CNN.com – Boeing jet breaks nonstop record – Nov 10, 2005
LONDON, England (AP) — A Boeing Co. jet arrived in London from Hong Kong on Thursday after 22 hours and 43 minutes in the air, breaking the record for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial jet.
I had to read this a bunch of times scratching my head before I understood why I was confused.
See, I have flown Hong Kong to London on Virgin (wow, that was a nice flight) and that was not a 22 hour flight, more like 14 if I remember correctly. I read this thinking, “Jees, did the pilots just do a few laps or Europe just so they could break the record? Seems like a waste of fuel.”
The answer? They flew the other way around (East)…
I told the co-pilot, turn left when you go over the country that looks like a boot, stepped back for a quick trip to the bog, a snog, and finally a much deserved kip, and what look what happened.