So, I’m not usually one to report on actual flights and airlines, but I figured since I booked, and flew, the longest flight on our planet a few weeks ago, you all might want to know how it went! The longest flight on earth is on Singapore Airlines from New York’s JFK Airport direct to Singapore (or vice versa) at 9573 miles. This flight clocks in at a whopping 19.5 hours, and you better believe I booked business class seats for this one!

The seat itself was incredibly wide, which was great for my hips and Brian’s shoulders. Honestly, I’ve never sat in a wider seat on any airplane business class or otherwise. The seat was plush and had a lot of room for storage above and below with some nifty little compartments to store things like your glasses when you’re trying to sleep. The IFE (or inflight entertainment) was excellent, with a massive screen and a lot of recent movies and TV shows available, as well as games and music. For stretching out for bedtime, the seat flips down and you have three pillows and a nice, perfectly weighted blanket to enjoy your sleepy time on this aircraft. I would note that the footwell is at a diagonal from the seat, which a lot of folks complain about, but since I’m a side sleeper, this was no problem for me. I was even able to stretch out fully on my back relatively comfortably as well (I am 5’11”), and Noah said he was able to also at about 6’1″. If diagonal sleeping is a problem for you, make sure you book the bulkhead seats in business, as they don’t have a footwell at all and you would have a lot more room to spread out. The bed itself is kind of hard, but when you’re exhausted, it really doesn’t matter.

The service on this route was impeccable. The flight attendants were super attentive, and brought you whatever you needed. Amenity kits are not handed out automatically on this flight (I’m assuming this is a cost-saving and waste-saving move by Singapore Airlines) but they do give you one if you ask. It is a really nice Penhaligon’s bag which includes a facial spray, hand lotion and chap stick – all absolutely necessary for an almost entire turn of the Earth spent on an airplane. They also will bring you socks, slippers, eye masks, earplugs, or anything else you could think of if you need it. I loved having the socks and slippers since I was traveling wearing only my sandals.

The food on the flight was also pretty excellent. I had seen some complaints about the catering out of JFK airport, but I thought it was great, even compared to the catering out of Singapore on the way home. There was a multi-course meal after takeoff served. Starting with some warm nuts, we then were served a nice smoked trout salad. I also pre-ordered the shrimp and scallop vermicelli which was some of the best airplane food ever. I mean, the pasta was actually al dente! Non-mushy pasta on an airplane? I didn’t think it was possible! For dessert, we had some fresh fruit.

I missed the second meal because I was sleeping, although this was a multi-course meal as well. Since I missed that meal, I was able to order from the “refreshment” menu, and had a large plate of noodles and beef, which was super flavorful, and the noodles were actually snappy and fresh. There was a large selection of drinks from mixed cocktails to multiple wine selections and an extensive list of teas so long that I felt like I was having high tea in a fancy place like the Lord Mayor’s Lounge at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin!

The only cruddy thing I would point out about this route is that there are really no good lounge options at JFK for Singapore passengers. We went to the Air India lounge prior to our flight, which was fine, but really bare bones and totally unimpressive. Don’t worry though, once you get to Singapore, you have access to the SilverKris lounge, and the Air India lounge will become a distant memory. The SilverKris lounge was recently rehabbed and is a massive place with gobs of seating, most of which have surface wireless chargers or USB plugs or universal plugs to charge your devices. The WiFi in the lounge is excellent and the food options are extensive. I even showered when we got there, which was actually super nice. The shower rooms are large and well appointed and extremely clean. My only complaint was that they were very very warm, so I was still sweating a bit after my shower, although it was so nice to get under a nice shower head after traveling for such a long time before our next leg to Bali.

So, how was it, actually, sitting in the same seat for 19 hours? TOTALLY FINE. We took off at around 10:30pm and we were all really tired by then, having spent the morning traveling to New York, and spending the afternoon hanging out with my uncle in Brooklyn. I watched a very long movie (each seat has noise-cancelling headphones), ate my meal, and then crashed out for probably 7-8 hours. As mentioned, I missed the second, more formal meal, but I was able to have a delicious plate of noodles after I woke up. Then I fell back asleep for another 4 hours or so. Having this time of forced rest is exactly what I needed before our trip, and I have to say it was kind of nice to be stuck in a place where there isn’t any pressure to go anywhere, do anything, or be productive. I arrived in Singapore pretty refreshed, and was excited to have some breakfast and hop in the shower at the lounge.

This particular route and Aircraft (an Airbus A350-900ULR which stands for ultra-long-range) doesn’t even have regular economy seats – only premium economy. Honestly, I don’t know how I would do sitting upright for this entire time, but the flight was pretty full, and the premium economy seats were quite spacious. If you can swing it though, having your own personal pod and bed is truly the best way to fly!