Here’s a good challenge for you. Name airlines that had round the world service.

Back in the golden age, Qantas flew three ways to London, the Kangaroo route (via SE Asia, India, Persian Gulf, Europe), the Southern Cross route (via Fiji, Honolulu, San Fran, New York) and the Fiesta route (via Tahiti, Acapulco, Mexico City, Nassau, Bermuda). That takes some beating!

Pan Am were famous for PA1&2, New York to San Francisco via London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Beirut, Tehran, Karachi, Delhi, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Both ways, every day. What a time to be alive.

BOAC flew to Australia via Asia and via the Americas, can’t recite the routes because they were so diverse. They even had a route that didn’t touch Europe, which was Tokyo to Johannesburg via Hong Kong, Colombo, Seychelles and Nairobi, by VC-10.

If you add Air France and UTA together, you might be able to construct a francophone circumnavigation but I’ll leave that to the experts. For sure UTA flew to Sydney via the Americas and Pacific.

In the modern era, United had a go by flying San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok (?), Delhi, London, New York. The thinner legs Hong Kong to London were flown by 767-300ER. Even the smallest aircraft in the long haul fleet was too much metal and this only last a couple of years.

Honourable mention for Air New Zealand who complemented their London via Los Angeles route with a second option going the other way, via Hong Kong. Not sure why this didn’t last because HK is way better for transit than LA. Only four stops all the way round — AKL HKG LHR LAX AKL — but still, a daily circumnavigation.

Who else managed this impressive feat?

FedEx and UPS do round the world flights, don't they?

Might not be actual round the world on one aircraft, but pre-covid, Singapore Airlines served New York from both sides, over the pacific and via Europe.

SQ Cargo goes a round the world flight. SQ7980 and 7979.
Singapore - Hong Kong - Anchorage - Dallas - Brussels - Sharjah - Singapore. I caught the SQ bird departing ANC to Dallas on that route when I was there back in March.

The NZ service was also 744 round the world equipment, NZ1/2 via LAX and NZ38/39 via HKG. Now they don’t even serve LHR.

A hardy perennial here on A.net. PAA and TWA at different times. PA flights 1 &2 went in opposite directions.

TUGMASTER wrote:

The NZ service was also 744 round the world equipment, NZ1/2 via LAX and NZ38/39 via HKG. Now they don’t even serve LHR.

Nice to see you back on a.net Mr MASTER. I thought the HK route was 777-200ER?

CI operated RTW for several years, although I don't remember the timeframe, but per this route map, they did it in Jan. 1989...it was TPE-BKK-DHA-AMS-JFK-ANC-TPE. It may even have been with one of their SP's.

http://www.departedflights.com/CI0189.html

cedarjet wrote:

TUGMASTER wrote:

The NZ service was also 744 round the world equipment, NZ1/2 via LAX and NZ38/39 via HKG. Now they don’t even serve LHR.

Nice to see you back on a.net Mr MASTER. I thought the HK route was 777-200ER?

It started off as 744 then downsized to 772ER before being axed. I flew LHR-HKG-AKL on NZ in early 2009 and it was definitely 744 at that time

cedarjet wrote:

BOAC flew to Australia via Asia and via the Americas, can’t recite the routes because they were so diverse. They even had a route that didn’t touch Europe, which was Tokyo to Johannesburg via Hong Kong, Colombo, Seychelles and Nairobi, by VC-10.

Ah yes, the TYO-JNB route by VC-10. I always wondered how it was that BOAC kept traffic rights for that old "Empire Route" for so long, given that Japan was never a British colony, and all the rest had gained independence by the jet age (some for a LONG time) except for Seychelles (1976).

You used to be able to do (and maybe still can) go RTW on SQ JFK-FRA-SIN-EWR (although it is 2 flight numbers, so probably technically not a RTW).

StlHsvSfoSan wrote:

You used to be able to do (and maybe still can) go RTW on SQ JFK-FRA-SIN-EWR (although it is 2 flight numbers, so probably technically not a RTW).

They have currently cut the stop in FRA, making it a direct SIN-JFK and setting a new worlds longest flight by 3 miles.

SQ deserve an honourable mention for both of these trips, they tend to follow the jetstream and often fly Eastbound the whole way. I've seen SQ fly as far south as Spain whilst operating EWR-SIN.

Technically UA is still RTW with EWR-DEL-SFO.

I know , I know... It's not the definition you're looking for.

Close enough

JAL: HND-HNL-SFO-JFK-LHR-ORY or FRA-FCO-CAI-THR-DEL-BKK-HKG-HND Twice a week by DC-8. From 1967 to 1972.

cathay747 wrote:

cedarjet wrote:

BOAC flew to Australia via Asia and via the Americas, can’t recite the routes because they were so diverse. They even had a route that didn’t touch Europe, which was Tokyo to Johannesburg via Hong Kong, Colombo, Seychelles and Nairobi, by VC-10.

Ah yes, the TYO-JNB route by VC-10. I always wondered how it was that BOAC kept traffic rights for that old "Empire Route" for so long, given that Japan was never a British colony, and all the rest had gained independence by the jet age (some for a LONG time) except for Seychelles (1976).

