How airlines are trying to beat jet lag on long-haul flights and turn it into a flying retreat | WION Decodes

Long-haul flights have always been tiring no matter which class you travel in. And despite airlines across the world trying hard to provide you with the best comfort like luxurious bigger seats, better entertainment and improved meals, they have not been very successful. However, Australia’s Qantas airlines seem to have come up with a solution that they say has to do with biology. Yes, you heard that right.

The airline is preparing to launch the world’s longest commercial flights between Sydney and London in 2027 that will take up to 20 hours for which it wants to completely overhaul the experience for passengers in terms of comfort. And to achieve its goal the airline is thinking beyond just providing cabin comfort, rather it is focusing on every aspect of the journey around sleep science, human circadian rhythms and passenger wellbeing.

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Under it initiative Project Sunrise the airline will eventually connect Sydney directly with London and later New York using specially modified Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft. This mammoth machine will have the capacity to fly for as long as 22 hours without refuelling. To improve its fuel capacity and provide improved comfort, the aircraft will carry only 238 passengers, far fewer than a standard A350.

Aircraft space not the biggest challenge

But the biggest challenge here is not about creating larger space or the machine but the human body.

Flying across seven to 16 time zones the body’s circadian rhythm -body’s natural, internal 24-hour clock- goes for a toss leading to jet lag, fatigue and reduced alertness in many people that last for several days after arrival.

Qantas has spent years researching how light exposure, meal timing and movement can help travellers in adjusting to a new time zone before they even land, said Peter Cistulli, professor of sleep medicine at the University of Sydney, who has been working on the airlines' Project Sunrise.

According to the research, passengers should not be served meals whenever they are hungry but schedules should be designed in a way that encourages wakefulness or sleep depending on the destination’s local time.

Lighting also has an important role to play here, so the cabin lighting will also change using colour and intensity to mimic sunrise and sunset to help passengers’ internal body clocks to adjust.

Cabin design changed accordingly

The aircraft’s interior has also been tweaked and a dedicated Wellbeing Zone setup to allowpassengers leave their seats to stretch, perform mild exercises like stretching or simply stand and move around during the flight.

According to the airline,ideas like exercise bikes and yoga areas was also discussed but the cabin designer David Caon decided to settle for quieter relaxation space featuring soft, diffused lighting aimed at reducing stress and encouraging gentle movements.

Qantas' research on providing comfort to passengers on ultra-long-haul travel began in 2019. They operated experimental nonstop flights between New York, London and Sydney during which the sleep patterns of passengers their alertness, food intake and movement with wearable technology was tracked leading them to the conclusion that flight comfort in long journey flights has largely to do with biology.