INSIDE THE 10 LONGEST NON-STOP BOEING 787 DREAMLINER ROUTES FROM EUROPE

The location of Europe on the world map means that, for long-range aircraft such as the Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' family, there are few corners of the globe that can't be reached on a non-stop basis. The continent's longest routes with the type, all of which use the mid-sized 787-9 variant, serve both the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region, with data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showing that, this March, the top 10 are all longer than 6,500 miles (10,460 km). Let's take a look!

Paris CDG - Singapore

6,666 miles

Kicking off the list, we have Air France's route from its main hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Singapore Changi (SIN). The French flag carrier and SkyTeam founding member has penciled in 14 outbound and 13 inbound flights with the Boeing787-9 'Dreamliner' on this route this March, alongside daily rotations with the Boeing 777-300ER. It faces competition from Singapore Airlines, which has daily 777-300ER flights and 19 monthly rotations with the A350-900.

Air France's Boeing 787-9 operations on the route from Paris to Singapore work out at an average of three return trips with the type per week. According to aeroLOPA, the French national airline favors a three-class configuration on these jets, with its 30 business class seats being laid out four-abreast in a 1-2-1 setup. There are also 21 premium economy recliners (2-3-2) and 228 economy seats (3-3-3).

Istanbul - Bogotá

6,672 miles

While Air France faces direct competition on its route from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Singapore Changi, Turkish Airlines has a monopoly on the corridor from its main hub in Istanbul (IST) to El Dorado International (BOG) in the Colombian capital city of Bogotá. This month, the Turkish flag carrier and Star Alliancemember is flying daily from Istanbul to Bogotá, with the 787-9 accounting for 29 of the 31 flights. Meanwhile, the other two will be operated by the AirbusA350-900.

Fans of round numbers will appreciate the way in which Turkish Airlines configures its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Indeed, these have exactly 300 seats on them, with 30 being found in the business class cabin. This section features flatbeds in a staggered four-abreast (1-2-1) layout. Meanwhile, the jet's remaining 270 seats belong to the economy class section, and are laid out in the usual 3-3-3 setup.

Istanbul - San Francisco

6,705 miles

While routes from Europe to the West Coast of North America are indeed on the longer side, most wouldn't trouble the top of many distance lists. However, Turkish Airlines' corridor from Istanbul to San Francisco Airport (IST) is a notable exception, and ranks eight this month on account of Turkey's more distant location in the southeast of Europe. The 787-9 accounts for 12 of its 47 rotations on the route.

Diving deeper into the configuration of Turkish Airlines' Boeing 787-9 aircraft, the carrier's business class flatbed seat of choice is the Stelia Aerospace Symphony. Passengers should be aware of the fact that, on account of this cabin's staggered configuration, only even-numbered rows have 'true' window seats. Meanwhile, couples traveling together should aim for the odd-numbered rows, as the seats in the center pairs are directly adjacent, rather than separated by the seat structure.

Istanbul - Panama City

6,730 miles

Staying on the theme of Turkish Airlines' long-haul 787-9 routes to destinations located in the Americas, the carrier also serves Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in Panama City from its main hub in Istanbul. This March, it is flying 13 times from Istanbul to Panama City, with the 787-9 accounting for 12 of these services, compared to one for the A350-900. However, the return figures are quite different.

Indeed, a closer look at Cirium's data shows that Turkish Airlines has penciled in three flights from Panama City to Istanbul with the A350, and a whopping 41 with the 787-9. Compared to the outbound frequencies, these are differences of two and 29 flights respectively. However, eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that these correspond with the outbound frequencies on the route from Istanbul to Bogotá, and, indeed, this is because the return leg of these flights stops in Panama City.

London Heathrow - Singapore

6,764 miles

Returning to Singapore, the route to here from London Heathrow (LHR) in the UK is notable for the fact that it is served by three separate operators of the Airbus A380: British Airways, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines. As it happens, BA and Singapore Airlines also deploy the Boeing 777-300ER on the route. Meanwhile, the 787-9 plays a considerably smaller role, with just two BA flights planned this March.

