17-Hour Flights: American Airlines' 11 New Ultra-Long Nonstop Routes [Map]

Published Aug 7, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for history and regional aviation, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft. He has visited OEM facilities as far and wide as Bristol, Toulouse, and Seattle, and recently enjoyed the milestone of flying his 150th sector as a passenger. Based in Norfolk, UK. As one of the big three US legacy carriers, American Airlines is in the business of operating some seriously long routes. The carrier has a wide range of hubs located throughout the US, which, along with its large and diverse fleet of long-range widebody twinjets, gives it access to all the most distant markets. Analyzing the schedules from August to March 2027 indicates the sheer scale of its ops. Indeed, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the carrier's longest nonstop flights during this period have a maximum block time of 17 hours, with several other routes not far behind. Delhi Back To New York-JFK Is The Longest For the period in question, the longest nonstop flights operated by American will be its services from Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in Delhi back to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. These will top out at 17 hours between August and March, with American having to carefully thread its way between several airspace closures. American Airlines' Boeing 787-9 Layout Class Seats Flagship Business 30 Premium Economy 21 Economy 234 Cirium's data shows that American currently serves this route daily with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. These aircraft, as detailed in the table above, have the capacity to seat a grand total of 285 flyers across three different classes of travel. American announced this route back in April 2021, at which point then-Chief Revenue Officer, Vasu Raja, commented on the service. "American will offer customers more ways to fly between the United States and India than any other airline partnership." Several Big Hitters Serve Dallas/Fort Worth Credit: Shutterstock They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and this is certainly true when it comes to American's network. The carrier concentrates a considerable proportion of its flights through its hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). These include seven of its 11 longest routes by block time from August to March, including the 16-hour and 40-minute marathon to Brisbane Airport (BNE) in Australia. That corridor ranks second overall, with DFW to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) in China rounding out the podium in third place with a top scheduled block time of 15 hours and 45 minutes. This route is served daily with the 787-9, and sits just ahead of DFW to Auckland, whose block time tops out at 15 hours and 40 minutes. Flights on this route will commence in late October, also with the 787-9. Loading map… Drag to explore 15 hours and 40 minutes is also the top block time from DFW to Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN) in South Korea. Elsewhere in Asia, it takes a maximum of 14 hours and ten minutes for American's flights from DFW to reach Tokyo Narita, and 14 hours and five minutes to reach Tokyo Haneda. Athens back to DFW ranks 10th overall, with a top block time of 12 hours and 55 minutes. The Best Of The Rest Credit: Shutterstock From August to March, American's longest route that does not involve either DFW or JFK originates at its main hub in California: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). From here, it takes a maximum of 15 hours and 25 minutes for its 777-300ERs to reach Sydney, Australia. In the 12 months to April of this year, American's daily flights on this route had an 81.64% load factor, according to Cirium. This puts it just ahead of a route that does involve JFK, namely American's corridor from the Big Apple to Tokyo Haneda Airport in Japan. These flights top out at 14 hours and 45 minutes, and they currently run daily using the 787-9. Completing the list, when American launches its new route from Chicago to Tokyo Narita in March (last served seven years ago), these flights will take 12 hours and 45 minutes.