As we hang our 2016 calendars, full of promise and potential, we’re counting down the previous year’s most memorable passengers, the top tech trends, the moments that shook the travel industry, the greenest innovations, our absolute heroes, and the year’s incredible advancements in Wi-Fi.
Finally and fittingly, we’re taking a last look at all of the biggest, longest, record-breaking routes, announcements and hyperbolic stories of 2015.
Photo credit, Patrick Fischer
The world’s new longest flight is about to change hands. Starting Feb. 1, 2016, passengers will board this Emirates jet in Dubai and deplane in Panama City. All aboard the world’s longest flight — for now. This 8,588 mile trek, first announced in August, will overtake Qantas’ Dallas-to-Sydney route by a mere 11 miles (and 40 minutes). It will take a brutal 17 hours and 35 minutes, so make sure you pack your ostrich pillow.
But Emirates might not hold the title for long if Singapore Airlines has anything to say about it. Singapore announced this year that it intends to bring back the 19-hour long-haul flight between its hometown city-state and New York City. The airline is hammering out potential special jets with both Airbus and Boeing that would make the former money-losing super route a more efficient, and more profitable commute. But at least the flight will have Wi-Fi!
Photo: Steven Straiton/Flickr
The world’s oldest airline got even older. The longest continually operating airline in the world turned 96 years old in 2015. Happy birthday, KLM Royal Dutch Airways! While the company is still flying daily operations, one thing that hasn’t stood the test of time is KLM’s original, unabbreviated name. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij voor Nederland en Koloniën just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily, does it?
Screenshot: Inside Jumeirah
The world’s most expensive hotel got the Google treatment. “Basic” rooms at the ultra-luxe Burj Al-Arab start at $1,500 per night, while suites will set you back a cool $21,000 for an evening. That kind of cash will get you delivered to the hotel via helicopter or Rolls Royce, and then assigned a whopping eight personal butlers per guest once you check in. Don’t worry; if you don’t have that kind of money, you can always take some drool-inducing 360-degree tours of the property, thanks to its new partnership with Google.
Proposed hotel, image by Morphosis
Man dreams about the world’s tallest hotel. Sorry to disappoint those who expected Dubai, Shanghai or maybe even Abu Dhabi to play host to the world’s tallest hotel of the future, which will set a new world record upon completion (if it ever gets built). Instead of the usual hyperbolic movers and shakers, Vals, Switzerland may one day claim the sky-high honor with Swiss entrepreneur Remo Stoffel’s 7132 Hotel. Stoffel unveiled plans for the hotel back in April and hopes to finish it in 2019 — pending approval by notoriously conservative Swiss voters, of course.
Photo: NYCUrbanSpace, Flickr
Man takes the longest subway ride ever. Just how far can a single swipe of a Metrocard get you in New York City? Brooklyn to Manhattan? Three transfers? Maybe four? Try again. For $2.75, one man rode 155 miles of sweet, sweet NYC subway tracks, using 54 transfers. The self-inflicted torture took about 14 hours to accomplish, and earned FiveThirtyEight podcast host Jody Avigran some serious bragging rights.
Photo credit: Flickr
The longest birthday celebration goes to… Happiest of belated birthdays to German-born Sven Hagemeier, who managed to draw out the festivities as he turned 26 by flying a relatively uncomplicated route from Auckland to Hawaii, with a stop in Sydney. By crossing the International Date Line on his big day, Hagemeier managed to turn his usual 24-hour day into 46 hours of actual birthday time, setting a new world record in the process.
Photo credit, Flickr/Sally Mahoney
Airbnb will celebrate its biggest night ever. Airbnb will celebrate an enormous milestone on December 31, 2015, as it hosts its very first million-guest night. Those million guests will be staying in 17,500 cities in 150 different countries across the world this New Year’s Eve. Only five years ago, just 2,000 guests booked NYE accommodations with Airbnb.
photo by frankieleon via Flickr
Congratz business travelers. You’re about to spend more money than ever. As it turns out, 2016 is poised to be the most expensive year on record for business travel. According to NYU professor Bjorn Hanson, Corporate hotel rates will climb between 6.5 and 7.5%, potentially the biggest price hike since 1987. But don’t fret too hard. The more expensive corporate travel climate isn’t likely to keep you working from the office when you might have otherwise gotten out of town. Instead, trends point toward conferences and corporate events taking place in lower starred hotels in second or third-tier cities. You’ll travel just as often this year, but you’ll sacrifice some amenities along the way.