Emirates Airline’s first non-stop service between Auckland and Dubai will be one of the longest air routes in the world by distance, but with the assistance of clever technology, passengers will arrive their destination in the shortest possible time.

Emirates will be using flexible routes, which can vary by day, taking advantage of tail winds and avoiding head winds to reduce the time in the air.

This proven technology, combined with the elimination of an en-route stop in Australia, could shorten the time to Auckland by up to three hours.

The airline starts its first non-stop service from Dubai to Auckland on 1 March 2016, bringing many of Emirates’ 39 European destinations, as well as 38 cities in Africa and the Gulf within just a one-stop connection in Dubai.

The new non-stop service will be operated by a Boeing 777-200LR and should typically take just under 16 hours from Dubai to New Zealand and 17 hours, 15 minutes in the other direction.