barnsleymat

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/arti...ectid=10775246

I can't figure out if it'll cut flights to the UK or not. Anyone know anything more?

Justcol

Just read a little more about it, they reckon london to fiji direct will be 18 hrs
although why Branson chose Fiji as a long haul destination I dont know, surely
people would be more interested in knowing the london to hong kong / sydney/ auckland times

I doubt they will cut fairs as a result of the time / fuel savings and it seems only
a few types of plane can use the polar express route

sr71

I reckon there will be no difference - many routes are flown by 747's or A340's which are not subject to these restrictions anyway, would have thought they would fly the shortest routes currently.

Persephone

They do currently fly along Antarctica if you go from Australia to South Africa taking the shortest route. Not a lot of emergency landing strips there though it is very picturesque from the sky

DC10

That's correct imo. All they are doing is replacing the LAX-LHR 747s (4 engines) with slightly smaller 777s (2 engines). It won't make any difference to time - still 24 hours with a refuel stop, give or take.

There are strict rules about how far 2 engine aircraft can be from a diversion airport at any time; these rules have been relaxed somewhat.