25 Interesting And Fun Aviation Facts You Never Knew

31 March 2015

Look up the hash tag #avgeek on Twitter or Instragram 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.

Now for my confession. I'm an #avgeek. Total aviation nerd and love any sort of fun or amazing fact.

So I compiled some interesting and different aviation fast facts that you may not have heard before.

Did you know...


KLM is the world's oldest airline, established in 1919


Qantas is the world's second oldest airline, established in 1920


In 1987 American Airlines saved $40,000 by removing 1 olive from each salad served in first class

37 seconds

An aircraft takes off or lands every 37 seconds at Chicago O’Hare's International Airport



$700 million

Singapore Airlines spends approximately $700 million on food every year and $16 million on wine

1.5 litres

Travelling by air can shed up to 1.5 litres of water from the body during an average 3 hour flight


 JFK Airport in New York was originally named Idlewild Airport

10 tons

Lufthansa is the world's largest purchaser of caviar, buying over 10 tons per year

120 feet

The Boeing 747 wing-span (195 feet) is longer than the Wright Brothers first flight of 120ft


The internet and on-line check-in was first introduced by Alaska Airlines in 1999

2.4 metres

The winglets on an Airbus A330-200 are the same height as the world's tallest man (2.4m)


Total electricity capacity of a 747-8 can power up to 480,000 32inch flat screen TVs

78 Billion

The world-wide 747 fleet has logged more than 78 billion kilometres, equivalent to 101,500 trips to the moon and back


The 747 family has flown more than 5.6 billion people - equivalent of 80% of the world's population

61,000 people

At any given hour there are over 61,000 people airborne over the USA

70% more

70% of aircraft today are over 70% more fuel-efficient per seat kilometre than jets in the 1960s


Did you know Qantas invented business class in 1979?

Longest Flight

Sydney to Dallas on Qantas A380 is the world's longest flight by distance


By American Airlines switching a pilots paper manuals to iPad they will save  $1.2 million in fuel


The average 747 has between 240-280 kilometres of wiring


In the U.S.A., over two million passengers board over 30,000 flights each day



Taste Buds

About 1/3 of your taste buds are numbed while flying. Maybe that meal was not bland after all?



Do you have any other facts? Let us know in the comments below.

Jason Dutton-Smith
