I Took The World's LONGEST Regional Jet Flight. 7 HOURS! 

the shady airport taxi driver experience seems universal around the world 😂

AirBaltic is a fantastic airline. Grew from a bankrupt company to a carrier with over A220s and several bases across Europe. Flying with them in a week to Riga, am super excited

Something about his (still) British way of reducing major wars to "a bit of an arjee-barjee" (dunno how it's spelled). Among my favorite things about Noel is his britishisms, his continuous calm attitude, his refusal to correct how so many Americans pronounce his name as if he's Father Christmas, and honest reviews of everything from the flight to the food to the taxi drivers. I'm old enough to remember memorizing in-flight magazines and how exciting it was when the first in-flight entertainment systems came along. But this is the 21st Century, not having at least some kind of IFE if not decent-speed WiFi is truly inexcusable. I am so glad to watch these, keep it up!

I think I can speak for Noels' entire fan base and say, "Get well soon, buddy." If you can survive long haul flights on the world's worst airlines, you can deffinetly beat pneumonia. Also, I love airBaltic, such a unique airline. I think it's fantastic they make use of the A220 range wise. Why not use it on longer routes !

Loved that the dog said „Hello“ 😂 15:15

I have flown airBaltic business class on a 6.5 hour Riga-Tenerife flight. If you download enough videos and podcasts on your phone and charge all your devices before to 100% then it is pretty good. If you happen to get a free row of seats you can make a "bed" as well (I did not see if they gave you pillow and blanket on this flight as they usually do). To address the two big issues, currently airBaltic is: 1) going to roll out Starlink wifi across all fleet - hopefully from this year - which is going to be free for everyone 2) new planes will have the latests Recaro R2 seats with Usb-c charging port.

Great vid! The A220 is really not an RJ in the classic sense. It’s a five-abreast, narrow-body jet with over 100 seats (between 108 and 160 depending on type) and is considered a mainline aircraft. It’s essentially a “crossover,” though I’ve seen some airlines refer to it as “regional.” Some semantics but compared to many bona fide RJs - Embraers, CRJs, etc. - with two-two seating, this is on the larger size.

The woman on the plane behind Noel lol

Hi Noel ~ my name is Louise and I live in England. I live in a rehabilitation centre as I suffer with advanced secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and are either bedbound or wheelchair bound ~ the longest flight

Thank you for another great video, the lady behind you was funny, peeking around lol.

The car ride made up for the 8 hours of boredom 🤣🤣🤣When the driver was laughing 😂😂😂

A220 is an amazing aircraft. For a small jet the range is impressive. For long routes like this, Air Baltic should really consider adding an intertainment system.

I got a giggle when you used bits and bobs to describe both your breakfast side dishes as well as the loo stink remover and such. 😂😅😂😅

What a unique flight performed by a narrowbody. The downside of this calibre of flight is it can make passengers feel jaded and bored with stiff. Anyway, amazing footage and phenomenal narration as always Noel!

I love how ur not afraid to “hot dog” it and take “off the beaten path” flights. I also love and respect ur wonderful family too.

