The longest flight I ever did was about 30 hours in the 80's to join a ship in New Caladonia. London To Paris then a U.T.A. flight to I think Vienna, Istanbul, Dubai, Calcutta, Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney and eventually Noumea. On reaching Noumea there was an announcement to collect my baggage and board a helicopter that was waiting to take me to another port in the island called Nekete . On arrival there was a boat ready to take me out to the ship that was loading at anchor. there was no such thing as a rest as the guy I was relieving was anxious to hand the job over and depart. The difference between flights then and now is that a lot of the places that you stopped at you could disembark the plane while it refuelled etc. before re-embarking for the next leg. This seemed to break up the monotony of the flight and allowed you to stretch your legs. I have recently done long haul flights to Kuala Lumpur (About 12 hours) and Hong Kong (About 16 hours) Both trips were non stop which is to say the least boring.
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