Singapore Airlines Launches Non-Stop Flight to New York

Singapore Airlines has announced its intentions to launch one of the longest non-stop flights in the world: it will return to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport starting on Nov. 9. Flights from Singapore begin Nov. 9 and return flights will start on Nov. 11 from New York. Each flight will operate three times per week.

The Asian carrier will launch flights from its main hub at Singapore Changi Airport. While the airline normally usually operates flights into JFK, those flights operate to and from Frankfurt, not nonstop from Singapore. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline did serve Newark, New Jersey with a non-stop flight from Singapore, but that service is currently suspended. 

In a press release, Lee Lik Hsin, Executive Vice President Commercial for Singapore, said, “Operating these flights between Singapore and New York’s JFK International Airport represent an important step in the rebuilding of our global network. Non-stop ultra-long services are the bedrock of our services to the key U.S. market.”

The ultra-long-haul flight will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A350-900 aircraft featuring 253 seats. The 253 seats are split into three classes including 42 business class, 24 premium economy and 187 economy seats. When the airline operated its flights directly to Newark, they utilized the Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft featuring just 67 business class seats and 94 premium economy seats.

As passenger numbers are low right now, utilizing that standard Airbus A350-900 gives Singapore Airlines additional cargo capacity due to having a standard front cargo hold, something that is not featured on the A350-900ULR.  

The flight comes in at a great circle distance of 9,537 mi, three miles longer than the current longest flight in the world – between Singapore and Newark. The airline began serving Newark from Singapore in 2018 after flights were halted in November 2013.

Eastbound flights have a block operating time of 18 hours 5 minutes, while westbound flights are scheduled at 18 hours 40 minutes. Although the new flight is not the longest non-stop flight ever, it retains the title for longest regularly scheduled non-stop flight. 

Singapore Airlines did not expressly state if it would be returning to Newark when demand improves. As of writing, the only destination that Singapore Airlines currently serves in the United States is Los Angeles. Flights between Singapore and Los Angeles are also operating three times weekly.

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