Live Flight Tracking

Most of my flying has been domestic US so not so terribly long. But it was on an Eastern Airbus from STT to ATL, about 4 hours if I recall.
Now the flight that SEEMED the longest was on a 320 from DFW to SEA. We had a 120 kt headwind right on the nose and I thought we'd never get there swimming upstream as we did!

While not doubting your flight entirely, I'm wondering if your flight from STT to ATL was via SJU or STX. For many years flights from STT to the USA stopped in one of those two airports due to the short length of the runway at STT.

I've been flying to and from St. Thomas for more years than I care to admit out of JFK, EWR and PHL. I've never had anything other than a direct flight with no fuel stop required back to the US.

I stand by my comment.

How many years ago did you start flying from STT to the USA nonstop? The current STT airport was constructed with longer runways in 1990. Prior to that it was not possible for jets to fly nonstop without either a fuel stop or reduced load due to the short length of the runway.

According to the 1 Jan 91 Official Airline Guide, the following flights operated from STT to the mainland USA:
American 655 (Airbus A300): STT-STX-JFK (flight's first leg is JFK-STT)
Continental 619 (727-200): STT-STX-EWR
Pan American 222 (727-200): STT-STX-JFK (the flight's first leg was MIA-STT

Midway Airlines 745 (737-200): STT-STX-MIA-MDW (continued to BDL except Saturdays)
Midway Airlines 747 (737-200): STT-STX-MIA-MDW
Pan American 430 (727-200): STT-STX-MIA-DCA
Pan American 221 (727-200): STT-STX-JFK (first leg: MIA-STT)
American 1467 (727-200): STT-STX-MIA-ISP (first two segments: IAD-RDU-STT)
Eastern 996 (727-200; discontinued after 3 Jan 91): STT-STX-MIA

American 1466 (727-200): STT-STX-RDU-IAD (first two segments: ISP-MIA-STT)

Eastern 990 (727-200): STT-STX-ATL


An American/TWA combined timetable effective 2 Jul 01 does show nonstop 757 services from STT to BOS/JFK/MIA

The American Trans Air timetable effective 17 Dec 94 shows one flight from STT to IND that stops in STX. The flight to STT is nonstop from IND.

For further information, see this discussion at Airliners.net

Around 1964! But that would have been direct flights to FL, so I'll let that question pass as that's not what we're discussing.

Earliest JFK to STT direct AND return that I can readily recall was December 1972 on Boeing 727s. I particularly remember the return flight as they smashed the J valve on my new 72 CU' scuba tank due to severe weather en route and cut the harness on my wife's brand new 54. Then I got to stand nonchalantly online with my damaged HEAVY tanks as I was surrounded by people filing claims for their smashed cases of duty-free liquor.

If we stopped at St. Croix on any of my flights ex STT during that era I have no recollection of it.

Just to clarify, you are using "direct" in the rest-of-the-world sense to mean a "nonstop flight", right? (In the USA, a direct flight is a flight that makes one or more stops enroute without a change of aircraft or a change of flight number.)

In my research, I found that 727-100's could make the trip nonstop out of STT's then ~4000' runway. It was an exciting flight and load reduced. However, I can't find any scheduled flights actually using 727-100s out of STT.

I'll have to take your word on the 1964 flight nonstop to Florida from STT. My October 1964 doesn't show this service. Pan Am had suspended STT service sometime in or before 1963. Eastern didn't serve STT (or STX for that matter). Rather, Eastern passengers connected to STT via Caribair.

Y'know, I hate to admit it but turning 60 sometimes does weird things to the memory! I thank you and others for reminding me of the limitations at STT. After all, we were there nearly 30 years ago!
I went back to my used luggage tags I've kept over the years and recalled the Aero Virgin Islands DC-3 we rode from STT to SJU. Nice flight in a grand old bird. So, yes, the 4 hr flight was SJU to ATL. Thanks for the corrections!
Somehow I had an easier time recalling the 10-days we spent in St Thomas/St John on a delayed mid-winter honeymoon than I was able to recall the short hop and transit through SJU. Darn that faulty memory!
Richie

Well then it's obvious that the printed schedules don't support my 40 year old memories and I'm wrong.

Yes, the takeoffs in those days from STT were nerve wracking as they almost always took off heading directly toward the mountain at the end of the runway. As the mountain rapidly approached the aircraft on its takeoff roll it was normal for all the passengers to grab their seat bottoms and pull up in an attempt to assist the takeoff!

I'm not too sure I'd want to see a mountain ahead of me when taking off. I'd be one of those people pulling up my seat bottom to help get the aircraft over the mountain.

