*ISLAMABAD – A plane and its passengers are set to test the mental andphysical limits of long-haul aviation when Qantas operates the first directflight by a commercial airline from New York to Sydney this weekend.*
In the first of three “ultra long-haul” test flights planned by Australia’snational flag carrier this year, researchers will monitor the effects onpassengers of the 19-hour non-stop journey.
Up to 40 passengers and crew — most of them Qantas employees — will be onboard the Boeing 787-9 when it departs New York on Friday. The plane isscheduled to arrive Down Under Sunday morning.
Passenger numbers have been restricted to minimise the weight on board andgive the plane sufficient fuel range to travel approximately 16,000kilometres (about 9,500 miles) without re-fuelling, heading west over thePacific.
No other airline has ever achieved the feat, which Qantas CEO Alan Joycehas called the “final frontier in aviation”.
Scientists from two Australian universities will be on board to monitorpassengers’ sleep patterns, melatonin levels, and food consumption.
Pilots will also wear a device that tracks their brain waves and alertness.
With a 15-hour time difference between New York and Sydney, the impact ofjetlag will be closely watched.
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“We know from the basic science of circadian rhythms that a bigger timedifference between departure and arrival locations, and travelling eastrather than west, tends to mean people feel more jetlag,” University ofSydney professor Stephen Simpson told AFP.
“But people seem to be wildly different when it comes to the experience ofjetlag -– and we need more research on what contributes to jetlag andtravel fatigue, so we can try and reduce the impact of long-haul flights.”
Qantas last year introduced the first direct service from the westernAustralian city of Perth to London, with the 17-hour journey one of thelongest passenger flights in the world.
As well as the New York-Sydney route, Qantas will test a service fromLondon to Sydney in the coming months.
The airline is considering launching commercial services on the marathonroutes — if the economics stack up.
A decision will be made on the validity of the flights at the end of theyear. Joyce has said it is “ultimately a business decision”. -APP/AFP
