19 Hour Flight Will Depart Daily
Singapore Airlines have announced the world’s two longest flights will begin service in the Spring. Both Newark and JFK will be receiving the new routes on March 26th.
The gargantuan flights will cover a milage of 9,534 and 9,537 miles with the JFK route just edging the Newark route out to the title of the longest. The entire trip will take almost 19 hours. It’s not for the faint of heart, but Singapore Airlines’ confidence in the route is shown by the number of flights scheduled.
Singapore will also continue to run its other one-stop route to JFK. Their daily route via Frankfurt will continue, meaning every day there are three flights between the two important business hubs.
The flights will be accommodated by the Airbus A350-900 Ultra Long Range planes. The impressive aircraft holds 161 seats including 67 business class seats and 94 premium economy seats. The business class pods should help take the edge of the sky-high flight time, and Singapore Airlines are well known for their onboard service.
The cost of a premium economy seat is set at around $1100 per person, while business class seats are running for around $4000. The route via Frankfurt costs about half of that, with prices running just over $500, but obviously will take a few hours more. Although, at an estimated 21 hours and 55 minutes, the extra three hours may be a tough sell for those on more of a budget.
With Hong Kong currently closed to the US, Singapore seems to be doubling down on the New York market, positioning itself as even more of a hub for the region.
Business fliers will find the new routes a welcome addition, especially as Singapore functions its vaccinated travel lanes. The direct linkage will make necessary businesses travel far easier going forward, and the sheer volume makes sudden trips much less intimidating.
Its value for the regular traveler may come from the allure of simple connections, however. Singapore is located in the middle of Southeast Asia and is one of the most connected airports in the world, as well as the best. Many of the other destinations in the region may become even more appealing while avoiding any lengthy layovers in the middle east or China.
Currently, Singapore has actually frozen tickets from the US, due to the ongoing Omicron crisis. The city-state is obviously not anticipating the ban lasting long though. When it lifts its restrictions once again, it will restart its travel lanes program.
Its Vaccinated Travel Lanes Program picked certain countries and allowed as many as 3,000 vaccinated travelers a day from those nations. Vaccinated travelers had to apply for a vaccinated travel pass and prove they had not been outside one of the 11 approved countries less than 14 days before arriving in Singapore. If they had been anywhere else in that period, they would be unable to enter.
Passengers would also have take two PCR tests. One of the tests would be taken no more than 48 hours before departing, and the other would be administered upon arrival at Changi airport. Travelers would remain in self-isolation until the negative result came in. The test would be a rapid PCR, meaning the wait would not be long for those entering the country.
Asia as a whole has been easily the most restricted part of the world throughout the pandemic, but Singapore’s acknowledgment of these flights in the near future continues to be a good sign of potential openings once again. Although it may not seem like it at the moment.
