Air India breaks record for world's longest flight

Air India has snuck up on its competitors to snatch the title of the world’s longest non-stop flight route. Until earlier this month, the airline’s Delhi to San Francisco route sat second in the table of greatest distances flown by a passenger jet, but then the carrier changed the direction of travel from crossing to the Atlantic to the Pacific, and added 1,400 kilometres onto its route. The eastern route meant that Air India’s Boeing-777 200ER flew 15,300 kilometres, surpassing the previous holder of world’s longest flight, Emirates’ Dubai-Auckland route that clocks up 14,120 kilometres. What’s more, by flying east over the Pacific, Air India took advantage of the 86mph tailwinds of the Jet Stream and knocked 2 hours off its flight time, covering the distance in just 14-and-a-half hours. <br/>