More often than not, short flights within Europe and the United States involve narrowbody twin-engine airliners such as the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, as well as a myriad of smaller regional types. Long haul trips of 4,500 kilometers or more differ significantly in that the aircraft on the route is generally larger with workhorses such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 hauling passengers huge distances. That's starting to change, however, with passengers increasingly finding themselves on board smaller and sometimes cramped A320s and 737s for hours on end.
Copa Airlines, Panama's flag-carrier, has operated the 737 on long-haul routes to North and South America for years. That has been possible due to Panama's geographic location, which enables 737s to fly longer distances over land where a divert airport is always on hand if a low-fuel situation develops. When it comes to riskier transatlantic and trans-continental routes, Boeing's new narrowbody 737-Max and Airbus's A320neo family can now be employed due to tremendous leaps in engine reliability and fuel efficiency. That has resulted in a considerable expansion of long-haul routes utilizing narrowbody airliners.
Website anna.aero published some interesting statistics listing the top airlines and countries for long-haul departures of narrowbody aircraft. Due to Panama's geographic location, Copa Airlines is firmly in the lead with 437 weekly departures, followed by United with 310 and American Airlines with 210. In terms of countries, the U.S. is the top long-haul narrowbody market with 668 departures, more than three times as many as second-placed Panama. The top-five is rounded off by Russia, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Being stuck in a 737 or A320 for seven hours might sound like everyone's worst nightmare. However, some carriers have moved to improve the experience with Copa providing seatback in-flight entertainment and Norwegian offering passengers free WiFi. In many cases, United offers no in-flight screens but they have added device-holders, so passengers can view content on the airline's app via their own tablets or smartphones. Even though "downsizing" has become a hot trend on long-haul routes, airlines still have a lot of work to do to convincing passengers that their flight remains a comfortable one. Norwegian is offering customers round trips between the U.S. and Europe for under $300 and for some passengers, that price is probably convincement enough.
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)
