In aviation, the flight length or flight distance refers to the distance of a flight. Aircraft do not necessarily follow the great-circle distance, but may opt for a longer route due to weather, traffic, the use of jet streams, or to refuel.
Commercial flights are often categorized into long-, medium- or short-haul by commercial airlines based on flight length, although there is no international standard definition.
A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fares. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge extra fees, such as for carry-on baggage.
The term originated within the airline industry referring to airlines with a lower operating cost structure than their competitors. The term is often applied to any carrier with low ticket prices and limited services regardless of their operating models. Low-cost carriers should not be confused with regional airlines that operate short-haul flights without service, or with full-service airlines offering some reduced fares.
An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest of them are wide-body jets which are also called twin-aisle because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single-aisle. These are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts.
Regional airliners typically seat fewer than 100 passengers and may be powered by turbofans or turboprops. These airliners are the non-mainline counterparts to the larger aircraft operated by the major carriers, legacy carriers, and flag carriers, and are used to feed traffic into the large airline hubs. These regional routes then form the spokes of a hub-and-spoke air transport model.
The Tupolev Tu-154 (Russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian airlines for several decades, it carried half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot and its subsidiaries (137.5 million/year or 243.8 billion passenger-km in 1990), remaining the standard domestic-route airliner of Russia and former Soviet states until the mid-2000s. It was exported to 17 non-Russian airlines and used as a head-of-state transport by the air forces of several countries.
The aircraft has a cruising speed of 850 km/h (460 kn; 530 mph) and a range of 5,280 km (3,280 mi). Capable of operating from unpaved and gravel airfields with only basic facilities, it was widely used in the extreme Arctic conditions of Russia's northern/eastern regions, where other airliners were unable to operate. Originally designed for a 45,000-hour service life (18,000 cycles), but capable of 80,000 hours with upgrades, it was expected to continue in service until 2016, although newer noise regulations have restricted it from flying to Western Europe and other regions.
Dublin Airport (Irish: Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath) (IATA: DUB, ICAO: EIDW) is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, seven kilometres (4+1⁄2 miles) north of Dublin, and three kilometres (2 miles) south of Swords.In 2024, over 34.6 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the airport's busiest year on record. It is the 13th busiest airport in Europe, and is the busiest of Ireland's airports by total passenger traffic; it also has the largest traffic levels on the island of Ireland, followed by Belfast International Airport.
The airport has an extensive short and medium haul network, served by an array of carriers, as well as a significant long-haul network focused on North America and the Middle East. It serves as a hub for Ireland's flag carrier Aer Lingus, and is the home base for Europe's largest low-cost carrier Ryanair.
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airports.On December 5, 1960, the 727 was launched with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines.The first 727-100 rolled out on November 27, 1962, first flew on February 9, 1963, and entered service with Eastern on February 1, 1964.
The only trijet aircraft to be produced by Boeing, the 727 is powered by three Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofans below a T-tail, one on each side of the rear fuselage and a center one fed through an S-duct below the tail.It shares its six-abreast upper fuselage cross-section and cockpit with the 707 that was also later used on the 737.The 133-foot-long (41 m) 727-100 typically carries 106 passengers in two classes over 2,250 nautical miles [nmi] (4,170 km; 2,590 mi), or 129 in a single class.Launched in 1965, the stretched 727-200 flew in July 1967 and entered service with Northeast Airlines that December.The 20 ft (6.1 m) longer variant typically carries 134 passengers in two classes over 2,550 nmi (4,720 km; 2,930 mi), or 155 in a single class.A freighter and a "Quick Change" convertible version were also offered.
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR.The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 passengers.The ATR 72 has also been used as a corporate transport, cargo aircraft, and maritime patrol aircraft.
To date, all of the ATR series have been completed at the company's final assembly line in Toulouse, France; ATR benefits from sharing resources and technology with Airbus SE, which has continued to hold a 50% interest in the company. Successive models of the ATR 72 have been developed. Typical updates have included new avionics, such as a glass cockpit, and the adoption of newer engine versions to deliver enhanced performance, such as increased efficiency and reliability and reductions in operating costs. The aircraft shares a high degree of commonality with the smaller ATR 42, which remains in production as of 2025.