Holy crap! The Maharaba lounge just reminded me of something! Story time! In February I was flying home from Australia to Sweden with Singapore Airlines. On the flight from Singapore to London, about halfway, a lady had a medical emergency. We were forced to make an emergency landing in Dubai. The lady was taken off the plane and we refuelled and all, but when it was time for us to get on our way again, ATC straight up just rejected us. The pilot said over the speakers that "uhh ladies and gentlemen. The uhh air traffic control has rejected our flightplan without reason. We will try again in a while, but if we don't get moving soon enough, we're gonna be forced to stay here until tomorrow." At this point, it was 4 AM ish in Dubai. Then, the pilot said "We will not be able to continue so we are stuck here for the day." The crew then made sure we got off the plane (A380) and told us to go through the airport and look for the Maharaba lounge and that's where buses will take us to hotels. I found a few people to stick together (I call them my Dubai Family) and we tried to work everything out. We were offered a free McChicken at McDonalds using our boarding card. We eventually found the Maharaba lounge and finally got on buses. Because there were so many passengers, they had to split us all into 9 different hotels. Me and my Dubai Family told the people who worked there that we wanted to stay at the same hotel, because we had grown somewhat close to each other at that point. We were transported to the Crown Plaza I think and were immediately greeted with a lunch buffet. Me and my Dubai Fam said that we'd all go to our separate rooms and shower before meeting back there to eat. And so we did. We sat there talking and had a really lovely lunch together! At that point it was just past 2 pm in the afternoon, so it had taken us 10 hours since landing to get to the hotels. We were all exhausted and hungry, but also weirdly content with our situation. After lunch, we all went to our own rooms again and while the others were napping, I had to head out into Dubai to buy new underwear and deodorant because they didn't remove any of our luggage from the plane. At around 7 pm, the dinner buffet was in full swing and we had decided over a WhatsApp group to meet outside the food place just past 7. We then had another lovely meal together, with fantastic food and drinks and conversations. We were then informed that the plane to London was going to depart at 6 or 7 AM the next morning, and that our wakeup call would be at 2 AM, to give us plenty of time at the airport. 2 AM rolls around and we all get woken up. I shower and get dressed and everything before heading downstairs to check out. I was quickly followed by my Dubai Fam. We get escorted onto buses that take us to the airport (sidenote: Someone had been partying that night and was very hard to wake up so we left a bit later than anticipated). Once at the airport, we check in and make our way to McDonalds again, where another McChicken was offered as breakfast. At 6:30 or 5:30, we get to the gate where everyone else from the plane is waiting for boarding. However, something else happens. An airport employee gets on the intercom and says "We apologise for the inconvenience but there is heavy fog rolling in and no planes can take off or land. We are postponing your flight. It now leaves at 9 AM, instead of 6 or 7." At this point, all we can do is laugh because of how odd this all is. So my Dubai Dad (A gentleman in his 40's or 50's) suggest that we just go to a pub for a pint of beer. Not having any better ideas, we agree and head to the nearest pub, AT 7 AM!!!! We then get something to drink (I get just a mocktail or something because I don't drink) and something to snack on. We sit there for like 2 hours just talking. Then, when it's time for us to leave, Dubai Dad offers to pay for the drinks and stuff. We gladly accept and then head to the gate. Finally, we were gonna take off. They put us on buses that take us out to the remote stand and board as usual. It's pretty fast because everyone is in the same seats as before. At roughly 9:30 AM, we take off and make our way to London. And the rest is history. It was a really fun time. I love my Dubai Fam :,). Memories for life!

Baltic drivers are NUTS!!! My wife is Lithuanian, and, well - having travelled extensively in Lithuania AND Latvia, I have stories that I tell people about the drivers, and the stories seem litterally unbelievable to the people to whom I'm telling - so, I can guess that you were legit scared to death, lol - if you're ever in/flying though/near Richmond , VA (KRIC or KFCI), hit me up and we can swap stories! lol - greetings from Virginia!

Just took a flight on Iberia from Madrid to Los Angeles. Flew on a A350. Amazing country and amazing airline! Flight attendants were super nice. The plane was immaculate. The food was good. Flew over Greenland. The 13 hour flight was taxing, to say the least.

Noel you have cemented your position as my favorite flight reviewer.The detail, the perfect combination of some but not too much personal or off topic details. Thank you

Great video as always, Noel. And thank you for the great Cameo video you sent my friend Nick, for his birthday. Absolutely made his day. So sorry you're feeling a little ropey at the moment but hope you get better soon!

