I slept through the longest flight in the world. Here's my secret. | Cruising Altitude

SINGAPORE ? I did a lot of flying last week, even as an airline reporter. My journeys even helped me complete an avgeek rite of passage: I took the longest flight in the world, from New York to Singapore, on March 11-13 and returned March 16.

I flew as a guest of Singapore Airlines to cover updates to its premium economy service offerings and to experience these flights while they’re still the longest in the world. Qantas, the Australian Airline, is set to claim that title from Singapore when it inaugurates nonstop round-trip flights from Sydney to New York and London in mid-2026.

Those Qantas flights are expected to take up to 20 hours each way, but for now, Singapore’s 18-plus-hour services between New York and Singapore remain the longest regularly scheduled commercial flights, even when favorable winds sometimes help them cover the distance faster.

Flying ultra-long-haul is similar in many ways to other flights: You’re still in a pressurized metal tube screaming through the troposphere, but as I heard from Singapore Airlines executives – and witnessed for myself – onboard service takes on an even greater importance when you spend nearly a full day in the air.

Here’s what it was like aboard the longest flights in the world.

The importance of meals

Antony McNeil, Singapore Airlines’ food and beverage director, told me that meal timing and composition make a big difference to passenger comfort on extra-long flights.

“The intention is that within three hours of departing, you’ve already started your first meal service,” he said. “Then six, seven hours (later), the crew will come back, so midflight you’re eating quite a large meal. If you want to sleep on departure, you know you’re not going to miss out.”

McNeil said it’s important that meals don’t leave passengers feeling too bloated on such long flights.

“The meals that we offer at those times of the flight allow you to rest more comfortably,” he said. “They’re really designed to help you feel fuller for longer, so you’re not looking for snacks. Some American carriers on long-haul flights, they’re serving you really creamy dishes, creamy pastas, they’re heavy, you don’t feel good after you’ve eaten them, whereas we want to reverse that. We want to go in the other direction. Feel good, feel better for longer, enjoy the experience.”

On the way to Singapore I had:

• Smoked salmon salad

• Garlic bread

• Sea bass with potatoes (if memory serves correctly)

• A Lindor chocolate ball

• Noodles with chicken

• Lamb chops

• Red wine

• Tea

• A Kit Kat bar

On the way home I had:

• Lots of tea and water

• Smoked salmon salad

• Garlic bread

• Duck confit

• Chocolate mousse cake

• Red wine

• Chicken satay

• Beef au jus with polenta

• Potato chips

• Cheese and onion potato chips

• A Kit Kat bar

Meals also help break up the flight into more manageable chunks if you can’t manage to sleep.

The flight from New York JFK departs around 11:30 p.m. daily and arrives two days later around 6 a.m. (meaning, my flight departed on the night of March 11 and arrived in Singapore on the morning of March 13). I slept quite a bit on the way to Singapore, so I didn’t experience the full service flow, but on the way home, the flight departed Singapore around 12:30 in the afternoon and arrived in New York around 6 p.m. On that flight, I really appreciated the meal timing, which was great for watching a movie and taking a nap between services, and it helped the nearly 18 hours on board feel arguably reasonable.

How it compares with shorter flights

McNeil said longer flights allow Singapore Airlines to offer more stretched-out delivery with every meal service.

“Compared to a short-haul, let’s say you’re going from here to Jakarta, one hour, 40 (minutes) maybe, that’s one meal service. First class, business class is a tray, everything’s on the tray,” he said. “On a midhaul flight, your service may have a table layout. You may get your tray, salad, appetizer; they’ll remove the tray and then bring you a plated main course, so there’s different service elements in the distances you’re traveling and it’s differentiated by flight departure, distance and, of course, what the crew can deliver within safety requirements.”

Singapore Airlines also flies special aircraft on its ultra-long-haul flights. The Airbus A350-900ULR jets it uses have only two service classes on board: premium economy and business class, meaning all travelers experience an elevated inflight service on the airline’s longest flights.

Tips for sleeping like a pro on a plane

One thing I’m very fortunate about is that I tend to sleep well on planes, even in the cheap seats. I wasn’t paying close attention, but on the way to Singapore I think I managed eight to 10 hours of sleep total. At any rate, I slept enough that one of the flight attendants commented to me as we prepared for landing that he was impressed with my ability to be unconscious. On the way home, I made an effort to stay awake so I’d be ready for bed at a normal time in New York but still snuck in two two-hour naps between meals.

Just before leaving for Singapore, I also flew back from another assignment in Cape Town. On the nearly 16-hour flight to Atlanta, I again managed seven to eight hours of sleep.

I don’t say all this to brag, I say it to help.

What’s my secret? On the Singapore trip, it was sheer exhaustion, but on most flights of 10 hours or more, I have a routine that helps me get down.

I try to book a flight as late in the evening as possible so I’m already tired as we’re leaving. I do my best to stay awake through the first meal service, which typically happens within the first hour or two of the flight, and have dinner so I don’t wake up hungry midway through the journey. Then I take a dose of a well-known over-the-counter cough and cold medicine that makes you drowsy (in gel cap form) as I wait for the meal tray to get cleared.

I acknowledge that there’s some debate about the safety of taking a sleeping aid on a plane: If there's an emergency, I know I won’t be firing on all cylinders if I wake up from a medically induced stupor to evacuate, but it’s a risk I’ve decided I’m willing to take to catch some Zs and help the flight pass more quickly.

This cold medicine routine has helped me log nearly a full night’s sleep on most 10-plus-hour flights I’ve taken in recent years, and I now pass my professional traveler wisdom onto you.

So next time you’re flying an especially long distance, pay attention to what you’re choosing to eat, and consider taking a sleep aid you know you can tolerate it well.

Also: Don’t forget to drink plenty of water. It’s no secret that being on a plane for a long time can dry you out.

The reporter on this story received access to this event from Singapore Airlines. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content. 

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What it's like to take the world's longest flight | Cruising Altitude