The aviation race is on! Carriers compete to offer the world's longest, non-stop flight.

The aviation race is on! Carriers compete to offer the world's longest, non-stop flight... and it's Singapore Airlines' mammoth 19-hour trek that is lined up to take the title



Qantas currently has longest journey, offering a 16 hour and 55 minute journey from Dallas to Sydney

Emirates is launching two flights over 17 hours, Auckland to Dubai and Dubai to Panama City starting in March

Qatar Airways is set to introduce two routes, Doha to Auckland and Doha to Santiago, that will take 18 hours By 2018, 

Singapore Airlines is expected to run a 19-hour non-stop flight from Singapore to New York 

The race is on as top airline carriers fight it out to provide the world's longest non-stop service.

Qantas currently holds the record, offering a 16 hour and 55 minute journey from Dallas to Sydney. 

However in a matter of days this will be eclipsed by Emirates when on March 1 it launches the Auckland to Dubai route. This has an estimated flight time of 17 hours and 15 minutes (approximately 8,800 miles). 

But rather than this lengthy journey being a unique round-trip for long distance travellers, by 2018 passengers could be spending as long as 19 hours in the air with Singapore Airlines as it will operate an Airbus A350 on non-stop flights from Singapore to the US west coast and New York.

In the short-term, Qatar Airways is set to up the bar by introducing two 18 hour routes from Doha to Auckland and Doha to Santiago, in the coming months. 

However, as the first of the big aviation players to launch a super route, Dubai-based airline, Emirates is not only introducing the Auckland to Dubai route.Towards the end of next month it also hopes to launch a 17 hour and 35 minutes flight route from Dubai to Panama City.

(Culled from www.dailymail.co.uk)