10 December 2018
Read Time: 2.1 mins
Look up the hashtag #avgeek on Twitter or Instagram and you'll see that there's a world filled with airline and aviation enthusiasts. Call it a hobby, an obsession or anything in between, but this is one interest group whose reach has swelled beyond the borders for a global reach and who can’t get enough of the aviation fun facts.
We’ve come up with a list of cool and quirky aviation facts that may surprise even the biggest aviation buff, and help with any future aviation trivia. Did you know…
1. 1919
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is the world's oldest airline, established in 1919.
2. 1920
Qantas is the world's second oldest airline, established in 1920.
3.USD$40,000
In 1987 American Airlines saved $40,000 by removing one olive from each salad served in first class.
4. 37 seconds
An aircraft takes off or lands every 37 seconds at Chicago O’Hare's International Airport.
5. Wingspan
The wing-span of the A380 is longer than the aircraft itself. Wingspan is 80m, the length is 72.7m
6. $700 million
Singapore Airlines spends approximately $700 million on food every year and $16 million on wine.
7. 1.5 litres
Travelling by air can shed up to 1.5 litres of water from the body during an average 3-hour flight.
8. JFK
John F. Kennedy Airport in New York was originally named Idlewild Airport.
9. 10 tons
Lufthansa is the world's largest purchaser of caviar, buying over 10 tons per year.
10. 120 feet
The Boeing 747 wing-span (195 feet) is longer than the Wright Brothers first flight of 120ft.
11. Check-in
The internet and online check-in were first introduced by Alaska Airlines in 1999.
12. 2.4 metres
The winglets on an Airbus A330-200 are the same height as the world's tallest man (2.4m).
13. 480,000
Total electricity capacity of a 747-8 can power up to 480,000 32inch flat screen TVs.
14. 78 Billion
The world-wide 747 fleet has logged more than 78 billion kilometres, equivalent to 101,500 trips to the moon and back.
15. 80%
The 747 family has flown more than 5.6 billion people - equivalent to 80% of the world's population.
16. 61,000 people
At any given hour there are over 61,000 people airborne over the USA.
17. 70% more
70% of aircraft today are over 70% more fuel-efficient per seat kilometre than jets in the 1960s.
18. 1979
Did you know Qantas invented business class in 1979?
19. Longest Flight
Auckland to Doha on Qatar Airways is the world's longest flight by distance at 14,525 kilometres.
20. iPad
By American Airlines switching a pilots paper manuals to iPad they will save $1.2 million in fuel.
21. 240km
The average 747 has between 240-280 kilometres of wiring.
22. 30,000
In the USA, over two million passengers board over 30,000 flights each day.
23. Meals
Pilots and co-pilots are required to eat different meals in case of food poisoning.
24. Taste Buds
About 1/3 of your taste buds are numbed while flying. Maybe that meal was not bland after all?
25. 800kmph
A commercial aircraft flies at an average speed of 800 kilometres per hour.
