American Airlines lands its longest-ever nonstop flight after 8,300 miles, nearly 16 hours

The longest direct flight in American Airlines' history is in the books. Flight AAL7 departed from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Saturday night and landed at Brisbane Airport (BNE) after nearly 16 hours and 8,300 miles traveled, according to the airline and FlightAware, a site that tracks flight paths. The Boeing 787-9 took off at 9:57 p.m. CDT Saturday and landed about 33 minutes early on Monday at 4:57 a.m. AEST, the tracker shows. The inaugural nonstop connection between the two cities was staffed with a crew of three pilots, a relief captain, and 11 flight attendants, an American Airlines spokesperson told USA TODAY Monday. The landing was livestreamed on Brisbane Airport's YouTube channel. The plane carries 285 passengers but American would not say how many people were on board. More than 12,000 people watched the video, giving viewers "a front row window seat through runway-cam," as noted by BNE. At the gate event celebration at DFW Airport, customers received a gift bag that included a koala plushie, a commemorative postcard and a voucher for a free koala moment at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, American Airlines told USA TODAY.<br/>