers began a week before the flight and included checks for brainwaves to measuring melatonin levels. It proves that everything was carefully planned.
Talking about the achievement of the Qantas flight, Alan Joyce, the Chief Executive of Qantas said that passengers would be able to exercise mid-air if these flights become a reality in the future. He added “This is a really historic moment for Qantas, a really historic moment for Australian aviation and a really historic moment for world aviation. So, we need to show that this can be done safely, it can be done with the rest that we have for the crews.”
Interestingly, Mr. Joyce was on board the Qantas flight too. Talking about exercising onboard, he shared “We were doing that on the aircraft coming in, passengers loved it.” He also said that the flight did not feel as long as 19 hours. Highlighting his condition, he said “I feel refreshed, feel great and, talking to all of the passengers, that was the commentary that came to me.” (Most probably, if you fancy binge-watching your Lord of the Rings movies over and over again, you won’t the drag of a 19-hour flight too.)
We want to say that this Qantas flight has created history and is worthy of appreciation. The second trial flight will go from New York to Sydney, too, while the last will be from London to Sydney. We hope these trials to be a success.
