San Diego International (SAN) in southern California is a relatively large airport, but one with little room to expand. This is most evident in the fact that, unlike most major US hubs, it only has one runway, and is, in fact, the busiest airport in the US with such a configuration. Nonetheless, at almost 2,900 meters long, it is large enough to handle intercontinental widebodies, leading to some rather long routes.
Lufthansa has the longest route
At the time of writing, present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showed that San Diego International Airport will serve four routes in excess of 5,000 miles this December. The longest of these, and, as it happens, the only one above the 6,000-mile mark, is operated by 
Lufthansa
. This corridor serves Munich Airport (MUC), some 6,024 miles (9,694.7 km) away.
The Cologne-based German flag carrier and Star Alliance founding member is scheduled to operate 21 flights from Munich to San Diego this December, with 20 sectors planned for the other direction. Its aircraft of choice on this lengthy transatlantic corridor is the Airbus
A350-900, which, according to aeroLOPA, has three different layouts at Lufthansa. The one used on these flights has:
- 224 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.
- 21 premium economy recliners in a 2-3-2 layout.
- 48 business class flatbeds in a 2-2-2 layout.
San Diego International Airport
- IATA/ICAO Code
-
SAN/KSAN
- Terminals
-
Terminal 1 |
Terminal 2
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock
In terms of the timings of the flights, data from Flightradar24 shows that the outbound leg from Munich (numbered as LH466) has a leisurely lunchtime departure at 12:20. Its arrival into San Diego is scheduled for 15:25 local time, some 12 hours and five minutes later. The return leg has a block time of 11 hours and five minutes, leaving San Diego at 17:20 and touching down in Munich at 13:25 the following day.
British Airways serves San Diego almost daily
Another major European flag carrier with a long-haul presence at San Diego International is 
British Airways
. The UK flag carrier and oneworld founding member offers a non-stop connection from its hub at London Heathrow (LHR), which is situated 5,485 miles (8,827.3 km) away from San Diego. BA will operate daily flights in both directions this December, apart from on Christmas Day (the 25th).
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
Much like its German counterpart, British Airways operates the Airbus A350 on its flights to San Diego. However, the national airline’s variant of choice is the larger A350-1000 model, with an increased seating capacity of 331 passengers. These aircraft are relatively premium heavy, with 56 Club Suite business class flatbeds laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration. The remaining seats are split between:
- 56 World Traveller Plus premium economy recliners in a 2-4-2 configuration.
- 219 World Traveller economy class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration.
Photo: Stuart Bailey | British Airways
BA’s San Diego-bound flights (BA273)also have a lunchtime departure, taking to the skies over West London at 12:50. Flying westbound, they have a block time of 11 hours and 15 minutes, with their arrival timed for 16:05 local time. Coming home, flight BA272 is scheduled to leave San Diego at 18:10, with its arrival back into London planned for 12:35 local time the next day, 10 hours and 25 minutes later.
Air France is a rarer sight in San Diego
The third European airline operating San Diego-bound flights longer than 5,000 miles next month is Air France
. The Skyteam founding member flies to the city on a non-stop basis from its hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), a distance of 5,698 miles (9,170 km) according to Great Circle Mapper. However, these rotations are rather rare, with just two (6th and 10th) planned for December.
Photo: Ronen Fefer | Shutterstock
Air France parallels Lufthansa in its use of the Airbus A350-900 on its flights to and from San Diego, with the configuration deployed having the capacity to seat a grand total of 292 passengers. This figure is split between three classes, with 48 business class flatbeds in a 1-2-1 configuration, followed by 32 premium economy recliners in a 2-4-2 layout and 212 economy seats in the normal 3-3-3 setup.
Photo: yvr_luis | Shutterstock
Numbered as flight AF302, the outbound leg from Paris to San Diego has a scheduled block time of 11 hours and 45 minutes, leaving at 12:10 and arriving at 14:55. The overnight return, which is numbered as flight AF303, has a planned duration of 10 hours and 40 minutes, and leaves San Diego International Airport at 17:05 local time. Its arrival into Paris is scheduled for 12:45 the following lunchtime.
Asian representation from JAL
The fourth and final carrier with flights to and from San Diego that exceed 5,000 miles in length this December is Japanese flag carrier Japan Airlines
. Also known as JAL, the carrier is operating 18 December flights in each direction between San Diego and its Tokyo Narita (NRT) hub, totaling 5,557 miles (8,943.1 km) in length. These use 186-seat 
Boeing
787-8 Dreamliners, with the following setup:
Photo: hodim | Shutterstock
The outbound flights on this route have a scheduled block time of nine hours and 35 minutes. Thanks to crossing the international date line en route, after leaving Tokyo at 17:10 local time they arrive in San Diego at 09:45 on the same day. Meanwhile, the return leg is a hefty 12 hours long, and, after departing San Diego at 11:40 local time, it is scheduled to arrive at Tokyo Narita at 16:40 the following day.