There are three main air transport ranges serviced by different types of aircraft:
- Regional. Planes and crews on regional services can perform 2 to 8 flights per day, depending on the flight time. Regional aircrafts such as the Airbus A319/320/321, the Boeing 737, and the Embraer E190/195, with an operational range of about 4,500 km, were designed to service destinations within a continent. From New York, most of North America and Central America can be reached. This range can be applied to the European continent, South America, East Asia, and Africa. These types of aircraft, which can carry up between 100 and 200 passengers, are also used for high-demand regional services needing several flights a day, enabling to improve the quality of service by offering customers high-frequency. From New York, about 35.7% of the passengers handled by the world’s top 100 airports can be reached.
- International. An international flight can last between 6 to 10 hours, allowing for 2 flights per day with crew rotation for the return flight. The Boeing 757/767/777 and the Airbus A330, with a range from 7,000 km to 10,000 km, can link one continent to another. From New York, it is possible to reach Western Europe and most of South America, which accounts for 65% of the passengers handled by the world’s top 100 airports.
- Intercontinental. An intercontinental flight lasts more than 10 hours and can reach up to 16 hours for very long hauls. Only one flight per day s possible. The Boeing 777-200ER and 787, A340, and the A380 with a range between 12,000 km and 15,000 km can reach from New York any destination around the world with the exception of Australia, which accounts for 92.6% of the passengers handled by the world’s top 100 airports. With an A350-500 a nonstop service between New York and Singapore is offered, which is the world’s longest.
With technical improvements in aircraft design, new generations of aircraft have longer ranges, giving airlines additional operational flexibility in the usage of their assets.