原文連結：華盛頓郵報
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
縮網址
https://goo.gl/6UV4XI
(翻譯獻醜了)
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.
就長程航線來說，新加坡航空史詩級-幾乎19小時，飛行9534英哩，從紐華克到新加坡
曾經是最長的航班。但是當這班全商務艙配置的21號航班在2004年首航，飛了9年在2013
年收攤後，新航也賣出所有他的A340-500機隊，旗下再也沒有能夠飛紐約到新加坡的直飛
飛機了。
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，根據OAG(航空旅行情報公司)指出，在世界最長直飛航線之爭中，有兩家航空公司
的航線均為17小時15分打成平手，分別為阿聯酋編號449號從杜拜往紐西蘭奧克蘭，以及
印度航空從舊金山往新德里。但就距離而言，杜拜-奧克蘭飛行距離為8819英哩，略勝於
另一條的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.
另一條略長的航班則同為阿聯酋的杜拜到巴拿馬市，花費17小時35分，原訂於2月首航，
卻被延後到今年稍晚或是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.
無論如何，新加坡航空在長程航班的舞台將再捲土重來，去年秋天新航宣布，2018年將
重啟紐約到新加坡直飛，屆時將以7架新接收的A350-900執飛。
Expected flying time will again be between 18 and 19 hours, depending on
factors such as wind speed and other weather conditions.
屆時航班全程將長達18至19小時，視風速及天氣狀況而定。
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?
但話說回來，當你在空中好像過了很久，多幾分鐘或少幾分鐘又如何？
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.
從萊特兄弟離地飛了12秒和120英呎後，到泛美航空1970年代表性的波音747巨無霸
首次商業飛行，從紐約甘迺迪到倫敦希斯洛，至今這批巨無霸工作馬-波音747仍因其尺寸
和油耗服役當中。對我這種航迷來說，波音747其流線的外表和線條仍使它成為一款華麗的
飛機
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.
連接更聰明的世界
物聯網(IOT)具有為全世界人們帶來更好的生活和解決更大挑戰的巨大潛力。
今天更新的飛機，包括燃油效率更高的波音777、787和空中巴士A350、A380家族，均以
更輕的材料，如尖端科技的碳纖維和鋁合金打造，比他們的前輩們能滯空更久。
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.
當然，當飛機能飛19小時，同時表示我們這些乘客也要在空中19個小時，老實說，經驗並
不是都是糟糕的。筆者曾經搭乘新航從紐華克到新加坡，儘管表訂要18小時45分，但是
我們航班提早到達，全程僅花18小時30分(哇嗚~)。筆者也曾經從紐約飛到約翰尼斯堡，
搭乘南非航空，剛好不到16小時。現在這班航班在全球最長航班中也僅排行第20名，官方
的表訂時間要16小時10分鐘。
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.
幸運的，這兩班國際長程航班餐點和酒水均含於票價中-非常好，應該持續下去。而且從
紐華克到新加坡還有特別招待-飛越北極，筆者還記得在地球之巔覆蓋了多少靄靄白雪。
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.
不用為那些在超長程航班上工作的空勤人員煩惱，他們也許是被剝奪睡眠時間的殭屍
，但機長和空服員在空中會換班，通常乘客都不知道有組員休息艙，有秘密階梯連接而且
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.
身為飛行常客，筆者較喜歡長程直飛航班，雖然長時間被限制在狹小空間，但省時且免
去轉機之苦，也降低遺失行李可能性。
“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.”
新航發言人James Boyd表示："操作直飛航班到東南亞和其他超長程航班目的地，
對商務客來說特別有利。""我們收到來自商務客反應，他們喜歡上機後可以吃頓晚餐、睡
個飽覺、看些電影之後還有些時間可以在抵達目的地前做些準備"他們說他們喜歡這些
"空檔時間"(found time)。
草草翻譯歡迎指教