WASHINGTON — A marathon 14.5-hour flight is being planned from Northern Virginia's Dulles International Airport and Cape Town International Airport in South Africa.
Spanning nearly 8,000 miles, the flight would spend the vast majority of its time 36,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean skimming the west coast of Africa and crossing the Equator.
You could squeeze in eight Netflix movies or potentially set the world record for most consecutive games of solitaire on your iPad.
United Airlines spokesperson Sam Coleman tells WUSA9 this would be United's longest flight out of Dulles, while the longest flight on its worldwide schedule is the 17 hours from San Francisco to Singapore.
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On Wednesday, according to the company, United filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for three weekly nonstop flights between Dulles and Cape Town.
United's flights would become the first nonstop service ever between the Washington D.C. area and South Africa's legislative capital, according to a United statement.
The Washington D.C. to Cape Town route is the largest between the U.S. and South Africa without nonstop service. D.C. is the second largest point in the U.S. for Cape Town demand and holds the fifth-largest South African-born population, per United.
"If awarded by the DOT, this historic nonstop service will significantly enhance travel options for consumers, strengthen ties between our countries legislative and diplomatic epicenters, and benefit thriving travel and tourism industries serving our respective countries," said Patrick Quayle, United's Senior Vice President of International Network and Alliances in a statement.
According to the site 'N Travel' the longest flights in the world include travel from Singapore to New York (18 hours 40 minutes) and Darwin, Australia to London (17 hours 55 minutes).
Australia's national airline Qantas is planning to add a Sydney to London flight by 2025 that would take just over 19 hours.
According to United, its proposed service from Dulles to Cape Town would begin November 17th and operate on a 787-9 aircraft, which can be accommodated to fit up to 290 passengers.
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