You might recall, from one of my earlier posts, that after my acquisition of the (iniBuilds) Airbus A350-900 URL, I'd made a valiant (but unsuccessful) effort...🙂...to (virtually) transcend the currently existing (human) mileage barrier (of non-stop 10,000 statute miles, in the air), in a commercial aircraft. 

Today, the two longest (ultra-haul) flights are operated by Singapore Airlines, from Singapore to Kennedy Intl. and Singapore to Newark, as follows (flown by the same Airbus A359 type, you see below, in my images). The flight from Singapore to Newark (EWR) is slightly shorter than the flight from Singapore to JFK. So, the JFK route is considered the world's longest commercial flight by distance and duration. 

• Singapore to JFK: This route is approximately 9,537 miles long and takes about 18 hours and 50 minutes. 
• Singapore to Newark/EWR: This route is slightly shorter, at around 9,523 miles, with a flight time of about 18 hours and 25 minutes. 

You can see how the (Singapore Changi to JFK intl.) barely beats the (Singapore Changi to EWR Newark) by just 14 air miles. However, more significantly, note that both distances, are < 10,000 miles. So, the Earth-bound humans are yet to conquer the 10,000 miles barrier in a regularly scheduled (non-stop) commercial flight (that you and I can participate in). Such flights, however, are indeed upcoming in the near future via Airbus A350-1000s (if anyone is bold enough and young enough to try it but probably it would not be me...🙂...). Anyway, for curiosity, I could not help finding out what 10,000 miles of Star Alliance Member's Reward, could offer me/us, and came up e.g., with options such as: 

1. (Free) Roundtrip between Chicago to Los Angeles or 
2. (Free) One-way trip from Chicago to Honolulu

Oh well...we'll have to see. Let, at least, Qantas first get hold of the A350-1000...hopefully sometime next year.

So, after that valiant attempt to replicate, in my virtual world, the (future) Qantas (Sydney to New York) flight in this iniBuilds A359, I finally had to give up on that one (for no fault of the SIM, though). Even in this imaginary world, that flight is simply too long unless you're willing to jump ahead (and miss the magic of the en-route sunsets and sunrises from the cockpit...🙂..., could be even 2 sunrises in the same flight). If I ever get going at least with 2X/4X sim rate for this A359 and also secure some participation from (unwilling...🙂...) family members (just to oversee that my Xbox Console or/and TV do not fall into an (un-commanded) "permanent" sleep mode, which, btw, does happen sometimes in my case); while I'm flying high above the endless Pacific Ocean...🙂..., during the (marathon) cruise phase; I might try it in future, one more time.

Anyway, I've been lately flying this A350-900 with shorter routes (there are actually many such RW routes). Of course, it's not that we (virtual simmers) are mandated by regulators to exactly mimic the short A359 flights of RW. After all, this all is meant purely for our own amusement and entertainment, so, we may fly such an ultra-haul a/c for any duration that this hobby allows us, within our own individual time (and life) commitments. But, today, I wished to mimic a RW flight of an A350-900...!

The (very short, e.g., 100-200 miles) A350-900 flights are (usually) governed by the principle of "fifth freedom" (except in Japan, where the A359 is regularly flown short-haul on domestic routes). In short, here it is, "The fifth freedom in commercial aviation allows an airline to carry passengers between two foreign countries, as long as the flight originates or terminates in the airline's home country. Essentially, it's the right to fly passengers between two countries that aren't the airline's home base." Of course, the Airlines need approval from the civil aviation authorities of all "three" countries involved (the airline's home country and the two foreign countries) to operate a fifth freedom flight. Airlines may operate fifth freedom flights to optimize aircraft utilization, offer unique itineraries, or tap into high-demand markets. 

Let's take the example of the (RW) flight I'm conducting for this post. This (only) 127 miles long flight is (routinely) flown by Ethiopian Airlines with its A350-900 (I caught several instances on FlightAware just within this past week). Two days ago, on Wednesday of this week, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 736 (with an Airbus A359), was flown from Milan (Italy) to Zurich (Switzerland), taking 41 mins total time, where the direct flight distance was 127 miles. Per FlightAware (See Route Map, below), the actual distance was 220 miles (see also the screenshot of my SimBrief Map which yielded me exactly same distance of 220 miles). For this flight, Ethiopian is exercising the "fifth freedom" rights, because it's operating between the two countries of Italy and Switzerland, neither of which is its home base (Addis Ababa).

Without having an Ethiopian livery, ready at hand, I flew this (RW) flight, with one of my favorite airlines...Lufthansa. I've lifted off northward from Milan Malpensa (LIMC) Runway 35L. For cruise altitude, SimBrief suggested FL200 and FlightAware's RW cruise was about FL250; see image. However, being the bold (virtual) aviator...🙂...that I'm (and of course, further emboldened by the (incredibly) powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 turbofan engines on my aircraft...🙂...); right after lift-off, I've directly headed for the mountains of Lugano (see SimBrief Map), by commanding an (effortless) [Dir-To] action on the A350's MCDU towards the Approach Fix of LSZH (ILS) Runway, while, at the same time, easily able to clear the fast approaching (and menacing...🙂...) hurdles of the Alps mountains (see images below). I was also aware that the highest peak in the Alps range just south of Zurich is the Dufourspitze, also known as Monte Rosa, which reaches a height of 15,203 feet, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. So, I knew I would be safe...🙂...at FL180.

Then, I descend rapidly to capture the ILS signals of Zurich Airport (LSZH) Runway 16, which is opposite to my (northward) direction of flight. So, past Zurich, I'd to make a southward maneuver similar to what's shown on the (RW) FlightAware Map, to align with the runway. I believe I could have also (safely) made use of the ILS Runway 34 (straight-in) approach of LSZH for arrival, with a bit of extra attention and descent-planning (will have to try that for myself sometime). However, I do see that (LSZH) Runway 16 approach gives you a bit of (valuable) extra time on hand (especially while flying such an extra-fast and extra-heavy jet) to properly prep for the descent, final approach and touchdown.

Hope you enjoy this collection of images from my (very) short Airbus A350-900 URL flight today, that mimics an Ethiopian flight in the RW. With this (unique) and nice specimen of a twinjet SIM, there are lots of details still to explore (and figure out) ...e.g., in mid-flight today, I caught on the ECAM screens, certain "fuel-leak suspected" messages that I could not resolve; but it did not impede my flight.

Meanwhile, the (tempting) Xbox/PMDG 777 purchase is now on the back burner for me...at least for now...🙂...

Thanks for viewing...and happy flying...!

Especially enjoyed the (few) inflight scenery shots! Looks like you're having fun with the iB A350!

rmeier, John, and Dave:

Thank you for the responses...! Glad you liked...as much as I myself liked this short flight in this ultra-long-haul today...🙂...

 

3 hours ago, rmeier said:

Especially enjoyed the (few) inflight scenery shots! Looks like you're having fun with the iB A350!

Appreciated the note, rmeier...!

Yes, so far, this a/c has been quite enjoyable (and challenging too) ...I'm still just about getting my feet wet...🙂...with this thing...A couple of key items to figure out still, including how to increase the sim rate...🙂...I'll see...

Anyway, this is enough, though, for me to hold off on getting that PMDG 777 that has now also landed on Xbox just a couple of days ago...

Cheers...!

Edited August 2, 2025Aug 2 by P_7878

Nice captured shots and i like the Lufthansa liverys..🙃

cheers 😉

5 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Nice captured shots and i like the Lufthansa liverys..🙃

cheers 😉

Thanks.

And I can tell why you like it…🙂….The inverted smiley does it…🙂…