Longest flight vs shortest flight: Which is better value?
Would you pay to fly for just 47 seconds?
What is the shortest journey time for a plane serving commercial flights? The answer may surprise you.
The honour goes to Loganair's Westray and Papa Westray route, which typically spends a mere two minutes in the air, although that can drop down to as little as 47 seconds if the breeze is blowing the right way.
Compare that to some of the longest non-stop flights in the world, which includes Auckland to Dubai and Dallas to Sydney (both over 17 hours long) and it sounds like a breeze. Is it worth it though?
We looked at some of the longest and shortest flights in the world to see what the actual costs behind each flight per minute are. There weren't any significant spikes or drops in prices, but overall the longer the flight, the more bang for your buck. The long Delhi to San Francisco flight costs just under $1 per minute, while the short 47 second roller coaster through the air costs $13.68 per minute. See below for our comparison.
The flight costs for these journeys were taken direct from each airline's website and are either set prices or the lowest prices available at the time of publication for flights in 2017. Flight prices were converted into AUD using xe.com.
Shortest flights
| Flight time | Flight distance | Flight cost (one-way) | AUD | Cost per minute (AUD) | Carrier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westray to Papa Westray | 2 minutes | 3.2km | GBP17 | $27.35 | $13.68 | Loganair |
| Cayman Brac to Little Cayman | 10 minutes | 24.7km | USD$39.39 | $51.35 | $5.14 | Cayman Airways |
| Toronto to Niagara | 12 minutes | 50km | CAD85 | $82.92 | $6.91 | Greater Toronto Airways |
| Caye Chapel to Caye Caulker | 15 minutes | 7.8km | Flights by special request only | - | - | Maya Island Air |
| Karpathos to Kasos | 15 minutes | 28km | EUR43.70 | $63.23 | $2.26 | Sky Express |
Longest flights
| Flight time | Flight distance | Flight cost (one-way) | AUD | Cost per minute (AUD) | Carrier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland to Dubai | 17 hours 25 minutes | 14,201km | NZD1,277 | $1,213.54 | $1.16 | Emirates |
| San Francisco to Singapore | 17 hours 15 minutes | 13,592km | AUD1,892 | $1,892 | $1.83 | United Airlines |
| Johannesburg to Atlanta | 16 hours 50 minutes | 13,581 km | ZAR33,163 | $3,237.33 | $3.21 | Delta |
| Delhi to San Francisco | 16 hours | 15,128km | INR46,987 | $918.82 | $0.95 | Air India |
| Sydney to Dallas | 15 hours and 25 minutes | 13,805km | AUD1,347 | $1,347 | $1.46 | Qantas |
Australia's shortest and longest domestic flights
Australia's entrants for the shortest and longest flights are quite impressive, too. The shortest flight is the Harvey Bay to Maryborough route on the Sunshine Express which lasts 15 minutes.
Oddly enough, the longest direct domestic flight is Sydney to well, Sydney. This is a 12.5 hour flight and is a Qantas charter organised by Antarctica Flights. It leaves the domestic terminal of Sydney Airport, flies over the Antarctica Treaty Area for 4 hours and then returns. No passports are required and prices start from $1,199 per person.
Flights also depart from Melbourne, although they are 30 minutes shorter.
Coming a (not so) close third is the more popular (and more affordable) Gold Coast to Perth route. It takes 5 hours and 30 minutes.
Here's a video of the world's shortest flight from Westray to Papa Westray in Scotland's Orkney Islands: