The Airbus A380 is best known for being the world’s largest commercial passenger jet, but it is also extremely capable when it comes to range. Capable of serving routes of over 17 hours, the A380 is a core part of the long-haul market and will remain so for the next decade and beyond.

As the largest operator of the A380 by a considerable distance, Emirates inevitably features heavily among the world’s longest A380 pairings. However, it doesn’t currently hold the honor of operating the longest A380 route (by block time), with Australian carrier Qantas beating it to the top spot with a recently reactivated route.

Qantas Operates World’s Longest A380 Route

Looking at data from aviation analytics company Cirium for December, Qantas’ return service from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) has the longest block time of any A380 flight at 17 hours and 25 minutes, putting it 15 minutes ahead of Emirates’ flight from Auckland Airport (AKL) to Dubai International Airport (DXB), which is blocked at 17 hours and 10 minutes. Qantas restored A380 service to Texas’ busiest airport this summer after a five-year hiatus.

These two flights are the only 17-hour-plus A380 flights this month, with a total of 11 pairings clocking in at 15 hours and above. Given its distant Australian position, Qantas also features heavily, operating four of the top ten longest A380 flights, including LAX to Melbourne (MEL), Singapore (SIN) to London Heathrow (LHR) and LAX to SYD. Sydney is one of six global airports with scheduled A380 flights from four or more airlines, currently handling A380 services from Asiana, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Qantas states on its website,

« Over the past few years, we’ve progressively refurbished our A380 fleet with a change in layout and improved features to enhance your flying experience. The aircraft has 14 First, 70 Business, 60 Premium Economy and 341 Economy seats. »

Emirates Will Continue To Dominate

Emirates operates four of the top five longest A380 flights. In addition to its Dubai-Auckland connection — which was the world’s longest for years before Qantas’ return to DFW this summer — Emirates also features with Dubai to Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO), all blocked at 16 hours or longer.

The Dubai-based airline has confirmed it plans to continue flying the A380 until 2040, while Qantas will keep its A380s in the skies until at least 2032. The Australian carrier recently reactivated its tenth and final A380 airframe after almost six years in storage, signaling how important the Airbus double-decker is to its long-haul capabilities.

Emirates has almost 100 A380s in service today, which represents around two-thirds of the global in-service A380 fleet. But with several more aircraft parked, the airline plans to increase this to 110 in-service aircraft or more by the end of 2026.

Which Other Airlines Feature?

With Emirates and Qantas dominating the world’s longest A380 routes, only two routes are solely operated by other airlines. The first is Korean Air’s daily A380 flight from New York (JFK) to Seoul Incheon (ICN), which has a block time of 15 hours and 45 minutes.

The other is Etihad Airways’ daily service from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Toronto Pearson (YYZ), which is tied for the tenth spot with Qantas’ return service from LAX to SYD at 15 hours.

One other airline also features in the top ten, jointly serving a route also flown by Qantas. This is Singapore Airlines, which flies from Singapore to London Heathrow, a route blocked at 15 hours and 10 minutes. Qantas flies from here as part of its flagship QF1 route, also known as the « Kangaroo Route, » which originates from Sydney with a stop in Singapore.