Summary
- Eight airport pairs met the 60+ departures requirement this week, obviously led by New York JFK-London Heathrow.
- Heathrow features five times – more than all US airports combined.
- Two of the eight markets involve Australia, partly thanks to Turkish Airlines’ new fifth freedom service.
This article was researched and written on April 8. Examining Cirium schedule data for the week of April 8-14 shows around 4,000 daily long-haul flights globally, defined as being at least 3,000 miles (4,828 km), the same cut-off point as United uses. One in 25 of the world’s flights met that distance criterion this week on a network spanning more than 2,100 routes.
The most-served long-haul routes
They are shown in the table later in the article. Eight airport pairs are present based on having a minimum of 60 weekly flights (each way) in the examined seven days. The next closest was 56, from Newark to London Heathrow. Multiple other airport pairs have a similar level of service, just not enough to make the list.
Photo: Santi Rodriguez | Shutterstock
The UK’s busiest airport, London Heathrow, features five times on a non-stop basis, far more than any other airport. No wonder it ranks number one for all long-haul flights globally. When all such operations are combined, Heathrow has 68% more departures than New York JFK, the world’s second-ranked long-haul airport.
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The table
The information is only based on April 8-14. At other times, the specific details and order may be different. It only considers the specific airport pairs mentioned, not the city level.
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As always, it is worth remembering that these are just flights. It does not show where passengers go. This is important for all the markets, but particularly Dubai, Doha, and Singapore.
|
Airport pair |
Weekly departures: April 8-14* |
Daily flights** |
Airlines (daily flights, unless stated) |
Comments about developments*** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New York JFK-London Heathrow |
154 |
22 |
BA (eight), Virgin (six), American (four), Delta (two), JetBlue (two) |
Virgin rises to seven daily on May 20 |
|
Los Angeles-London Heathrow |
77 |
11 |
BA (three), American (three), United (two), Virgin (two), Delta (one) |
Virgin grows to three daily on May 1. Delta will end the route on May 5 |
|
New York JFK-Paris CDG |
77 |
11 |
Air France (five), Delta (three), American (one), JetBlue (one), Norse (one) |
Norse began the route in March 2023, and JetBlue in June 2023. Air France will rise to six daily on May 26, Delta will have four daily services on four occasions (!) in the summer, and JetBlue will grow to double daily on June 21 |
|
London Heathrow-Dubai |
71 |
Nine to 11 |
Emirates (seven), BA (two to three), Royal Brunei (two to three weekly) |
Virgin operates winter-seasonally; it will return on October 26 (daily). Note: the A380 has 42 of the 71 departures |
|
Melbourne-Singapore |
68 |
Eight to 11 |
Singapore Airlines (four), Qantas (two), Scoot (10 weekly), Emirates (daily), Jetstar (six weekly), Turkish Airlines (three weekly) |
Turkish Airlines began its first Australian service in early March 2024. Singapore Airlines will increase to five daily on May 26, and Jetstar rises to daily on June 19 |
|
London Heathrow-Doha |
63 |
Nine |
Qatar Airways (seven), BA (two) |
As they are close partners, they effectively operate as one. Qatar Airways has up to eight daily flights this year. BA’s double daily is because it recently ended Gatwick-Doha |
|
Chicago O’Hare-London Heathrow |
63 |
Nine |
American (four), United (three), BA (two) |
BA rises to triple daily from May 11. Alas, the A380 is no longer used to O’Hare |
|
Sydney-Singapore |
60 |
Eight to nine |
Singapore Airlines (four), Qantas (two), Scoot (10 weekly), BA (daily) |
Singapore Airlines rises to five daily on October 27 |
|
* Each way (double for both ways) |
** Anytime in the seven days |
*** Correct as of April 8 |
Will you be flying any of the routes mentioned in the article soon? Let us know in the comment section.
