原文连结：华盛顿邮报
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/could-you-endure-the-worlds-longest-nonstop-flight-find-out-whos-king-of-the-long-haul/2016/05/26/bd0dadc2-0357-11e6-b823-707c79ce3504_story.html?tid=sm_fb
缩网址
https://goo.gl/6UV4XI
(翻译献丑了)
Could you endure the world’s longest nonstop flight? Find out who’s king of
the long haul.
By Mary Ann Anderson May 26
As long flights go, Singapore Airlines’ epic almost-19-hour, 9,534-mile
journey from Newark to Singapore was once the - standard-bearer against which
all others were measured. But the all-business-class Flight 21 was scrubbed
in 2013, some nine years after its first voyage in 2004. The airline had sold
its ultra-long-range A340-500 aircraft, and no other in its fleet was capable
of connecting Singapore and the New York area on a nonstop basis.
就长程航线来说，新加坡航空史诗级-几乎19小时，飞行9534英哩，从纽华克到新加坡
曾经是最长的航班。但是当这班全商务舱配置的21号航班在2004年首航，飞了9年在2013
年收摊后，新航也卖出所有他的A340-500机队，旗下再也没有能够飞纽约到新加坡的直飞
飞机了。
Today, two airlines share the distinction of the world’s longest nonstop
flight, according to air-travel intelligence analysts OAG. It’s a tie
between Emirates Flight 449 from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand, and Air
India from San Francisco to New Delhi. Both clock in at 17 hours and 15
minutes, though the Dubai-Auckland mileage is considerably longer — 8,819
miles compared with 7,690.
今天，根据OAG(航空旅行情报公司)指出，在世界最长直飞航线之争中，有两家航空公司
的航线均为17小时15分打成平手，分别为阿联酋编号449号从杜拜往新西兰奥克兰，以及
印度航空从旧金山往新德里。但就距离而言，杜拜-奥克兰飞行距离为8819英哩，略胜于
另一条的7690英哩。
A slightly longer flight on Emirates from Dubai to Panama City at 17 hours
and 35 minutes was scheduled to begin in February but has been delayed until
later this year or early 2017.
另一条略长的航班则同为阿联酋的杜拜到巴拿马市，花费17小时35分，原订于2月首航，
却被延后到今年稍晚或是2017年初。
In any case, Singapore Airlines will once again one-up its long-haul
competitors when it resumes nonstop service from New York to Singapore in
2018, as it announced last fall. That’s when the airline will take delivery
of the first of seven A350-900 ultra-long-range aircraft, with service to
begin shortly after delivery.
无论如何，新加坡航空在长程航班的舞台将再卷土重来，去年秋天新航宣布，2018年将
重启纽约到新加坡直飞，届时将以7架新接收的A350-900执飞。
Expected flying time will again be between 18 and 19 hours, depending on
factors such as wind speed and other weather conditions.
届时航班全程将长达18至19小时，视风速及天气状况而定。
But then again, what’s a few minutes more or less when it seems as if you’
ve already spent eternity up in the air?
但话说回来，当你在空中好像过了很久，多几分钟或少几分钟又如何？
We’ve come a long way since the first Wright brothers flight stayed aloft
for 12 seconds and traveled all of 120 feet. Consider the iconic jumbo-size
Boeing 747, first flown commercially in January 1970 by Pan Am between JFK
and London Heathrow. The longtime workhorse, still in service, takes off and
lands heavy because of its sheer size and uses copious amounts of fuel.
Still, for some aviation geeks like me, the 747 remains a gorgeous aircraft
with sleek aerodynamic lines and curves.
从莱特兄弟离地飞了12秒和120英呎后，到泛美航空1970年代表性的波音747巨无霸
首次商业飞行，从纽约甘迺迪到伦敦希斯洛，至今这批巨无霸工作马-波音747仍因其尺寸
和油耗服役当中。对我这种航迷来说，波音747其流线的外表和线条仍使它成为一款华丽的
飞机
Connectivity for a smarter world
The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to solve our biggest global
challenges and bring people everywhere a better quality of life.