Now you have to go back in Economy to let us know how it really feels to buy an 8 hours flights in single aisle plane

i love everyone staring at Noel, I like the woman at the Dubai airport knowing who you were that's pretty cool

Thanks for the video, Noel. I flew on the Air Tanzania A 220 a few months ago and at 6 ft tall the washroom was really tight for me. at 6'4 I am surprised you did not complain. The Air Tanzania cabin crew informed me they sometimes fly the A220 from Daresalaam to Mumbai. That must be close to, if not longer than 7 hours.

Love spending my Sunday morning traveling with Noel🛫🙌🏽❤️

7:57 - A WHAT omelette? Haha! I didnt think you'd start adopting an American accent so soon after moving there!

As Indonesian, 7.5 hours is as long as Jakarta to Tokyo, very far 😅

The lady peering over the seat at about the 8m 30s marker is funny. Great video.

You flew over us(Basra)!

Love all ur vids. I binge watch em always. Hope ur feeling better mate

That Morning View in Dubai was heaven. That is a long flight ✈️ on a small plane. 🛩️ Adventure time!! Much Love on your journey @noelphilips 😊

Loved the lady in the seat behind you giving you a PHOTOBOMB!

NOEL - How about travelling on the summer only service from Ottawa to Greenland or St Pierre and Miquelon seasonal service to CDG? Love your vids as they are. Thank you.

The Looky Loo Lass was the gift that kept giving

I stayed in the very same room 545 at the Hampton by Hilton Riga airport a few weeks ago lol. Small world!

You know who is the best aviation YT'er when you get more views in 10 hours than another aviation YT'er, who's first name starts with J and ends with H, in 1 day ;) Nice one sir!

I swear the jet could explode as Noel is about to board and he would say, "Nevermind." I love it 😂

A couple times I had a 737-8 flight segment between Toronto and Panama with Copa Airlines around a 7+ hour flight. It was really well set up and the service was excellent. Business class seats equivalent to old school seats that really reclined a lot which was good as it was a red-eye. I really enjoyed the video, keep up the good work. 😃

I flew business class on a Delta A220 not that long ago and I can comfortably say I'd have no problem doing an 8 hour flight in that thing. The wifi was fast, onboard entertainment system was great, huge overhead bins, large bathrooms. Combine that with the A220 being so quiet because of those geared turbofans, I can see why some airlines are going to a one-type fleet of them.

8 hrs in a small plane can make your feel like a packed sardine. Another great video Noel! Safe travels Noel!

Thank goodness you informed us of the amount of your flight in Vietnamese Dongs...lol

Hi Noel, The taxi ride, I would say is normal for cab drivers, but the best part of your journey is saying the cab driver was going back to get his nect victim. Which is so true. I was laughing at this part if the video.

Hey from Riga! Sorry for the expensive taxi. In Riga airport it’s better to take bus 22, which will take you directly to city center for 2€. or you might use Bolt/ForUS taxi apps (Latvian Uber)

Great video Noel, hope you are recovering well

Thanks Noel!!! You survived… not the flight but the taxi driver. 😂 a beverage is necessary after this … Best, Jeff

My longest flight in a narrow body was on an SAA B737-800 from Mauritius to Johannesburg which was four and a half hours long. The seat could not recline all the way; about 30 degrees; no internet; no inflight entertainment and we had to sit in the aircraft for another 45 minutes so that they could get the ground crew to extend the docking arm! Apparently they were severely short staffed that day... A fun filled say I NEVER want to have over again!

Great flight.

The 220 is definitely not a regional jet lol

Very nice flight Noel! Those white seats looked fantastic!

Yep time to download some mobile games to keep yourself entertained a bit. Glad you made it.

Great video Noel. The lady sitting behind you 😂

The A220 isn't really a "regional jet". It is more like the wonderful MD-80s, especially with its 2-3 seat configuration. I flew one on Air Canada from Dulles to Toronto and absolutely loved it. Hope to get to fly one again real soon.

Do an around the world trip on narrow body jets only… but get well soon first

Probably the only narrow body I would fly on for that long. Excellent aircraft!

