I'm flying intercontinental for the first time, and i'm just wondering...?

Question

[or international, i'm not sure which you call it] i'm flying united from L.A. to sydney. it's a 14-hour flight. i've flown alot before, but i've only flown domestic. i know there are big differences in what you have to do at the airport and stuff, but what is the difference between international and domestic planes, if any? are there even specific planes for each, or can all commercial planes fly either?

Answer 1

some times the long haul flights run out of fuel

Answer 2

International flights use bigger planes, with more seats across.  The biggest difference might be more people to crawl over if you're in a center seat.  :-)

However, because of their large size, you can get up and move around more.  You'll probably find people hanging out near the gallies and other nooks during the flight.  

Plus, they take much longer to get up in the air.  If you're only used to domestic flights, this may be a bit disconcerting.

Answer 3

Flying domestic, you'll probably fly in a smaller plane like a Saab 340B+, CRJ-200, MD-80 or 737.  Unless you're flying from coast to coast, then you'd probably fly in a DC-10, 757 or 767.

Flying overseas, you'll be flying in a much larger plane like a 747 to carry more passengers, baggage & fuel.  The farther the trip, the bigger the jet to get you there.  Have fun!

Answer 4

youll fly in a really big plane, lots of flight attendants, very comfortable, SAFE... you might make a few stops to fuel... domestic planes are smaller... intl planes are huge!!!

Answer 5

International planes are much larger than domestic ones in both length and width, and there are TVs throughout the cabin (depending on the plane, there may also be individual TVs on the backs of the seats so you can choose what to watch) that play movies and display your flight path, outside temp, time at destination and origin, etc.

International planes aren't typically used for domestic routes, and vice-versa. Domestic planes can't hold enough fuel for an intercontinental flight, and some smaller domestic airports are not equipped to handle large international planes.

EDIT: tonalc2 mentioned that the longer amount of time it takes for such a large plane to climb could be disconcerting for someone who is used to domestic flights - I didn't think so when I flew internationally for the first time.

Hope this helps.