The world’s longest passenger flight is being considered by Cathay Pacific by reportedly rerouting its New York-Hong Kong service over the Atlantic instead of the Pacific.
The switch is being considered to steer aircraft clear of Russia.
The non-stop New York to Hong Kong flight for April 3 would stay in the air for 17 hours and 50 minutes.
The flight path will cover “just under 9,000 nautical miles” (16,668km, or 10,357 miles) in 16 to 17 hours, Cathay said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
Cathay is seeking an overflight permit for the journey which will fly across the Atlantic, Europe and central Asia.
“We are always running contingency routings for potential events or scenarios within the world of aviation,” Hong Kong’s flagship carrier was reported by the Guardian as saying on Tuesday.
The transatlantic option is more favourable than its usual Pacific route because of “strong seasonal tailwinds at this time of the year”, it said.
It will surpass a Singapore Airlines flight travelling from the Asian city-state to New York, which flies a shorter distance in a longer time – about 15,343km (9,534 miles) in 18 hours.
Many airlines have cancelled routes to Russian cities or are avoiding its airspace over Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine last month.
Cathay declined to be drawn on the reasons for its flight path keeping away from Russia’s airspace, through which it has previously flown, according to Bloomberg.
Flights from the US and eight other countries will be allowed to land in Hong Kong again from April 1 as the government relaxes some of the world’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions.
Pre-pandemic, Cathay operated three daily return flights between the two cities every day.