longest NA flight
 

Looks like the longest N.America direct flight is now SJU-LIH (5958 miles!). Doesn't count as a transcon, but you get stuck in hawaii (can't backtrack to mainland) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I doubt any airline flies from San Juan to Lihue, HI. Which airline is this?

The rules state

143N . BACKTRACK BETWEEN HAWAII AND THE 144N . CONTINENTAL U.S/CANADA NOT PERMITTED.

Therefore if you could find a SJU - LIH - SJU r/t direct in both directions you could fly close to 36,000 miles using your NA segements.

WOW! Great catch! I'm gonna check it out.. hehehehe

Robin

Gosh darn it.. The outbound is direct SJU-LIH, but the return seems to require LIH-LAX-SJU. I assume its considered backtracking to have a JFK arrival in August, an SJU departure in Dec, and then back thru LAX... Great loophole on a westbound itinerary, tho, with a cheap SJU R/T picked up on the side.

Robin

This is AA flight #285, via MIA and LAX on a 757.

Am I right that this applies because the outbound goes from island to island, so the return to LAX is the first landing in NA ?

Not from around these parts http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif so just trying to learn how to max out and OWE !!

No... actually, it's because one can fly SJU-MIA-LAX-LIH on one flight number (AA285). Although the plane lands twice enroute, the flight number doesn't change, so it only counts as one segment for mileage purposes, and presumably for the OWE as well.

On the return, there's no single flight number that goes from LIH to SJU (or from any other Hawaiian city, AFAIK), so the only possible flight combination violates the "BACKTRACK BETWEEN HAWAII AND THE CONTINENTAL U.S/CANADA NOT PERMITTED" rule.

Thanks danang. To do this flight within an OWE looks like you'd have to flying westbound and have done all 5 NA segments before leaving SJU for LIH and then head to Australia. As AA285 doesn't count as the transcon route this really helps max out the miles http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm certainly no expert on routing, but is there a way on Westbound to go from EUR to SJU without a USA/Canada touchdown? Say: EUR-SJU-LIH-LAX and onward? This shouldn't violate the rule.. Or perhaps, if added to a SA itinerary, like EUR-SA-SJU-LIH-LAX.... Hmmmm... Not that I plan to do it this trip, but love a good puzzle!

Robin

Yuck! 16:48 on an AA 757!!! And interestingly, according to flight info, it's the same ship that does the entire treck, then continues on to LAX as AA286.