Longest flight from New York to Sydney in Qantas review

• Qantas just completed the first nonstop flight between New York and Sydney, Australia, called "Project Sunrise", and Business Insider was aboard.
• The flight – which lasted 19 hours and 16 minutes and covered nearly 10,000 miles – was a research flight as Qantas staff and researchers studied how to help passengers and crew stay sufficiently comfortable and rest on an ultra-long-haul flight.
• Researchers closely monitored pilots and flight attendants, testing a new floating cabin service intended to help minimize jet lag.
• It was a fascinating and enlightening experience, and made me feel good for a morning in Sydney. Read on to see what it was like to be on board this first test flight.
• Visit the Business Insiders homepage for more stories.

I just spent a day in the air.

No, not just a day trip, heading to airports, handling buses and terminals and making connections. But almost a full day in a squeezed metal pipe that swung between about 34,000 and 42,000 feet above the earth ̵[ads1]1; most of it across the Pacific Ocean.

Australian airline Qantas ran a test flight for its "Project Sunrise" initiative – a program to launch regular commercial service from Sydney to New York and Sydney to London.

The flights, around 9,900 and 10,500 nautical miles respectively, represent the most distant – and currently the longest, in terms of time – direct flights today. While a direct flight from London to Sydney was achieved once 30 years ago, it hardly counts – it was flown with a completely empty 747 that had no seats, and it barely had enough fuel to do so. The New York-Sydney route has never been made without a stop in Los Angeles.

When it landed, the aircraft was designated QF7879, the longest commercial flight in the world, surpassing Singapore Airlines regular commercial service between Singapore and New York, although next month's test of the London-Sydney flight will surpass this.

Aircraft and airlines are more technically advanced now than ever before, with better fuel efficiency, longer range and computerized logistical planning. But as some flights get longer, the issue of passengers and flight crews can withstand several hours in the air without leave to break things up.

Qantas used this flight – and plans to do the same for the London route – to investigate how pilots, cabin crew and passengers cope with the long flight time. Specifically, data collected from monitoring the pilots and flight attendants will be used to help Qantas make a case to Australian aviation regulators that it is safe to have crew work on turns for potentially 20 hours or more.

The airline also tested a redesigned cabin service, intended to help passengers minimize the impact of jet lag when crossing 15 time zones, and reduce the size that an ultra-long-haul aircraft can aggravate these symptoms. Cabin lighting, meal services and dining options were tailored to help passengers and crew either feel more awake or be more attentive at night.

This flight also doubled as a delivery of a new Boeing 787-9, from Boeing's Seattle plant. There were only 40 passengers and 10 crew, including four pilots on duty. Passengers included several Qantas frequent flyers participating in the research study, Qantas employees, researchers and staff, including this reporter.

The aircraft with full load of passengers and cargo is not yet possible – the heavier load would reduce the aircraft's fuel range.

Two aircraft under development from Airbus and Boeing would be able to fly these routes. Qantas has said it will decide by the end of 2019 which it will use, and that it expects to start commercial service as early as 2023, said Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO. The airline had previously hoped to start service by 2022.

Because of the low passenger load, each person was assigned a business class that could convert to a bed. Passengers were also encouraged to spend some time in the bus cabin to balance the aircraft.

Although the flight would obviously be a different experience in a full-flight coach, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce discussed several options to make an ultra-long-haul bus ride more comfortable.

Regardless, the nearly 20-hour business class trip, with the redesigned cabin service, was a particularly different experience compared to other long-haul flights I've flown in premium cabins, including first class and business class.

Apart from that, it was truly a unique experience. After all, it's not every flight that you see a CEO doing with calisthenics in pajamas.

While it is Business Insider's policy not to accept free travel, we were unable to pay for the New York-to-Sydney trip because it was classified as a "ferry flight" as the US Department of Transportation's regulations prevent the airline accepts money for prices. Business Insider paid for the return flight with the airline.

From takeoff to landing, plus before and after, read on to see how the 19-hour and 16-minute flights were.