Air Canada (ADH2) is flying directly from Sydney (Australia) to Toronto (Canada) on April 27, 2020. Covering some 15,552 kilometers (9,812 miles), the flight AC7214 is one of the longest ones on the airline’s route map. But is it a record-breaker?

Air Canada’s (ADH2) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registration number C-FPQB) took off from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), Australia, at around 10 am local time (00:00 UTC). After around 16 hours of flight time non-stop, it is expected to arrive in Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Canada. 

Back in 2012, Air Canada (ADH2) already crowned an Australia-Canada route as the longest one on its network. However, it was the Vancouver-Sydney passenger service, covering a distance of 12,484 kilometers (7,776 miles), that beat all others on its schedule at the time. 

From a distance perspective, Vancouver-Sydney is slightly shorter than the carrier’s other route, Toronto to Hong Kong, spanning 12,568 kilometers (7,806 miles). However, since Air Canada (ADH2) operates the Hong Kong flight over the North Pole, it allows saving on some distance and flight time. 

“It’s neck and neck, but the route from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia, totals 15½ hours from gate to gate, beating out the flight from Toronto to Hong Kong by 15 minutes,” as outlined by the carrier itself at the time. 

Later on, the Canadian airline took an extra step and began flying directly from Vancouver to a further Australian city ‒ Melbourne. The Vancouver-Melbourne journey, spanning around 13,183 km (8,192 miles), is among the 20 world’s longest flights. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Air Canada (ADH2) has suspended many of these routes. For instance, the regularly scheduled Vancouver-Melbourne service was suspended from March 30 until April 30 (but would resume on November 27, presumably due to seasonality). Similarly, Toronto-Hong Kong was temporarily suspended from March 2 until June 23, 2020. 

While passenger flights suffer, the carrier has offered several of its aircraft, namely Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliners, for cargo operations. The flight AC7214 appears to fall under this category, as it is not listed among Air Canada’s (ADH2) regular operations. 

Air Canada’s (ADH2) Sydney-Toronto route is not on the operator’s regular schedule, therefore it does not directly compete with its other services. Nevertheless, by covering approximately 15,552 kilometers (9,812 miles), the one of a kind flight truly remains worthy of notice