Today’s newer airplanes, including the fuel-efficient Boeing 777s and 787s
and Airbus A350s and A380s, are made of lighter materials, such as
cutting-edge carbon-fiber composites and aluminum alloys, and can stay in the
air much longer than their predecessors.
连接更聪明的世界
物联网(IOT)具有为全世界人们带来更好的生活和解决更大挑战的巨大潜力。
今天更新的飞机，包括燃油效率更高的波音777、787和空中巴士A350、A380家族，均以
更轻的材料，如尖端科技的碳纤维和铝合金打造，比他们的前辈们能滞空更久。
Of course, when airplanes are able to stay aloft for up to 19 hours, that
means we, as passengers, have to as well. Truthfully, the experience isn’t
all that bad. Before its demise, I flew the Newark to Singapore route on
Singapore Airlines. Instead of the scheduled 18 hours and 45 minutes, our
flight landed early, after just 18 hours and 30 minutes. (Whoo-hoo!) I’ve
also flown the New York to Johannesburg route on South African Airways for
just under 16 hours nonstop; it now hovers at No. 20 on the list of longest
nonstop flights with an official flight time of 16 hours and 10 minutes.
当然，当飞机能飞19小时，同时表示我们这些乘客也要在空中19个小时，老实说，经验并
不是都是糟糕的。笔者曾经搭乘新航从纽华克到新加坡，尽管表订要18小时45分，但是
我们航班提早到达，全程仅花18小时30分(哇呜~)。笔者也曾经从纽约飞到约翰尼斯堡，
搭乘南非航空，刚好不到16小时。现在这班航班在全球最长航班中也仅排行第20名，官方
的表订时间要16小时10分钟。
On both flights, fortunately, the food and wine — which is still included in
the price of most international long-haul flights — was excellent, which it
should be for a trip lasting almost forever. A special treat on the Newark to
Singapore route was that we flew over the North Pole, and I was mesmerized by
how much snow covered the top of the Earth.
幸运的，这两班国际长程航班餐点和酒水均含于票价中-非常好，应该持续下去。而且从
纽华克到新加坡还有特别招待-飞越北极，笔者还记得在地球之巅覆蓋了多少霭霭白雪。
Don’t fret that the crews on ultra-long-haul flights might be sleep-deprived
zombies, as pilots and flight attendants are swapped out for fresh
replacements during all those hours in the air. Secret stairways lead to crew
rest compartments that are generally unknown to passengers — and completely
off-limits.
不用为那些在超长程航班上工作的空勤人员烦恼，他们也许是被剥夺睡眠时间的僵尸
，但机长和空服员在空中会换班，通常乘客都不知道有组员休息舱，有秘密阶梯连接而且
乘客止步喔。
As a frequent flier, I prefer the long-haul nonstop flights, even though I’m
confined to a pretty small space for a very long time. They shave off several
hours of travel time and take away the annoyance of connecting flights and
the increased possibility of lost luggage.
身为飞行常客，笔者较喜欢长程直飞航班，虽然长时间被限制在狭小空间，但省时且免
去转机之苦，也降低遗失行李可能性。
“Nonstop operations to Southeast Asia and other ultra-long-haul destinations
are of particular benefit to corporate travelers,” says James Boyd,
spokesman for Singapore Airlines. “Some of the feedback we received from
them is that they loved the idea of ‘found time,’ as they called it, in
terms of being able to board the aircraft, have dinner, have time for a full
night’s sleep, watch a couple of movies and still have time to get some work
done before arriving at their destination.”
新航发言人James Boyd表示："操作直飞航班到东南亚和其他超长程航班目的地，
对商务客来说特别有利。""我们收到来自商务客反应，他们喜欢上机后可以吃顿晚餐、睡
个饱觉、看些电影之后还有些时间可以在抵达目的地前做些准备"他们说他们喜欢这些
"空档时间"(found time)。
草草翻译欢迎指教