Singapore Airlines Relaunches World’s Longest Flight

Singapore Airlines Relaunches World's Longest FlightSingapore Airlines will reclaim the title of world’s longest flight when it reinstates non-stop service from Singapore to New York later this year. The Airbus A350-900ULR operating the 18-hour, 15,344-kilometre trek will be configured only with Business class and Premium Economy seating.

The first non-stop Singapore-Newark service will take off on 11 October 2018. Initially a 3x weekly service, flights will increase to daily from 18 October.

The flight schedules are as follows:

  • SQ22: Singapore 23:35 – Newark 06:00 (next day)
  • SQ21: Newark 10:45 – Singapore 17:30 (next day)

Tickets for the new service are already on sale. A round-trip ticket from Singapore to Newark in Business class is selling for around $6,900 while a Premium Economy seat costs around $2,200.

There doesn’t appear to be any Business Saver award availability on the new flight, although there is some Business Advantage availability for a higher price. If you’re interested in Premium Economy, though, Saver award availability is wide open! You can book a seat from Singapore to Newark for 70,000 KrisFlyer miles and around $80 in taxes. Or, if you’re connecting from Melbourne or Sydney, the price is 95,000 KrisFlyer miles plus around $140 in taxes.

Fly Premium Economy from Melbourne to New York for 95,000 KrisFlyer miles
Fly Premium Economy from Melbourne to New York for 95,000 KrisFlyer miles

Singapore Airlines already serves four US cities with six different routes. All but one of these flights – Singapore to San Francisco – has an intermediate stop. Singapore Airlines’ Newark service becomes the airline’s second non-stop route to the United States. A third non-stop flight, to Los Angeles, is also on the cards.

Singapore Airlines routes to the USA
Singapore Airlines routes to the USA

Singapore Airlines previously had a non-stop service from Singapore to Newark from 2004 to 2013. This service used fuel-guzzling Airbus A340-500s which, despite the Business-only configuration, were unprofitable. But the much lower flight operating costs – particularly in terms of fuel consumption – of the newer Airbus A350-900ULRs should allow Singapore Airlines to re-enter the market profitably.

SQ21/22 will be the world’s longest flight when it re-launches in October. It will be 500 miles longer than the current longest flight, Qatar Airways’ Doha-Auckland route. The world’s second longest flight is currently Qantas’ Perth-London service. Qantas also has the sixth-longest flight with Dallas-Sydney.

Qantas has already announced plans for a similar ultra-long-haul flight from Sydney to New York within 5 years. The Sydney-New York route is only 400 miles longer than Singapore-New York. Brisbane-New York would be just 100 miles further.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: SQ SIN-EWR to be relaunched on Oct 11

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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