Airlines' most unusual routes
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Airlines' Most Unusual Routes — Daily trivia Wednesday, September 2, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01A short flight from Samoa to American Samoa lands on which day?
- AThe day before it took off
- BThe same day
- CThe day after it took off
- DEither, depending on the season
Show answer
The day before it took off
The day before it took off: the International Date Line runs between the two Samoas, putting them a full calendar day apart, so a Monday morning departure from Apia lands in Pago Pago on Sunday morning.
Q 02Which of these US city pairs is farthest apart by air?
- AMiami to Seattle
- BNew York to Anchorage
- CBoston to Honolulu
- DAtlanta to Los Angeles
Show answer
Boston to Honolulu
Boston to Honolulu. About 5,100 miles apart, it is a longer trip than New York to Anchorage, and Hawaiian Airlines has flown it nonstop with no passport needed.
Q 03Which Scottish islands are home to a two-minute scheduled flight?
- AShetland
- BOrkney
- CInner Hebrides
- DOuter Hebrides
Show answer
Orkney
Orkney's Loganair hop between Westray and Papa Westray is timetabled at about two minutes, and with a tailwind the wheels-up-to-wheels-down time has been well under a minute, long billed as the shortest scheduled flight in the world.
Q 04Which Scottish airport's runway is a beach?
- AKirkwall
- BIslay
- CStornoway
- DBarra
Show answer
Barra
Barra's three runways are marked out with poles on the cockle-shell sand of Traigh Mhor beach; they vanish under the sea at high tide, so the timetable follows the tide tables.
Q 05Which two cities did America's first scheduled airplane service connect?
- ASt. Petersburg and Tampa
- BLondon and Paris
- CBerlin and Weimar
- DKey West and Havana
Show answer
St. Petersburg and Tampa
St. Petersburg and Tampa. Tony Jannus flew the Airboat Line's first 23-minute hop across Tampa Bay on 1 January 1914, and its last official flight came that May.
Q 06Which European country counts a 9,000 km flight as domestic?
- AFrance
- BPortugal
- CUnited Kingdom
- DNetherlands
Show answer
France
France: Reunion is a full overseas department, so Paris to Saint-Denis, roughly 9,400 km, counts as domestic, a longer hop than London to Los Angeles.
Q 07Which South Atlantic island waited until 2017 for its first scheduled flights?
- ASt. Helena
- BAscension Island
- CFalkland Islands
- DTristan da Cunha
Show answer
St. Helena
St. Helena's airport was finished in 2016, but wind shear on the approach grounded the planned Boeing jets; a smaller Airlink Embraer from Johannesburg finally began weekly service in October 2017, retiring the island's Royal Mail ship.
Q 08Which airline's Pacific 'Island Hopper' carries a mechanic on every flight?
- AUnited Airlines
- BHawaiian Airlines
- CFiji Airways
- DAir New Zealand
Show answer
United Airlines
United Airlines. Its Guam-Honolulu Island Hopper, launched by Air Micronesia in 1968, stops at remote islands with little repair infrastructure, so a mechanic and spare parts fly along.
Q 09Which US airline flew Concorde subsonically between Dallas and Washington?
- APan Am
- BTWA
- CBraniff
- DAmerican
Show answer
Braniff
Braniff crews flew Air France and British Airways Concordes between Washington Dulles and Dallas in 1979-80, held below Mach 1 over land, before the jets continued supersonic to Europe.
Q 10Which airline opened the first scheduled trans-polar route?
- APan Am
- BSAS
- CBOAC
- DKLM
Show answer
SAS
SAS opened Copenhagen to Los Angeles across Greenland and the Canadian Arctic in November 1954, refuelling its DC-6Bs at Søndre Strømfjord and Winnipeg, and added a polar Copenhagen-Tokyo route via Anchorage in 1957.
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