Here’s something of absolutely no consequence that I’m nonetheless quite intrigued by. I know a lot of OMAAT readers are airline and plane nerds, so here’s a question — what are the shortest regularly scheduled transatlantic and transpacific passenger flights? The answer might not be quite as straightforward or uncontested as it initially sounds.
How do you define a transoceanic flight?
I think the first challenge in identifying the shortest transatlantic or transpacific flight is deciding what exactly constitutes a transoceanic flight. I mean, the definition — crossing an ocean — sounds simple enough.
But how do you define that? How far across the ocean do you have to go? Is a flight from the United States to Iceland transatlantic? What about a flight from the United States to the Azores? Personally I don’t view either of those routes as being transatlantic, though I think someone else could reasonably disagree with me.
What about a flight from the United States to Ireland? Ireland is surrounded by water, and on one side it has the Irish Sea, which is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. Personally I think Ireland is close enough to Continental Europe to qualify as a transatlantic destination from North America.
So I’m prefacing the below routes with a warning that people can reasonably disagree with me (and I certainly welcome that!).
What are the shortest transatlantic flights?
I’d argue that the shortest regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger flight is WestJet’s seasonal service between St. John’s (YYT) and Dublin (DUB), which covers 2,049 miles, and is operated by a Boeing 737. That’s a shorter distance than some transcontinental flights in North America.
Now, if you want to be a little more controversial and argue that a flight between North America and Iceland is transatlantic, then I suppose the route between Keflavik (KEF) and Montreal (YUL) would also be pretty high on the list, at 2,322 miles. That’s operated seasonally by Air Canada, Air Transat, and Icelandair.
While we’re at it, if you’re choosing to define transatlantic flights as those that are between North America and Europe, then I suppose an Iceland to Greenland flight would qualify, in the form of the Keflavik (KEF) to Nuuk (GOH) route, which covers 871 miles.
By the way, while it’s no longer operating, going back several years, Cabo Verde Airlines operated a flight between Sal (SID) and Fortaleza (FOR). I think that could reasonably be considered transatlantic, and that covers a distance of 1,767 miles.
What are the shortest transpacific flights?
I’d argue that the shortest regularly scheduled transpacific passenger flight is the year-round service between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Vancouver (YVR), which covers a distance of just 4,674 miles.
Perhaps some people would make claims that the shortest transpacific flight somehow involves Hawaii, but I don’t see much merit to that, since Hawaii isn’t geographically in North America, and I don’t think a mainland to Hawaii flight could reasonably be considered a “real” transpacific service.
One other interesting thing to mention on this front is that historically we’ve seen some flights between Alaska and Russia, in some cases covering just a few hundred miles. However, those weren’t generally regularly scheduled (they were typically charters), and those aren’t operating nowadays anyway, given tensions between the two countries.
As one example, Yakutia Airlines used to fly between Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC) and Anchorage (ANC), a flight covering a distance of 1,958 miles.
Bottom line
Airline route networks can be fascinating, and while there’s often focus on the world’s longest flights, I think it’s also interesting to look at some of the shortest “long haul” routes. Across the Atlantic, I’d argue that seasonal flights between St. John’s and Dublin are the shortest, while across the Pacific, I’d argue that year-round flights between Vancouver and Tokyo Narita are the shortest.
However, some people may define a transoceanic journey differently than I do (relating to places like Hawaii, Iceland, etc.), so feel free to draw your own conclusions.
What’s your take on what the shortest transatlantic and transpacific flights are?
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