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747-237

http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2012/10/24/singapore-airlines-longest-flight/1653833/

Singapore Airlines to drop world's longest flights

October 24. 2012

The title for the world's longest nonstop commercial airline flight appears set to change hands.

That comes after Singapore Airlines announced today (Oct. 24) that it plans to drop its nonstop flights that operate between Singapore and both Newark and Los Angeles. At distances of about 8,300 and 7,600 nautical miles, respectively, the routes currently are the longest nonstops offered by any airline in the world.

Once those routes come down, the new world's new longest routes appear as though they'll be Qantas' nonstop from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth (about 7,400 nautical miles) and Delta's route from Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa (about 7,300 nautical miles).

Singapore is making the route shake-up as part of a blockbuster order with Airbus for new aircraft. The order, unveiled today, calls for the carrier to buy five more Airbus A380 superjumbo jets and for 20 additional Airbus A350 aircraft, FlightGlobal.com reports. Reuters says the deal would be valued at $7.5 billion at list prices, though Singapore is sure to have secured the order at a significant discount.

As part of the deal, Airbus is buying back the five Airbus A340-500 jets currently in Singapore Airlines' fleet. Not coincidentally, those are the aircraft that the carrier uses to fly on its routes from Singapore to Newark and Los Angeles.

Reuters writes "the withdrawal of the A340-500s will result in the end of (those) non-stop flights."

"This major order will provide us with additional growth opportunities and is consistent with our longstanding policy of maintaining a young and modern fleet," Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong says in a release announcing the carrier's order. "It demonstrates our commitment to the Singapore hub, and our confidence in the strength of the market for premium full-service travel."

Aviation Week says its data shows Singapore's "A340-500s are nearly nine years old."

After the Newark flights end, Singapore Airlines will continue to fly from four U.S. airports – New York JFK, Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco – though all of those routes will feature flights that first stop in Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Frankfurt or Moscow on their way to Singapore.

Aviation Week provides some additional background on Singapore Airlines' decision to get rid of its A340s. The publication writes "it is widely known in the industry that SIA's A340-500 non-stop flights to the U.S. are unprofitable, because of the four-engined aircraft's higher fuel burn."

Aviation Week says there also was some internal discussion at Singapore Airlines about the effort required to maintain such a small number of A340s.
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sshank · Member Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 377 Location: NYC

747-237 · Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:18 am Post subject:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/meba-airbus-pitches-sia-a340-500s-for-vvip-customers-379980/

MEBA: Airbus pitches SIA A340-500s for VVIP customers

Airbus is in talks with potential customers in the Middle East about offering the Singapore Airlines Airbus A340-500s that it is buying back as reconfigured VVIP aircraft.

The European airframer bought the five aircraft back as part of a deal that saw SIA order additional A350-900 and A380 passenger aircraft.

The first SIA A340-500 will come back to Airbus in the fourth quarter of 2013, giving the company enough time to talk to potential customers about the aircraft, which is likely to include the new Gala cabin concept.

"The A340-500s are being targeted for the VVIP market," says Francois Chazelle, vice-president for Airbus Corporate Jets. "They are large and have a long range, and are perfect for this. In the VVIP configuration, they can go even further than the flights between Singapore and New York that SIA operated.

"We have spoken to potential outfitters and will be able to gauge the response from the potential customers in the coming months. There is some time before the aircraft arrive and that gives us time to work out the design and configuration. It can then take around 12 to 18 months before the aircraft are delivered to the customers."

Chazelle estimates that around one-third of Airbus corporate jet deliveries are to the Middle East, which he says helps the company to offset any potential slowdown in other parts of the world.

"We have more growth in China than the Middle East, but the Middle East is strong and stable and the orders keep on coming," he says. "That is why we have a big presence both here and in China. We don't want to be stuck in a position like some of our competitors, who have all of their eggs in one basket."
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:44 pm Post subject:

Singapore Airlines Ends Airbus A340-500 Service from late-Oct 2013

Singapore Airlines in Fall 2013 will cancel Singapore – Los Angeles and Singapore – Newark service, as the airline phases out Airbus A340-500 aircraft. This marks the end of the carrier’s world’s longest routes operation. Planned cancellation dates as follows.

Singapore – Los Angeles Cancelled from 21OCT13
SQ038 SIN1620 – 1750LAX 345 x23
SQ037 LAX2115 – 0540+2SIN 345 x23

Singapore – Newark
Service reduced from daily to 4 weekly (Day x357) from 13NOV13, cancelled from 24NOV13
SQ022 SIN1230 – 1800EWR 345 D
SQ021 EWR2300 – 0630+2SIN 345 D

Source: Airlineroute.net
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 5:24 am Post subject:

The world’s two longest commercial flights, linking Singapore with Newark and Los Angeles, are landing in the history books.

The final departure from Newark for the longest flight will be Nov. 23.

The second-longest flight, Singapore’s nonstop from Los Angeles, departed for the final time on Sunday night and landed early Tuesday—Singapore time—after a nearly 17-hour journey across the Pacific.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-21/singapore-airlines-ends-longest-commercial-flights-from-newark-and-los-angeles
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ssbmat · Member Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 1710

Here's an interesting thought. Why did airlines not look at continuing the Concorde on this sector ?
Think of it.. SIN-NRT-HNL-LAX (2.5 hrs +1hr layover, 3 hrs +1 hr layover, 2.5 hrs) = 9.5 hrs flight +2 hrs layover ~11.5 hrs ! as opposed to 18 hours approx.

And AFAIK there would not be any sonic-boom restrictions either.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

The_Goat · Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:15 am Post subject:

So the Kris Morgue Service is finally dead! Long live Kris Morgue! Wink

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747-237 · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:41 pm Post subject:

The 5 Singapore Airlines A345s are going to Aerolineas Argentinas.

The_Goat · Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:40 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:42 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 5:49 am Post subject:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/371156-worlds-longest-flight-end-singapore-to-newark-flight-ends/

World’s Longest Flight End: Singapore to Newark Flight Ends

November 24, 2013

The world’s longest flight came to an end on November 23 as Singapore Airlines stopped the nonstop flight from Singapore to Newark.

The last flight to make the 9,506 mile journey landed on Saturday night.

The flight was around 18.5 hours and round-trip tickets cost between $6,000 and $8,000, reported NJ.com.

There are about 20 other similar flights, but none are nonstop.

Singapore Airlines also halted a nonstop flight from Singapore to Los Angeles.

“It boiled down to the route didn’t earn enough of a profit,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Hudson Crossing, an industry consulting firm. “Supporting the aircraft doesn’t outweigh the cost involved. You need parts for this plane and there are only a handful available.

“It’s a shame this route didn’t work out, but I would bet in a few years it might be reopened,” Harteveldt said. “It’s one of those long, thin (low-demand) routes that might be viable if it flew a few times a week” instead of daily.

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