Long-Haul Flights Get Longer
By Michelle Higgins, New York Times, 12/10/2006
Travelers can expect even more super-long-haul flights in 2007 as airlines keep searching for profitable routes.
For instance, Delta is planning to add or expand nonstop service from its hub in Atlanta to several far-flung destinations, including Dubai, Seoul, South Korea and São Paulo, Brazil. Just last month, it started new daily nonstop service between Kennedy Airport in New York and Mumbai, India — the flight time is 14 hours, 20 minutes. And last week, it started flying from Atlanta to Johannesburg, via Dakar, Senegal. On Dec. 11, Delta plans to begin flying between Kennedy and Accra, Ghana, four times a week.
Earlier this year American Airlines began flying from Chicago to Shanghai and New Delhi. American's long-haul departures — nonstop flights between the Unites States and Europe, India, other Asian destinations and the southern regions of South America — were up 11.2 percent in July 2006 compared with July 2000.
Meanwhile, American, Continental, Northwest and United are locked in a battle for a new daily flight to China. American wants to fly from Dallas-Fort Worth to Beijing. Northwest proposes a nonstop flight from Detroit to Shanghai. Continental would fly from Newark to Shanghai. And United proposes service from Dulles International Airport outside Washington to Beijing. In the end, only one airline's flight will be approved.