I’ve noticed layovers can sometimes look odd on a globe, but they’re usually more about airline hubs and ticketing networks than taking the most direct path. Airlines route flights through where they have bases, maintenance facilities, and partnership agreements, which can lead to some unexpected detours.

If you’re interested in the geography side, it can be worth looking at non-stop southern hemisphere flights, since those aren’t affected by hub choices. For example:

Sydney to Johannesburg: ~11 hours direct

Sydney to Santiago: ~12 hours direct

On many FE maps, these cities would seem much farther apart than they do on a globe, yet the actual flight times match globe-based distances very closely. It’s something you can check against real-world schedules, and people who’ve taken these routes don’t tend to report big discrepancies.

It makes me wonder, could comparing flight times and start/end points be a way to work out the earth’s shape in detail?

It might also be possible to use data from social media posts of actual flight departure and touchdown times to verify the claimed durations.

Check out the fake flights from Australia direct to Santiago. LOL..