Singapore Airlines (SIA) will relaunch the world’s longest commercial flights in October

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will relaunch the world’s longest commercial flights in October, with non-stop services between Singapore and New York using the new Airbus A350-900ULR (ultra-long-range). Singapore Airlines Flight 21, and return Flight SQ22, were the two longest regularly scheduled non-stop flights in the world, from 28 June 2004 until they were discontinued on 23 November 2013.

Flights are to be launched on 11 October 2018, to Newark Liberty International Airport. The route will initially be served three times a week, departing Singapore on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Daily operations will commence from 18 October after an additional A350-900ULR aircraft enters service. (Please see Annex for flight schedules).

SIA is the world’s first customer for the new A350-900ULR, with seven on firm order with Airbus. The aircraft will be configured in a two-class layout, with 67 Business Class seats and 94 Premium Economy Class seats. Tickets will be made available for sale progressively across the various booking channels, starting from tomorrow.

Flights will cover a distance of approximately 9,000nm (16,700km), and travelling time will be up to 18hrs 45min. Singapore Airlines served the Singapore-Newark route until 2013, when services were suspended after the aircraft used at the time, Airbus A340-500s, were returned to Airbus.

“Singapore Airlines has always taken pride in pushing the boundaries to provide the best possible travel convenience for our customers, and we are pleased to be leading the way with these new non-stop flights using the latest-technology, ultra-long-range Airbus A350-900ULR,” said Singapore Airlines’ CEO, Mr Goh Choon Phong.

“The flights will offer our customers the fastest way to travel between the two cities – in great comfort, together with Singapore Airlines’ legendary service – and will help boost connectivity to and through the Singapore hub.”

The A350-900ULR will offer customers a more comfortable travelling experience with features such as higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body and lighting designed to reduce jetlag. Its carbon composite airframe also allows for improved air quality due to a more optimised cabin altitude and humidity levels.

Singapore Airlines currently has 21 A350-900s in its fleet, with 46 more on order including seven of the ULR variant. The first A350-900ULR is due for delivery in September, with all seven due for delivery by the end of the year.

Singapore Airlines currently serves New York JFK, daily via Frankfurt. Other US destinations include Houston (five times weekly via Manchester), Los Angeles (daily via Seoul and daily via Tokyo), and San Francisco (daily non-stop from Singapore as well as daily via Hong Kong).

Non-stop Singapore-Los Angeles flights are also planned with the A350-900ULR, details of which will be announced at a later date.

Flight Schedules

Northern Summer (to 27 October 2018)

Northern Winter (28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019)

*All times local.  Flight schedule is subject to daylight savings, slots and requlatory approvals.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) today welcomed the announcement by Singapore Airlines (SIA) of its plan to launch non-stop services between Singapore (SIN) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in October 2018 with the new Airbus A350-900ULR (ultra-long-range) aircraft.

The inaugural SIN-EWR flight will take off on 11 October 2018, covering a distance of approximately 9,000 nm (16,700km) over a flight time of up to 18hrs 45min. The return flight will depart EWR on 12 October, with a similar flight time. The A350-900ULR will have a two-class layout, with 67 Business Class seats and 94 Premium Economy Class seats. Singapore Airlines will continue to operate its daily service between Singapore and New York (JFK), via Frankfurt.

Four airlines currently connect Singapore to six US cities – Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York City. With the new non-stop services, there will be 72 weekly passenger services between Changi Airport and the United States. Point-to-point traffic between the US and Southeast Asia has registered steady growth over the years. More than 6.8 million passengers travelled between the two regions in 2017, a 10% year-on-year increase. Last year, 692,800 passenger movements (+30%) were recorded on direct flights between Singapore and the United States.

Mr Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s Managing Director, Air Hub Development, said, “With the advent of ultra long range aircraft, non-stop long haul routes are now more efficient and viable. The new SIA New York service is Southeast Asia’s only non-stop connection to the North American east coast, and I’m confident it will be well-received by Changi Airport’s passengers, especially time-pressed business travellers.

“Over the past two years, non-stop services from Changi Airport to Los Angeles and San Francisco were launched, as well as a new service to Honolulu (via Osaka). With strong traffic growth between the North America and Southeast Asia regions, there are growth opportunities to be tapped. We look forward to working with our partners to ride on this growth to strengthen Changi Airport’s position as the preferred gateway for travel.”