Singapore Airlines to launch the world's longest flight in October
Nancy Trejos
NEW YORK -- Singapore Airlines is ready to claim the title of “world’s longest flight” this October when it resumes non-stop service between Singapore and Newark.
The Singapore-bound leg will clock in at 18 hours, 45 minutes .The return flight will last 18 hours, 25 minutes.
The new flight marks Singapore’s return to the New York market with a non-stop flight.
Singapore Airlines had flown the Newark to Singapore route until 2013, when it phased out the four-engine Airbus A340s it had been using. The four-engine planes weren’t fuel-efficient enough to allow the airline to profitably fly the route. Since then, the airline has served New York with a flight from JFK Airport that stops in Frankfurt.
But Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said in an interview with USA TODAY that he had always hoped to restore the non-stop route.
“Since then, we’ve been trying to see what is a viable way to serve New York non-stop because clearly our customers love the flight,” he said. “We pushed Airbus to come up with a solution.”
And Airbus delivered. Singapore Airlines will be the world’s first airline to fly paying passengers on a new variant of its two-engine A350 – the A350 “ULR,” which stands for “ultra long range.” The new aircraft will be 30 percent more fuel efficient.
“It’s a historic moment,” Goh says. “There’s no flight quite like it and there won’t be for years to come, I think.”
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Goh acknowledges that a nearly 19-hour flight can be difficult, but he says the new aircraft will provide a premium customer experience because of the way it’s designed.
“It is able to fly with lower pressurization so there’s less fatigue, higher ceilings, bigger windows, which makes it more comfortable for customers,” he says. “We expect this to be welcome to business travelers especially.”
He says the airline will soon announce more details about the customer experience, including the food and beverage program and wellness offerings.
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The A350ULRs will have 161 seats in a two-class layout. Of those, 67 will be business class seats and 94 international-style premium economy seats.
“It really is a demand and supply consideration,” Goh says of not having coach class. “From our experience operating the flight, we do believe this particular configuration we are offering is best suited for this particular flight.”
The flight from JFK to Singapore via Frankfurt will continue to operate. That flight has four classes, including coach. The non-stop flight, while long, will cut total travel time by about four hours.
More broadly, the resumption of this high-profile route comes as Goh wants to return his carrier to being the world’s “undisputed No. 1” carrier.
The airline already is among the world’s most highly regarded for both luxury and high-end customer service in all cabins. But it faces stiff competition from Middle East Airlines such as Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways, which have earned high marks from customers lately.
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Goh says he is confident Singapore can surpass any other long-haul airline, especially on this new route.
“I don’t think we have competition,” he says. “This is the only aircraft capable of this.”
Singapore has always targeted the luxury market with products such as a 50 square-foot first class suite on its A380.
“We want to continue to always lead, certainly, and we believe that this how we can reward our customers, to always provide the best industry-leading product,” Goh says. “But it’s not just physical. It’s the attentive service. I think that’s what will endear us to our customers.”
Better servicing New York has always been a high priority for Goh.
“New York has always been an important destination,” he says. "Singapore is a financial center and New York is too. There is a lot of business traveler interest in that sector.”
Contributing: Ben Mutzabaugh
