These Time Traveling Flights Completely Miss Celebrating New Year's Day

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Here are some flights that allow you to skip a calendar day.

United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner — Photo: Shutterstock

Earlier today, and in the spirit of ringing in the New Year, I covered two United Airlines flights that time traveled from the present to the past as they departed on January 1st and landed on December 31st. But did you know that there are flights that time travel two days into the future, and passengers completely miss a calendar day?

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United Airlines goes back to the future

One of these futuristic flights is operated by none other than United Airlines once again, featuring UA 101. This daily flight is currently one of the world’s longest long-haul services, connecting Houston with Sydney. On December 31st, UA 101 departed from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport at approximately 21:03 and flew over 13,830 kilometers before landing at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at approximately 06:07 on January 2nd.

SIMPLEFLYING VIDEO OF THE DAY

Indeed, the passengers spent their New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day onboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered N27965 and over the Pacific Ocean. Configured 257 passengers in a four-class cabin configuration, the aircraft is one of United Airlines’ primary long-haul workhorses. And while the six-year-old widebody aircraft may not be the most ideal place to ring in a fresh annual chapter, it’s still quite a phenomenal treat to time travel that far ahead.

Photo: Shutterstock

Air New Zealand joins the time-traveling trend

And joining the list of futuristic time travelers is fellow Star Alliance member Air New Zealand and its relatively new thrice-weekly flight service that connects New York and Auckland. Similar to UA 101 but ranking much higher on the list, NZ 001 became one of the world’s longest flights that ferries passengers across the Pacific Ocean when it was inaugurated last September.

On December 31st, NZ 001 departed from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport at approximately 20:58. The long-haul flight would fly across 14,200 kilometers before arriving at Auckland Airport at approximately 07:35 on January 2nd. If two coincidences with UA 101 weren’t enough, here’s a quirky third as NZ 001 was operated with one of Air New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered ZK-NZR.

Air New Zealand (ZK-NZR) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at Sydney Airport

Airbus can fly to the future too

So far, within this article and the previous piece about time-traveling, all aircraft types mentioned were from Boeing. However, fellow manufacturer Airbus can also travel into the future, as demonstrated by one of the world’s biggest Airbus A350 operators and yet another Star Alliance member, Singapore Airlines.

The flight in question is ranked just below NZ 001 in terms of distance as it connects Los Angeles directly with Singapore, and it would be SQ 35. Operated using an Airbus A350-900 registered 9V-SMQ, the long-haul flight departed from Los Angeles International Airport at approximately 20:00 on December 31st. The widebody flew over 14,110 kilometers before arriving home at Singapore Changi International Airport at around 04:55 on January 2nd.

Singapore Airlines, 9V-SMQ, Airbus A350-941

Bottom line

Long-haul flights are indeed a marvelous wonder in the aviation industry, from connecting faraway places to letting passengers travel to both the past and future. And once highly anticipated programs such as Project Sunrise launch, and when aircraft manufacturers start producing more ultra-long-range aircraft types, passengers might have more time-traveling options to strike off their bucket list.

Have you ever skipped a calendar day when flying before? Let us know in the comments below.