Mine was ANC-DTW. I think it was 6 hours. Operated by one of Delta's many 752s.

You must be relieved to have cleared that up.

keeping in mind I was young (so multiply travel time by 3 for me, and by 10 for my parents haha), Vancouver - Hong Kong,
More recently ,
MSP-AMS and AMS-BOM were incredibly long. First class helped, but damn that was a long flight.

CUN-DEN

It's only 4 hours, I know..

But add another 4 hours of time spent on the tarmac because of a minor computer problem on the airplane.

SQ22/24JUN08
A340-541
9V-SGE

Depart: SIN/WSSS
Arrive: EWR/KEWR

Distance: 9529 miles
Duration: 19hrs 13 min nonstop!

Longest I've ever done is the ATL-JNB route and return. I've flown that route a total of 4 times, 3 of the times were int he business cabin so I had the lie flat seats but I did ATL-JNB in coach once. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be

Probably HNL-STL. I don't remember there being a stop. It was an emergency flight, after I had arrived in HNL two days before from SAN on Western (DC-10 via LAX). Not sure if that part of the trip was also Western.

I recently did STT to Virgin Gorda (VIJ) in a Cessna 404. The takeoff from STT was easy in that plane to get over the mountain.

The FUN was landing at VIJ. Right over a hill, then a dive down to the left to the runway and a quick right to find the centerline. That was fun. I have a video somewhere. The pilot (charter ride) let me ride shotgun and shoot video during the flight. I loved it. Wife hated it.


Back to the OT. Longest flight was LAX to Melbourne Australia. Loooong flight. Not too bad even if it was coach. Sat in the way back and it was pretty empty back there. Lots of room to stretch out and easy to get up and walk around.

Looks like I will be adding Istanbul-LAX next month in a Turkish 777, that flight follows a connection from Jeddah.

I get to update my post from 2007 . . .

In 2008 - In my Piper Comanche 6 hours 12 minutes from MLI-IJD against a net headwind heading west to east - just added to my story of always getting headwind.

In late 2009 - JFK-NRT - due to headwinds 15hours 12 min - I was in business class and think I slept 3 times, watch 3 full length movies at lunch, dinner and breakfast - geesh that was awful.

I have to say that I flew 90 min across Siberia at dusk - and its a long dusk that far north since it almost all dusk! - and did not see an artificial light on the ground the entire time - just a long of snow, rocks and trees -

then I went to Beijing for 10 days and the most amazing trip from PEK-NRT at dusk in a window seat facing north - the route is to pretty much overfly Seoul - so after sunset you have a vibrant asian capital lit up beneath you, 15 miles away is bright line - which is the spotlights on the border covering the entire length of it - a bright line straight across the country - then - darkness to the north. A bright clear evening, not a cloud in the sky and North Korea is pitch dark with a faint faint glow 90m away which Pyongyang . . .. what a sad place it must be.

So far, only KLAX to KATL on a Delta 767. Fun flight for me!

Some time in June 1971, from Cam Rahn Bay, South Vietnam to Anchorage Alaska, via Okinawa. The leg from Okinawa to Anchorage was non-stop. The plane was a Super DC-8, and one of the multitudes of charter airlines that DOD used at the time to carry troops to/from VietNam. I want to say something like Universal Airways or somesuch.. You kind of forget the details after 40 some years.. According to GoogleEarth, the Cam Rahn Bay-Okinawa leg was 1,558 miles and the Okinawa-Anchorage leg was 4,402 miles.. I do remember clearly getting on the plane in Vietnam in short sleeve khakis with the expected hot/humid weather there, and then some hours later being forced to get off the plane in Anchorage, and walk across the tarmac to the terminal where the outside temp was a balmy 13F without ANY coats/jackets. The plane was parked about 100 yards from the terminal. There were a lot of shivering GIs. Apparently the rules prohibited refueling with passengers onboard. After about a 45 min stop there, we took off for McChord AFB in Seattle...

To date, Auckland - Hong Kong, 14 and a bit hours on an Air NZ 772.
The Joys of living at the end of the earth! If you really want to go anywhere- (apart from Australia) its 10+hours

The one with the crying baby and the unruly kids is usually the longest for me

...but serously, EWR-MAD in an old Continental DC-10 back in 2000. I traveled MFE-IAH, IAH-EWR and EWR-MAD, and for $318 round trip! Can´t complain about the service, we had a very nice dinner with wine, and a nice breakfast. Ah, those were the good ol´days!

My first international flight was my longest: TWA JFK-FCO at 4277mi, but I have KLM IAH-AMS coming up in September (5012mi).