Originally Posted by
DownUnderFlyer
This issue is not really about the range of the aircraft. The two main problems are economics and the human factor.
Ultra long hauls are very difficult to operate from an economics perspective. The reason for this is that the plane needs to carry tons of fuel for a very long time. It is much cheaper to land and re-fuel. This is the reason why some of those long flights (SIN-EWR) have gone all business class. It is just not financially viable. And if fuel prices would rise further then this would expose the company to a huge risk.
And of course a 20 hour flight is nothing you really want to experience in a 10 abreast 777. So nobody wants to be stuck in a plane for such a long time.
Luckily non of the most profitable airlines in the world operate any 777.
Yeah, I know that the weight of the fuel becomes a real problem on ultra long flights. CX doesn't seem to have any problem filling up the HKG/JFK nonstops, though, and in all cabins. I would have thought that there'd be a fair amount of premium cabin demand for a LHR-SYD nonstop, though. Completely agree, 20 hours in Y isn't for me, regardless of the aircraft type. OTOH, I'll happily take 20 hours, even more, in the F cabins of several carriers.
