The three major airlines in the United States, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, are collectively known as the Big Three. According to Cirium Diio data, in November and December, these airlines will have a total of 278 daily international long-haul departures. This is an increase from 258 departures in the same months last year. United leads the pack with 45% of the services, followed by Delta with 31%, and American with 24%.
Compared to last year, all three airlines have slightly increased their number of services. United stands out with a 13% increase year-over-year, potentially resulting in excessive capacity, especially in November, which is typically a slow month for travel to destinations in the Northern Hemisphere.
Here is a list of the longest nonstop flights operated by these airlines in November and December, ranked by maximum block time (the time from chocks-off to chocks-on):
Direction of Route with Maximum Block Time | Airline | November/December Operations
San Francisco to Singapore | United | Two daily 787-9
Houston Intercontinental to Sydney | United | Daily 787-9
Delhi back to Newark | United | Daily 787-9
Johannesburg back to Atlanta | Delta | Five weekly A350-900
Dallas/Fort Worth to Brisbane | American | Six weekly to daily 787-9
Delhi back to New York JFK | American | Daily 787-9
Cape Town back to Atlanta | Delta | A350-900
Dallas/Fort Worth to Shanghai Pudong | American | Daily 787-9
Johannesburg back to Newark | United | Six weekly 787-9
Detroit to Shanghai Pudong | Delta | Daily A350-900
Among these three major airlines, United and Delta offer longer flights compared to American, with United’s longest nonstop flight being 17 hours and 40 minutes from San Francisco to Singapore.
It is worth noting that despite American Airlines having a smaller long-haul presence, its longest nonstop flight to Brisbane, Australia, is still a considerable 16 hours and 50 minutes, making it an ultra-long-haul service. However, when compared to other carriers, this route is not the longest from Dallas, as both Melbourne and Sydney have longer block times and are served by fellow oneworld member and partner Qantas.
Other very long flights to Australia, such as Delta’s new route from Los Angeles to Melbourne, United’s flights from Los Angeles to Melbourne and San Francisco to Adelaide, and United’s new route from San Francisco to Melbourne, do not have a long enough maximum block time to be featured on this list.
On December 3rd, Delta will start its new route from Los Angeles to Melbourne, which will be served three times a week on the high-premium