Singapore Air to Relaunch U.S. Nonstops
by Michele McDonald /Singapore Airlines is gearing up to reclaim the title for the world’s longest nonstop flight in 2018, when it begins taking deliveries for a new ultra-long-range variant of the A350 aircraft.
The aircraft will enable Singapore to resume nonstop service from Changi Airport to both New York – a distance of 9,525 miles – and Los Angeles. It dropped the services in 2013 when it shed the A340 aircraft used on the routes.
Singapore Airlines has 63 A350-900s on firm order. Its new agreement with Airbus calls for seven of them to be upgraded to orders for the A350-900ULR, for which it will be the launch customer. The aircraft, which Airbus says is wider and quieter, will be fitted with all-new cabin products currently under development.
The carrier also is considering nonstop flights between Singapore and additional points in the United States.
When it dropped its U.S. services, Qantas’ Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth flight took up the longest-flight crown, followed closely by Delta’s Atlanta-Johannesburg route. The torch will be passed to Emirates, temporarily, when it begins Dubai-Panama City service in February.
Singapore has been serving the U.S. market with one-stop flights to New York via Frankfurt; to Los Angeles via Tokyo (Narita); to Houston via Moscow; and to San Francisco via Seoul or Hong Kong. It also offers several connecting services to New York and other points with various Star Alliance partners.
In a statement, chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong said customers had requested the restoration of the nonstop flights, and the airline is “pleased that Airbus was able to offer the right aircraft to do so in a commercially viable manner.”
Pic: Planenut
