World’s longest flight to be Singapore Airlines’ Changi to New York

Airlines are in a battle to secure the title of the world’s longest non-stop flight. Here’s the latest, but economy need not apply.

The new A350 in Singapore Airlines livery.

At 18 hours and 45 minutes, there is enough time to watch a slew of the latest films, skim a stack of periodicals and eat three square meals before landing. There is, however, no room for hoi polloi.

Catering to executives’ desire to avoid stopovers during transcontinental journeys, carriers are locked in a battle to secure the title of the world’s longest non-stop flight provider.

Singapore Airlines is the latest to enter the fray with a 15,345km flight from Singapore to New York. Beginning in October, it will offer a daily service between Changi airport and Newark, the first commercial use of the Airbus A350-900ULR, an “ultra-long range” passenger plane.

The route will be aimed at business passengers, offering 67 seats in business class and 94 in premium economy; there will be no ordinary economy class. Ticket prices are not yet available.

An ultra-long haul flight is defined as more than 12,875km long or lasting more than 15 hours. The new service will beat Qatar Airways, which flies Auckland to Doha using the Boeing 777-200LR in 17 hours 40 minutes. It is 750 times longer than the world’s shortest commercial flight, the 90-second hop on Loganair between Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkneys.

But it may soon be eclipsed by Qantas, which is considering purchasing a fleet of A350-900ULRs or the Boeing 777X to fly non-stop from London to Sydney, a journey of more than 16,900km.

Goh Choon Phong, Singapore Airlines’ chief executive, said that the carrier had “always taken pride in pushing the boundaries to provide the best possible travel convenience” for customers.

“The flights will offer 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 airline previously flew from Singapore to Newark between 2004 and 2013 but stopped because the route was not profitable enough.

The new long-distance planes have bodies of lightweight carbon fibre, extra fuel tanks and two engines rather than four, so that they consume less fuel. Their increased efficiency is set to boost the ultra-long haul market.

A decade ago, there were 10 such scheduled flights in service. Today there are 23 and more are expected. They are aimed at business people who put a premium on saving time.

Singapore Airlines has 21 A350-900s in its fleet, with 46 more on order including seven of the ultra-long range variant. Non-stop Singapore to Los Angeles flights are also planned with the A350-900ULR.

Other long routes in operation include Qantas’s recently established direct flight from Perth to London, which covers 14,500km in 17 hours and 20 minutes, and United Airlines’ Houston to Sydney route, which flies 13835km in 17 and a half hours.

While long routes represent the future of air travel, unions have urged carriers to consider their effects on pilots and cabin crew. Commenting on Qantas’s route from Perth to London this month, Lindsey Olliver of the Unite union said that “while the future of flying is likely to centre on ultra-long haul operations” adequate rest for staff must be of “paramount importance”.

The Times