On November 23, 2013, Singapore Airlines gave up the longest non-stop operating route, Newark - Singapore (19-hour flight and 15343km). About this decision taken by Singapore Airlines, to give up the longest non-stop flights, I wrote since January 2013. On October 20, 2013, Singapore Airlines also gave up the route Los Angeles - Singapore.
Ruta Singapore - Newark - Singapore began operating on 29 June 2004, and flights were honored with aircraft Airbus A340-500 configured only with Business class, 1-2-1 system, capacity 100 seats. The shortest route between Newark and Singapore was the one operated for over 9 years, over Baffin Island, the North Pole, Siberia and China. The route Newark - Singapore via London is 16,464 km, and Singapore - Newark via Tokyo is 16,184 km.
Newark - Singapore with Singapore Airlines in numbers:
- approximately 19 hours of non-stop flight;
- 15 343 Km;
- 222 liters of fuel;
- 100 places in Business Class;
- 6 pilots and 14 flight attendants - the change of crews was done at 4 hours.
However, Singapore Airlines has announced that it will drop the 5 Airbus A340-500 aircraft and return them to the manufacturer based on an agreement for new Airbus A380 aircraft, which will be able to carry up to 470 passengers, but are not for very long flights.
The two routes were removed from the system for economic reasons. Airplanes were consuming far too much fuel, and flights were tedious and required many other expenses. In addition to the 100 passengers, 2 also had complete cabin crew and pilots. 19 flight hours are not few, and those on board needed more meals and drinks. The price of a ticket varies between 6000 and 8000 round-trip dollars.
Singapore Airlines will continue to link Singapore to New York, but via Frankfurt-based A380 aircraft. It is a better solution, economically speaking, for the Singapore carrier, but a much more tiresome route for passengers and this is due to the 5 hours they have to spend at the airport during the stopover.
Super long routes are no longer profitable. In 2012, three airlines gave up their super long routes: Delta Air Lines gave up Detroit - Hong Kong (16 hours); American Airlines gave up Chicago - New Delhi (15 hours); Thai Airways gave up on Los Angeles - Bangkok (17 hours).
But there are still super long routes, to the delight of those who want to spend more time on the plane. Currently, the longest route, relative to distance, remains Sydney - Dallas operated by Qantas Airways (approximately 14 km). The longest route, reported on time, remained Atlanta - Johannesburg operated by Delta Air Lines (approximately 000 hours of non-stop flight).
(photo source: www.airplane-pictures.net)