Thanks a lot for another great video! I am actually flying AirBaltic this Saturday, first from Sofia to Riga and then, with a connecting flight, to Helsinki, where my home is. I have been living in Sofia since March and I did this route already once and I really like AirBaltic and the Riga Airport. The A220 is such a fresh plane and the poke bowl I ordered was really good. The flight from Riga to Helsinki is also very scenic over the Baltic. It is a strange feeling to see Tallinn from one window and Helsinki from another.

gotta love that engine wail

I've been on air Canada's a220 in the "preffered" economy seat and I could spend 18 hrs in the thing. Seats were wider than any I've ever had in economy (19 inches, if you use seatguru to check economy widths it's one of the best) and the leg room was insane! Each seat also had air Canada's standard ife screen that you'd get on a long haul flight. My favourite plane to fly on by far

I just visited Riga. Great city & great people!!

one of the best thhing about that marhaba lounge specifically was you could pay for a shower! although the facility did seem a bit damped compare to the emirates lounge but definitely good enough for a short layover!

I always look forward to your next vid, great vid this one. Thank you ❤

14:33 DONG MENTIONED 😂 WELL PLAYED, SIR!

At 8:41 on your video, i couldn't help but notice the woman sitting behind you was very interested in your camera equipment recording you!., awesome flight review as always👍✈

Noel, please start telling us the accommodations that you stay in, after you left them.. so we can mark them on our future travel list, like the one that's giving you the great view of Dubai.

Loved your attitude with the taxi driver -- no use getting into an argument, just lesson learned! 🚕

I already get claustrophobic when I fly from Phoenix to Sacramento I can’t imagine doing 8 hours! Get well soon Noel!

Hi Noel, my longest joke was to go coast to coast on regional jets in the USA this included three transfers from Washington to Los Angeles flying two legs on ERJ 145 and two more on CR7 with three hours to spare in LAX before my flight on an Air New Zealand 744 to AKL and then a 733 to Sydney. At that time near no IFE.

Hi Noel, hope you're feeling OK. Take care and take time.

LOL, thats exactly the same experience i had with taxis when I arrived in Vilnius. I love Rigas old town. Enjoy!!

"Why is that woman intensely staring at Noel?" me thought when Noel approached the counter, then again in the gate. LOL, the fans are everywhere but this one was her eyes piercing trough you and your passport for sure.

Great review Noel! One thing I like about the A220 is the side of the plane with just 2 seats - something far less common nowadays...

The A220 and the bigger new Embraer E-Jets feel less like a regional jet and more like a mainline jet and are often used on mainline flights. I'd say they're all even more comfortable than 737/A320's.

What a great video! I just can't stop clicking on your videos!

Hey Noel! I particularly enjoyed your evaluation of the taxi driver's routine. This is what puts you way up there with Paul Lucas, high above all the other travel vloggers

I was wondering when you were going to take the A220 Dubai-Riga plunge... Thankfully my aviation fan prayers have been answered. As a Canuck, I love the A220 and all its quirky glory. I also love the fact it was designed originally as a plane that could fly Trans-Atlantic yet operate out of London City. As an Albertan taxpayer and partial/fractional owner of the airport as such I think it's neat that such a versatile jet exists to serve previously unthinkable routes due to its almost STOL-like capabilities... I think if you compare it directly to the Q400 it only needs like 500' more feet to take off and land on yet the range is 3X that while having 1/4th the noise footprint... Talk about major improvements in engine and body technology in 25 years!

How gorgeous Dubai is. I love 💗 your adventures. Back in the 60’s here in Chicago there used to be a show called “Adventures in Paradise.” It was similar to what you do.

The decision of Air Baltic to operate the A220 was a great decision. It is one of my (if not the) favorite aircraft to fly on. Here in the states on Breeze Airways. I've been following Air Baltic's impressive growth for years.

Excellent video Noel really want to get on an A220 perhaps not for an almost 8 hour flight though haha. I hope your recovery is going well and do take care of yourself. All the best to Rachael and the youngens.

