Dubai's Emirates Airline announced Thursday it will launch the world's "longest non-stop flight" in February from the bustling Gulf emirate to Panama City, lasting more than 17 hours. (news.yahoo.com) さらに...
Wasn't that long ago I was doing 17 hour flights from LAX to BKK on Thai Airlines. Even with an upgrade to Premium Economy, it was pretty grueling. The only thing that made it bearable was when you landed, the trip was over unlike doing the 2-stop flight that went through NRT.
A new 650 million dollar terminal is going to be operative by mid to late 2016. You are talking about the 1973 old building, that agree looks like a flee market or worst. Airlines are using Panama as hub for Latin America.
FYI Panama PAYS GOOD MONEY to KLM and Air France (and probably other airlines as well) to land at this airport flying 777s, 330s and sometimes 747s on a daily basis, otherwise they would have a much limited service.
Pretty cool to see the ultra long hauls still hanging around. Sure its no New York - Singapore, but 17.5 hours? add in check in / customs / baggage etc, thats essentially a day.
After a 17 hour flight from Dubai it is going to be a 2-hour layover on the ground at PTY (that is IATA for Panama) which has a LOUSY terminal that looks more like a flea marketplace that happens to have runways and airplanes, another 17 hours to hell?. NO WAY JOSE!!!
I have been commuting to PTY for the past couple of years and I know a lousy terminal when I go through one (ditto a string of lousy shops selling 2 dollar monkey toys that can be bouth for 50 cents in town or offer awful snacks). Got it
I won't brag about my worldwide travels but you did not dig my comment: this so called terminal has an endless string of very small cheap merchandise shops that do not belong to an airport and to add insult to injuty the alleys are overcrowded with passengers changing planes, of some 8.5 million pax that went through it in 2014 only 25% went into the country.
I have been commuting to PTY for the past couple of years and I know a lousy terminal when I go through one (ditto a string of lousy shops selling 2 dollar monkey toys that can be bouth for 50 cents in town or awful snacks). Got it.
Back home in India we have our own stories to thump the chest but with riders . " AI Boeing 777 flies Mum to Newark non-stop, but without baggage " Link http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=AI-Boeing-777-flies-Mum-to-Newark-non-16082015007016
And the interesting remark in the margin
" 10 AI cabin crew made to work for all 17 hours of long-haul flight "
Admittedly there were 3 sets of cockpit crews BUT just one set of 10 stews for the entire 17 hr. ordeal. The Indian Regulator was not available to comment on the qquery raised that if there were some emergency landing were the 10 tired stews capable enough for effective evacuation ? Sad , very sad . Hey, my Indian Regulator, are you reading ? Nay , never. He has better things on his mind, other than Indian Aviation. That's why Indian Aviation has been and will continue to be down graded ! But who cares ? And why should any one ? That's INCREDIBLE INDIA - popular slogan by the Ministry of Tourism , eh ?
In future history this story will be referred to in the context of, 'That was when . . . ". What, I wonder, will these gruelling "no alternative" edges of present science push us to bring about? Somehow hypersonic must be waiting to happen commercially soon.