When flying from the South Pacific to Europe, several airports in southeast Asia are the obvious places to stop for fuel without adding much to the total distance. For example, for the Kangaroo Route from Sydney to London, a stop at Hong Kong adds a mere 3 km to the great-circle (geodesic) distance. Other common choices include Bangkok (which adds 75 km) and Singapore (which adds 160 km).
Frequent GCmap user Simon Kleinsorge was surprised to discover that a stop at Taipei added 3 meters to a flight from Auckland to Vienna, beating even Hong Kong on the Kangaroo Route. (The surprise was the minimal diversion distance, not that a stop east of the usual ones for the Kangaroo Route would be better from Auckland, which of course is well east of Sydney.)
Today's Featured Map shows this route, both non-stop and with the stop—though that 3-meter deviation doesn't show on the map! You'll have to click on the map and look at the Distances section, for which meters have been selected as the units.
Can any of you find an even better intermediate stop on another O&D pair?
Information on this site may not be accurate or current and is not valid for flight planning or navigation. No warranty of fitness for any purpose is made or implied. Flight planning and navigation should only be done using official charts.
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Karl L. Swartz.
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