The route finished operating with a 747-100, once a week: LHR-ANC-NRT-HKG-CMB-SEZ-JNB-NBO-LHR. I did the HKG-CMB-SEZ sectors in the early 80's.

cedarjet wrote:

If you add Air France and UTA together, you might be able to construct a francophone circumnavigation but I’ll leave that to the experts. For sure UTA flew to Sydney via the Americas and Pacific.

It was possible to go around the world with UTA, but not on the same flight number. Towards the end of UTA: CDG-SIN-CGK-SYD-NOU-AKL-PPT-SFO-CDG

Kiwiandrew wrote:

cedarjet wrote:

TUGMASTER wrote:

The NZ service was also 744 round the world equipment, NZ1/2 via LAX and NZ38/39 via HKG. Now they don’t even serve LHR.

Nice to see you back on a.net Mr MASTER. I thought the HK route was 777-200ER?

It started off as 744 then downsized to 772ER before being axed. I flew LHR-HKG-AKL on NZ in early 2009 and it was definitely 744 at that time

It must have changed in 2009 then because I flew AKL-HKG-LHR in October 2009 and it was definitely a 772. I've even got a photo of it at the gate in HKG.

TWA772LR wrote:

Technically UA is still RTW with EWR-DEL-SFO.

I know , I know... It's not the definition you're looking for.

I recall one trip where we flew YYZ-HKG. The flight planning software will plan minimum time track. On this day we flew northeast, north of Norway, across Russia/China to HKG.

24 hours later, HKG-YYZ, we flew northeast again, northern Pacific, Alaska across Canada to YYZ.

Seemed like “around the world” to me.

fkfnz wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

cedarjet wrote:

Nice to see you back on a.net Mr MASTER. I thought the HK route was 777-200ER?

It started off as 744 then downsized to 772ER before being axed. I flew LHR-HKG-AKL on NZ in early 2009 and it was definitely 744 at that time

It must have changed in 2009 then because I flew AKL-HKG-LHR in October 2009 and it was definitely a 772. I've even got a photo of it at the gate in HKG.

It changed to a 772 in March 2009. Only between June 2007 and October 2008 were both NZ services 744s. LAX was changed to a 772 when the HKG service started in October 2006 and again a 772 between October 2008 and March 2009. LAX got the 744 again until April 2011 when the 77W took over while HKG remained a 772 until it stopped in March 2013.

TW in the early 70s flew on a 707 BOS/CDG/FCO/TLV/BOM/BKK/HKG/GUM/HNL/LAX/SFO/BOS

FCOTSTW wrote:

TW in the early 70s flew on a 707 BOS/CDG/FCO/TLV/BOM/BKK/HKG/GUM/HNL/LAX/SFO/BOS

FCOTSTW, while I agree that TWA offered "round-the-world" service, I could not find a continuous flight number that circumvented the globe.

I have no doubt the aircraft continued on a round the world routing, but from TWA's timetable dated April 30, 1972 (from departedflights.com), I found:

Flight 810: Boston-Paris-Rome-Tel Aviv-Bombay-Bangkok; then

Flight 744: Bangkok-Hong Kong-Guam-Honolulu-Los Angeles

Flight 742: Bangkok-Hong Kong-Taipei-Okinawa-Guam-Honolulu-Los Angeles

Flight 50: San Francisco-Los Angeles-Philadelphia-Boston

As you specified, all segments were operated with Boeing 707 equipment.

This was a little different from the famous PA 1 / 2 itineraries.

e38

e38 wrote:

FCOTSTW wrote:

TW in the early 70s flew on a 707 BOS/CDG/FCO/TLV/BOM/BKK/HKG/GUM/HNL/LAX/SFO/BOS

FCOTSTW, while I agree that TWA offered "round-the-world" service, I could not find a continuous flight number that circumvented the globe.

I have no doubt the aircraft continued on a round the world routing, but from TWA's timetable dated April 30, 1972 (from departedflights.com), I found:

Flight 810: Boston-Paris-Rome-Tel Aviv-Bombay-Bangkok; then

Flight 744: Bangkok-Hong Kong-Guam-Honolulu-Los Angeles

Flight 742: Bangkok-Hong Kong-Taipei-Okinawa-Guam-Honolulu-Los Angeles

Flight 50: San Francisco-Los Angeles-Philadelphia-Boston

As you specified, all segments were operated with Boeing 707 equipment.

This was a little different from the famous PA 1 / 2 itineraries.

e38

Yes, it was TW810/TW811 but please bear in mind that this did not last for a long time, such as PA' s. I might believe it lasted for no longer then four or five years.

A Look At SAS’ Intriguing 1957 Around The World DC-7 Route

https://simpleflying.com/sas-round-the-world-dc-7/

https://scandinaviantraveler.com/en/avi ... north-pole

TWA772LR wrote:

Technically UA is still RTW with EWR-DEL-SFO.

I know , I know... It's not the definition you're looking for.

In fact EWR-DEL-SFO-EWR or EWR-SFO-DEL-EWR


It is RTW !

Air India

DEL-SFO (via the Pacific)
SFO-DEL (via the Atlantic)