7 Of The Longest Nonstop Boeing 787-9 Flights In 2026

In the past, the Boeing 747 was the world's longest-range aircraft. Initially, it was the 747-200 and the 747SP that operated the world's longest flights, while the 747-400 opened up the world even more with its range of 7,285 nautical miles (13,490 km). The challenge, however, is that these were huge aircraft that could seat upwards of 400 passengers and consumed massive amounts of fuel. This only works if an airline can earn significant revenue, and that can be challenging on the world's longest flights. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner can fly past 7,800 nautical miles (14,400 km) with a reasonable payload, and unlike the double-decker 747, it's not a 400-seater plane. It's a 220 to 300-seat aircraft, while its twinjet layout and advanced engines mean that it sips fuel in comparison to the ultra-long-range airliners of the past. It's not the longest-range airliner in service today: that would be the Airbus A350. However, the 787-9 can fly nearly as far, and it burns less fuel, making it extremely attractive. 7 San Francisco –Singapore 7,340 nautical miles (13,593 km) On June 1, 2016, United Airlines began flying its 787-9 nonstop between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), ending a nearly three-year period during which the US and Singapore were not connected by nonstop flights. The airline later added a second service from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), but it later canceled this route and added a second frequency from SFO, a schedule which has persisted to this day. This is not United's longest route overall (as we will discuss below), but it is the airline's longest year-round service, as well as its longest to Asia. With two daily flights, this is one of United's busier Asia routes, and the nighttime departure from SFO carries the prestigious 'UA1' flight number. United's standard layout for the 787-9 features 257 seats, but the airline introduced a new, premium-heavy layout earlier in 2026 with 64 Polaris Suites, 35 Premium Plus seats, and just 222 seats in total. SFO-SIN was the first international route to receive the new layout, and United now uses this subfleet on both of its daily Singapore services. 6 Sydney – Dallas/Fort Worth 7,454 nautical miles (13,804 km) Credit: Phuong D. Nguyen I Shutterstock Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) is the primary hub for Qantas, and as a oneworld member, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is an immensely lucrative destination because it's the primary hub for American Airlines. What's more, the two carriers also operate a metal-neutral joint venture, meaning that they essentially act as one entity on US-Australia services. Of course, this route is incredibly long as well, which requires an aircraft with true ultra-long-haul capabilities. Qantas is currently using the Airbus A380 daily on this route, but it also scheduled the 787-9 to DFW earlier in 2026. These two aircraft have very different strengths; the 787-9 burns far less fuel than the A380, but Qantas's double-deckers can earn significantly more revenue. When serving a partner's hub like DFW, there's strong demand to fill all 485 seats. Currently, Qantas has not scheduled the 787-9 on the SYD-DFW route for the foreseeable future, suggesting that the A380 is working for the airline. Generally, the A380 has been criticized for being too big and too fuel-thirsty, but it still earns immense amounts of revenue when the seats are occupied. Given that this route connects Qantas's largest hub to its largest partner hub, this isn't too surprising. 5 Houston – Sydney 7,470 nautical miles (13,834 km) Credit: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock Launching in 2018, United Airlines' nonstop flight from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to SYD was, and remains, the longest nonstop route operated by a US airline. The carrier operates this route daily from late October to March using the 787-9, and United now uses its new 222-seat version of the aircraft. Compared to the new layout, United's prior configuration for the 787-9 features 48 Polaris seats, or about 16 fewer than on the latest models. In addition, the Premium Plus cabin is only sized at 21 seats versus 35 on the newest examples, while the economy cabin is larger by 65 seats. United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Layouts Polaris Premium Plus Economy Plus Economy Total Seats Standard Polaris 48 21 39 149 257 Elevated Interior 64 35 39 84 222 This is still the baseline configuration for United's 787-9, as only around 33 aircraft will receive the new layout. These planes are exceptionally premium-heavy, which makes them attractive for ultra-long-haul services like the Sydney route. In addition to the new premium-heavy layout, the 222-seat planes feature the new United 'Elevated Interior'. This includes new business class suites with doors based on the Elevate Ascent, as well as updated versions of the Collins Aerospace MiQ and Aspire seats in Premium Plus and economy. In addition, the technology has been significantly updated. 