Just when passengers were beginning to wrap their heads around the idea of a nonstop flight from Perth to London, Singapore Airlines swoops in and takes the spot of the world’s longest flight.
The ultra-long-haul flight from Changi Airport to New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport takes almost 19 hours and covers a distance of 16,700 km.
The flight which starts today is almost 2,000 km more than Qantas‘ 14,498 km service from Perth to London.
It also dethrones Qatar Airways’ 14,529 km Doha to Auckland route from the title of world’s longest flight
The flight will use the long-range Airbus A350-900ULR. And before your heart goes out to those stuck in cattle class for almost 19 hours, we can confirm, this plane does not have Economy Class.
Yep. The plane is configured to carry 161 passengers; 67 in Business Class and 94 in Premium Economy with extra legroom.
Singapore Airlines said the two-class configuration was a business consideration to meet market demand and provide customers with greater comfort on non-stop flights.
The A350-900ULR is specially designed for long-haul comfort with features such as higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body, quieter cabins and lighting designed to reduce jet lag.
Passengers will be served a wellness menu aimed at reducing jet lag, given a stretching program and the choice of 1,200 hours of film and television to keep them entertained.
Initially, flights will operate three times weekly on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and increase to daily when the carrier receives an additional A350 aircraft.
Singapore Airlines’ Chief Executive, Goh Choon Phong, said the new service will offer customers “the fastest way” to travel between the two cities and expects it to be popular among Southeast Asian travellers as well as Aussie who’ll find it the fastest one-stop flight from the West Coast of Australia to the East Coast of America.
- READ: Singapore Airlines to launch world’s longest flight to NEW YORK
- READ: These are the 5 longest flights in the world