Noel: I would love to see you looking a little happier in the intro photos!

Another entertaining video, I never knew airbaltic operated in Dubai let alone with an A220! Get well soon Noel, plenty of rest then I’m sure you’ll be travelling the skies again soon😊

Back in the day a book was good for long flights. A 'page turner' like a Tom Clancy novel was good. Far better than trying to listen to audio piped through pneumatic headphones. I remember that British Airways had Yes Minister episodes something like a 1980's version of podcasts!

Flew on the a220 with air Baltic a few times when working in Lithuania and Latvia one of the best I've ever been on thought it was great. Infact you might even notice a Stockport county sticker where you met the taxi driver

After my flight to Switzerland back in 2009 (on SwissAir) I leaned my lesson to just bring your own movies/TV shows on a mobile device (they had issues with the IFE system and it was a 10 hour flight home -- on the way there it worked fine, but not on the way home). Luckily I had a laptop though so I was able to at least do something. So yeah, bring your own entertainment and a battery pack to keep your stuff charged (plus even if the IFE works who knows if there is anything good on). Same with snacks - I also bring snacks on planes too now that TSA allows this (since COVID).

😂 Oh my! The “taxi”….reminded me of being in Mexico years back…😂…they were crazy!!

Surely you have some good books that you can read on the plane to keep you entertained

hey, the first commercial A220-100 (back then Cserie 100) flight was done by Swiss on 15 July 2016 ZRH-CDG. Air Baltic had the first commercial flight of the longer -300 subtype later that year on December 14th RIX-AMS. ;)

Keep the socks popping! You remind me so much of my nephew! Thank you for another great vid Noel!

Speaking of long flights on small planes, I did notice that the Canadian airline; Porter Airlines, started service from Toronto to San Francisco on an Embraer 195 E2

I Love The Beautiful Air Craft A220.Great Video

Thanks a Zillion times fantastic Noel for another fantastic video, I love you

Seeing a row of A380’s lined up at Dubai airport, makes my little heart skip a beat. ❤

Yeah, I thought you were in a drift taxi video😂

I recently flew on a new Breeze A220 from RIC to PHX in the front row which is in a 2-2 config. It was really nice.

Love an A220 for short haulers, nice ride. Any sausage pink in the middle in Dubai is always safe as will be a beef sausage ;-)

On our last trip last month we left Manila on Airbus350 Business Class our final flight was a Cessna 402 into Bar Harbor Maine! We looked like a toy at Logan in Boston. You know it’s small when they need to weigh you and your bags to distribute the weight properly.

Hi Noel.: Loved your video as it really related to me in a couple of ways.. I love the a220 and we were booked in to fly air Baltic from Riga in March 2020 however the dark cloud of covid descended and put a stop to that! My grandparents were from Riga which is a lovely place when you get out of the airport motels and away from the crazy taxi drivers! Great work.. Nik in Adelaide

Bring a book to read. Never bored.

I flew 9 hours on a 737 from Dubai to Amsterdam through Budapest for fuel with Transavia. Not direct no, but we couldn’t get off. Just landing, 20 minutes of sitting there and leaving. 9 HOURS IN A 737 😂🥲. Luckily I could still book emergency exit seats but it was so tiny.

I once did a flight from Dublin to Miami in a 2x3 config regional jet with Aer Lingus, can't remember the aircraft though. Yeah, I was kissing the terminal floor when I got off that one haha

You were BORED? You should have just looked in the seat behind you! Ha! Ha!

Thanks for the flight review, an unique route indeed! Suggestion for the future reviews: Finnair has some special A350 routes, like short hauls HEL-AMS and HEL-LHR. Next winter they'll put A350 on the Helsinki-Las Palmas route, daily service. Must be the first full service A350 to LPA ever:) Long narrow body flights: next winter Iberia fly MAD-RVN (Finnish Lapland), 5h on A320, flight IB696.

Love Riga, what a charming city