British Airways favors a low-density seating configuration on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with four classes of travel onboard. Accommodating just 216 passengers, this figure includes eight First suites in a 1-2-1 layout and 42 Club World business class flatbeds in the old 2-3-2 configuration. Further back, there are 39 World Traveller Plus premium economy recliners and 127 World Traveller economy seats. In terms of the space that BA's 787-9s offer, they have:

• First: 79-inch flatbed.
• Club World: 72-inch flatbed.
• World Traveller Plus: 38-inch pitch.
• World Traveller: 31-inch pitch.

Istanbul - Mexico City

7,088 miles

Returning to Turkish Airlines, and moving north of the 7,000-mile mark, the carrier also flies its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on a lengthy route from Istanbul to Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) in the Mexican capital of Mexico City. The airline has penciled in 43 flights from Istanbul to Mexico City this March, all using the 787-9, and their return journey to Turkey features a stop in Cancún (CUN).

Passengers on these aircraft are well-equipped when it comes to inflight entertainment. Indeed, the Dreamliner's business class seats feature 18-inch HD touchscreen displays, while passengers looking to use their own devices can keep them suitably charged up thanks to power provided by universal AC and USB-A sockets. Meanwhile, economy passengers have 11.6-inch screens and USB-A sockets.

Amsterdam - Buenos Aires

7,106 miles

This March, Dutch flag carrier and SkyTeammember KLM is flying its 787-9s from its main hub at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to Ministro Pistarini International (EZE) in the Argentinian capital city of Buenos Aires on a daily basis. The airline has a monopoly on this route, and only uses the 787-9 for it, meaning that the 31 Dreamliner rotations are the corridor's only non-stop services this month.

KLM, which is also a rare operator of the less popular stretched-fuselage 787-10 variant from Boeing's modern Dreamliner family of widebody twinjets, configures its 787-9s in a three-class layout. This setup features 30 business class flatbeds (1-2-1), 21 premium economy recliners (2-3-2), and 224 economy seats (3-3-3). The addition of premium economy has been a relatively recent occurrence at KLM, with the Dutch flag carrier only completing this process in December 2024.

London Heathrow - Santiago de Chile

7,227 miles

British Airways' longest non-stop route connects its main hub at London Heathrow Airport with Arturo Merino Benítez International (SCL) in Santiago de Chile. This March, the UK flag carrier and oneworldfounding member has penciled in 11 outbound and 12 inbound flights on the route using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with four flights a week until March 17th, when they become weekly.

• BA251 LHR 22:15 - SCL 09:55 +1 (14 hours and 40 minutes.
• BA250 SCL 13:05 - LHR 06:15 +1 (14 hours and 10 minutes).

As mentioned, passengers traveling in Club World on these aircraft should be aware of the fact that it features the old 2-3-2 layout rather than the new Club Suites. However, such guests can get a slightly more exclusive experience by choosing a seat in the first two rows, which are located behind First in isolation from the remaining four rows of the Ckub World cabin for a more private atmosphere.

Paris CDG - Perth

8,847 miles

Both of Europe's two longest non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes this March are operated by Australian flag carrier Qantas to Perth (PER). The shortest corridor from this pair originates at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with Qantas operating 13 flights in each direction on this route in March 2025. This equates to three flights a week with the 787-9, which Qantas configures in a three-class layout.

This low-density setup has 236 seats onboard, with the best spots being the 42 Thompson Aero Vantage XL business class flatbeds. These are laid out four abreast in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, with odd-numbered rows offering true window seats. Behind this cabin are 28 premium economy recliners in a seven-abreast 2-3-2 configuration, followed by 166 economy class seats in the standard 3-3-3 layout.

London Heathrow - Perth

8,988 miles

Qantas' other non-stop route from Europe with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner this March originates at London Heathrow, and this corridor is served on a daily basis, with 31 round trips in the month. Going forward, Qantas hopes to be able to connect destinations such as London with further-flung parts of Australia on a non-stop basis through an initiative known as Project Sunrise, which you can read about here.

Qantas' London-Perth flights have faced uncertainty in recent years, and, after being put on hiatus due to COVID-19, the chances of a return initially seemed unlikely, with the carrier considering Darwin as its non-stop destination. In the end, the London-Perth flights were able to resume in May 2022, although, two years later, they did briefly have to pause amid tensions concerning Iranian airspace en route.

2025-03-11T10:05:20Z