"Going the Distance" has seldom had greater meaning than at this moment. We've made aviation history today by setting a world record for distance traveled nonstop by a commercial jetliner.

It's a personally exciting milestone for me because I just happened to be in Hong Kong the night of the departure, after attending a conference there.

Flying eastbound "the wrong way" from Hong Kong to London is taking the concept of point-to-point to the max. But that's what we did over a time span of 22 hours and 42 minutes, flying over the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean to get there.

The 777-200LR touching down in London on Nov. 10, 2005, after a long, long flight over two oceans and a continent.

All this year we've been saying that the 777-200LR is capable of connecting virtually any two cities in the world. But until today, you wouldn't be blamed for being a little skeptical.

After it took off from Hong Kong Wednesday night at 10:30 local time, the new airplane traveled 11,664 nautical miles (21,601 km) on this record-setting flight. It touched down at London Heathrow at about 1:15 p.m. GMT today. The flight smashes the previous record of 9,200 nautical miles set by a 747-400 in 1989, as well as the 10,823 nautical mile flight by a 777-200ER in 1997. This week's flight also easily exceeds the long-haul distances flown by the A340.

A representative from the U.S. National Aeronautics Association was on board to monitor the record flight. Official certification should come in the next several days. And the Guinness Book of World Records was also on hand to present a World Record certificate to our crew upon arrival in London.

This plane and our other flight test 777-200LR will be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines early next year. EVA Airways of Taiwan has ordered three of these airplanes. Earlier this year, Air India and Qatar Airways committed to ordering a number of 777-200LRs. And with their announcement yesterday, we can add Air Canada to the growing list of carriers planning to go the distance like never before.