Inside the world's 5 longest non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes

Since entering service with Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways more than 13 years ago in October 2011, the Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' has become a staple of modern long-haul flying.

With almost 1,200 units produced to date and three variants available, you never have to wait long to see one when at a major hub airport.

But what are the type's longest non-stop scheduled flights? Using data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, for March 2025, let's take a closer look and find out!

5 Houston - Sydney

8,596 miles

A common theme when looking more widely at the longest scheduled non-stop flights with the Boeing 787 family is the transpacific corridor from the United States of America to Australia and New Zealand.

This is evidenced by the presence of multiple routes that connect these markets ranking among the five longest scheduled non-stop flights with the 787, with Houston to Sydney being one example.

Indeed, according to Great Circle Mapper, the route from Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) clocks in at a whopping distance of some 8,596 miles (13,834 km).

United Airlines is the only carrier serving the route on a non-stop basis with the 787 this March, and its variant of choice is the mid-sized 787-9, of which, per ch-aviation, it has 42 (146 on order).

This March, United Airlines is scheduled to serve the non-stop route between Houston and Sydney almost daily with its Boeing 787-9s, with 27 outbound and 29 inbound flights planned.

Flying west, UA101 leaves Houston at 20:25 and, after 17 hours and 35 minutes, it reaches Sydney at 07:00 two days later. As for the return, UA102 leaves Sydney at 11:50 local time.

It crosses the International Date Line en route, and, after 15 hours and 35 minutes, reaches Houston at 10:25 the same day.

According to current fleet data made available by aeroLOPA, United Airlines configures its mid-sized Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in a three-class layout that has space for a grand total of 257 passengers onboard.

The best seats in the house are the 48 Polaris business class flatbeds, laid out in a staggered 1-2-1 setup. There are also 21 premium economy and 188 economy class seats onboard.

4 Auckland - New York

8,828 miles

Staying on the transpacific corridor, two different airlines from Oceania have scheduled non-stop flights with the Boeing 787 between Auckland Airport (AKL) and New York John F Kennedy International (JFK) this March.

This route is 8,828 miles (14,207 km) long, and will be served by Dreamliners from both Qantas and Air New Zealand . Both carriers favor the mid-sized 787-9 model on this route.

Qantas flies from Auckland to New York as the second leg of a one-stop itinerary that originates at its hub in Melbourne (MEL). Numbered as QF3, the outbound flight leaves Auckland at 16:55, and, after 15 hours and 30 minutes, lands in New York at 14:25 on the same day.

Meanwhile, QF4 leaves JFK at 17:15, and reaches Auckland after 17 hours and 40 minutes at 04:55 two days later. The Australian flag carrier has scheduled 23 flights each way between Auckland and JFK this March.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand's non-stop 787 flights between Auckland and JFK operate on a standalone basis, with no second leg.

The carrier has scheduled 14 rotations on the route this March, with the outbound flight (numbered as NZ2) taking 15 hours and 45 minutes between leaving Auckland at 19:15 and reaching JFK at 17:00.

Meanwhile, NZ1 leaves JFK at 19:20 and, after a whopping scheduled block time of 18 hours and five minutes, reaches Auckland at 07:25 two days later.

Air New Zealand has two different seating configurations for its 787-9s, but favors the lower-density 275-seat layout for this route. This features 27 three-abreast business class flatbeds, 33 premium economy recliners, and 215 economy seats. As for Qantas, the Australian flag carrier's 787-9s have 236 seats onboard, with this layout being even lower in density than that of Air New Zealand. Onboard, it has:

• 42 business class flatbeds (1-2-1).
• 28 premium economy recliners (2-3-2).
• 166 economy class seats (3-3-3).

3 Perth - Paris

8,863 miles

Moving away from routes that serve the United States of America using aircraft from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner family, but staying on the theme of corridors that originate in Oceania, we have Qantas' corridor from Perth Airport (PER) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG).

The route clocks in at an impressive 8,863 miles (14,264 km) in length, with the Australia flag carrier being the sole non-stop 787 operator.

The airline's presence on the route is a relatively new one, having only relaunched its flights to the capital city of France last year. These came back in July 2024, just in time for the Olympic and Paralympic games, and represented the Australian flag carrier's first flights to and from the 'City of Light' in 20 years. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said that the route reflected customer desires, explaining that:

This March, Qantas has scheduled 13 flights in each direction between Perth and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Flying westbound, QF33 (which originates in Sydney) departs Perth at 17:25, reaching Paris at 06:50 the next morning after 17 hours and 25 minutes. As for the return, QF34 leaves Paris at 10:20, reaching Perth at 09:50 before continuing onwards to Sydney.

2 Melbourne - Dallas

8,992 miles

Given Australia's distant location in Oceania, as well as the social and economic importance of linking this market with Europe and North America, it is unsurprising to see that Qantas also accounts for the second-longest and longest non-stop 787 flights this March.

The former of these corridors links Melbourne with Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), with a distance of 8,992 miles (14,471 km).

Qantas has scheduled 16 Dreamliner flights in each direction on this transpacific corridor in March 2025, with the 787-9 (which is, in fact, the Australian flag carrier's only widebody design from the Boeing stable) once again being the aircraft of choice.

According to fleet data made available by ch-aviation, the airline has 14 of these twinjets in its fleet, plus four more on order (and eight orders for the 787-10).

These aircraft are six years old on average. While all 42 of its Thomson Aero Vantage XL business class flatbeds are comfortable places to spend a long-haul flight, it is worth noting that the cabin is split into two sections.

Between the first and second doors of the aircraft, there are eight rows, with the remaining three located behind the second door, where passengers have a more exclusive environment.

Flying eastbound, Qantas flight QF21 is scheduled to leave the Australian flag carrier's hub in Melbourne at 16:20 local time, with the journey to Texas taking 15 hours and 40 minutes.

This gives it a scheduled arrival time at DFW of 15:00. As for the return flight, QF22 departs the Texan hub at 18:55 local time, and, after 17 hours and 45 minutes, reaches Melbourne at 05:40 two days later.

1 Perth - London

9,009 miles

The longest non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner route operated by Qantas (and, indeed, any carrier anywhere in the world) this March connects Perth with London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

As well as being the longest route on the list, with a distance of 9,009 miles (14,499 km), it is also the most frequently served, with Qantas flying between these two airports daily, amounting to 31 round trips in March.

Flying westbound, Qantas flight QF9 departs Perth at 19:50 local time, and has a scheduled duration of 17 hours and 50 minutes.

This sees it reach London at 05:05, making it perfect for passengers making early morning onward connections with Qantas' oneworld partner British Airways , whose hub is at Heathrow.

As for the return flight, these leave London at 11:50 local time as QF10, and have a scheduled duration of 16 hours and 30 minutes, reaching Perth at 12:20 the next day.

According to Qantas, the Australian flag carrier started operating non-stop flights between Perth and London in March 2018.

These were very successful in their first year of operations, achieving an impressive load factor of 94%.

However, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic plunged the route into uncertainty, with the national airline considering Darwin as an alternative destination from London.

However, after a hiatus that lasted more than two years, Qantas eventually resumed its non-stop flights between Perth and London in May of 2022. Back then, the flight also featured a domestic leg between Perth and Melbourne, but this has since been cut from the schedule.

As my reported at the time, it was axed last July, resulting in a 5% reduction in seats between Perth and Melbourne.