Airlines turn to artificial intelligence to reach ultra-long flight destinations

A Delta Airlines jet comes in for a landing in front of the Empire State Building and Manhattan skyline in New York City, New York, US. AI is rippling through aviation’s decades-old manual systems, impacting everything from ticket sales to cockpit procedures. While route planning is hardly new, AI offers carriers new ways to save money and fuel as ultra-long voyages proliferate and the mammoth task of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 looms. — Reuters

Marathon commercial flights that test the limits of long-range jets are getting help from an unlikely source to avoid falling short of their destinations: machine-learning algorithms.

At times, Air New Zealand Ltd has struggled to get all the way to Auckland from New York in a single hop using its Boeing Co 787s. Qantas Airways Ltd, meanwhile, is adding extra fuel tanks to its Airbus SE A350s before attempting non-stop trips from Sydney to New York and London from late 2025. The 20-hour flights are set to be the world’s longest regular passenger services.