4 Auckland – New York 7,671 nautical miles (14,207 km) Credit: suppawich suksong I Shutterstock In September 2022, Air New Zealand launched nonstop flights between Auckland Airport (AKL) and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Carrying the prestigious 'NZ1' flight number, this route operates three times per week using Air New Zealand's 272-seat 787-9. This is the longest nonstop service that Air New Zealand operates, and it serves as the company's flagship operation. The following year, however, Qantas joined in, launching a new route between AKL and JFK, with the aircraft and flight number originating in SYD. Notably, this route has been successful for Qantas, which has boosted frequencies with its 236-seat 787-9 on this route. Air New Zealand has reportedly been losing money on this route as it's operating fewer flights, has access to less feed, and a less premium configuration. Air New Zealand 787-9 Layouts Business Premier Premium Economy Economy Total Seats Version 1 18 21 263 302 Version 2 27 33 215 275 Version 3 42 52 125 219 Version 4 26 33 213 272 Version 5 42 52 120 214 Air New Zealand is now taking delivery of new 787-9s with a premium-heavy layout featuring 42 business class seats, 52 premium economy seats, and just 219 seats in total. This should improve Air New Zealand's operating economics on this route, but whether Air New Zealand can overcome its other challenges remains to be seen. 3 Perth – Paris 7,702 nautical miles (14,264 km) Credit: A Periam Photography I Shutterstock In recent years, Qantas has transformed its operations at Perth Airport (PER) into a connecting hub for nonstop flights to Europe. It started with nonstop 787 services to London in 2018, followed by seasonal flights to Rome in 2022. In 2024, the carrier launched nonstop flights between PER and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), its third nonstop flight to Europe. Despite the close cultural and economic ties between Australia and Europe, the two were simply too far apart to be connected by nonstop flights in the past. The 787-9, however, has the range to fly nonstop to Europe from Perth, Qantas's westernmost hub, while its size and fuel efficiency mean that it can make these relatively thin routes work. Due to the conflict in the Middle East, Qantas is unable to operate the departure leg nonstop as airspace restrictions make it too long for the 787-9. Instead, the flight has to operate with a stopover in Singapore. However, Qantas is still flying the return leg from CDG to PER nonstop. 2 Melbourne – Dallas/Fort Worth 7,814 nautical miles (14,472 km) Credit: Austin Deppe I Shutterstock Melbourne Airport (MEL) is a secondary hub for Qantas, and local demand is strong as Melbourne is Australia's second-largest city. However, Melbourne is located further south and west than Sydney, adding significant distance to North America services, and thereby adding cost. Qantas first launched nonstop services between MEL and DFW in 2022 using the 787-9. This is the longest route operated out of DFW, as well as Qantas's longest route to the US. What makes this route particularly appealing to Qantas is the American Airlines joint venture. After all, this provides huge feed in DFW to fill this flight, and the two partners now have an extremely comprehensive network out of DFW. American and Qantas operate a metal-neutral joint venture, which means that between the US and Australia, a Qantas flight also doubles as an American flight and vice versa. Combined, the two offer nonstop services to SYD and MEL via Qantas's flights, while American Airlines also operates a winter seasonal route to Brisbane. Altogether, the two serve Australia's three largest cities nonstop from DFW, while local customers can also fly nonstop with American to Auckland during the winter. 1 Perth – London 7,829 nautical miles (14,499 km) Credit: Ceri Breeze I Shutterstock Qantas's announcement of nonstop flights between PER and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in late 2016 was initially seen by some as risky. With flight times exceeding 17 hours, some wondered whether passengers would truly prefer such a long nonstop route over a stopover in Singapore or Dubai. In 2018, Qantas officially launched nonstop services between PER and LHR, as part of a flight that originated in SYD, and the route was a major success. Never before had Australia and Europe been connected by nonstop flights, and Qantas saw this route outperform much of the rest of its network, as passengers overwhelmingly preferred to fly nonstop to London. Qantas originally had the flight number originate in SYD, but it later became only a PER-LHR nonstop. Note that the airline is now only flying the return segment nonstop due to Middle Eastern airspace restrictions, with the leg towards LHR stopping in SIN. However, while the 787-9 is amazingly efficient and has operated this route for years, it's not perfect either. Despite only being configured with 236 seats, Qantas still frequently has to limit payload. Low costs are good, but the airline can't make money if revenue becomes too restricted. As such, the carrier plans to place its Project Sunrise Airbus A350-1000ULR on this route in the distant future. While the plane only has two additional seats, it can carry much more payload and has significantly more premium capacity.