Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Tuesday said it would restart flight services between the U.S. and Singapore, making it the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight service, using the newly launched ultra-long range version of the Airbus A350-900.
Being the launch customers for the new aircraft, Singapore Airlines will buy the first seven units. These will be part of the airline’s earlier order of 63 A350-900s. In addition, the carrier has placed an order for four A350-900s, taking the firm’s total order to 67 units. The 19-hour journey for a distance of about 8,700 nautical miles, will beat the proposed 17.5 hours flight that Emirates intends to start in February next year from Dubai to Panama City.
The move is likely to also help Indian consumers who can take the connecting flight to the U.S. from Singapore.
“The New York-Singapore service will be the world’s longest commercial passenger route, with an expected flight time of up to 19 hours,” the company said.
The airline had ended the service between Singapore and both Los Angeles and New York in 2013 after nine years as the A340-500s that were used for the services were retired, besides the fuel costs were also rising. First deliveries of the A350-900ULR aircraft are slated for 2018, according to Airbus. “Our customers have been asking us to restart non-stop Singapore-U.S. flights and we are pleased that Airbus was able to offer the right aircraft to do so in a commercially viable manner,” Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said. Non-stop flights between Singapore and additional points in the U.S. are also under consideration. Optimised for non-stop flights to the U.S., planes will include a modified fuel system to increase fuel-carrying capacity
(This correspondent is in Toulouse at the invitation of the company)
