Singapore Airlines goes all-in on NYC with the world's 2 longest flights
The city that never sleeps will soon be home to the world's two longest flights.
Starting this spring, Singapore Airlines will offer a daily nonstop flight from Changi International Airport (SIN) to both New York-JFK and Newark (EWR). Clocking in at 9,537 and 9,534 miles, respectively, these will be the world's two longest flights.
Singapore will deploy its Airbus A350-900ULR, or "ultra long range," for the nearly 19-hour missions. These planes are some of the most premium ones in the skies with a total of 161 seats split between two cabins: 67 business-class pods and 94 premium economy seats.
In addition to the two daily nonstops, Singapore will continue flying its daily one-stop service from Singapore to New York-JFK, which stops in Frankfurt (FRA). Passengers can book tickets on the JFK to Frankfurt leg, or the entire journey to Singapore, since the airline has fifth-freedom rights to offer the transatlantic service.
Late last year, Singapore announced that it'll upgauge the one-stop JFK route from a Boeing 777-300ER to its latest retrofitted Airbus A380. These jets feature the airline's newest first-class suites, which offer 50 square feet of living space per passenger. The double-deckers also feature 82 fancy new business-class pods, 44 premium economy recliners and 343 standard coach ones.
Notably, this will be the first time that Singapore will offer three daily services to New York. (It wasn't immediately clear where Singapore got the additional slot pair to operate a second daily JFK flight.) In confirming the move, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson added that:
Singapore Airlines will be operating three daily flights between Singapore and New York from 27 March 2022. This will be the first time that SIA will operate three daily services to the city, and is part of the Airline's continued efforts to strengthen its connectivity between the United States and Singapore.
These flights are direct flights SQ22 and SQ21 between Singapore and Newark Liberty International Airport, direct flights SQ24 and SQ23 between Singapore and John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, and flights SQ26 and SQ25 between Singapore, Frankfurt and JFK airport.
Before the pandemic, the airline exclusively offered nonstop flights from Singapore to Newark and one-stop service from JFK to Singapore via Frankfurt. In March 2020, the airline suspended both of its New York flights due to new travel restrictions and low demand.
The airline restarted flying to New York in November 2020, but it changed its strategy with the once-daily nonstops resuming from JFK, instead of from Newark. At the time, it made the JFK move "to better accommodate a mix of passenger and cargo traffic on its services to New York in the current operating climate."
Now, the airline is going all-in on New York starting in the spring. It remains to be seen if tourists will be able to visit Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) concept that was recently suspended due to the omicron surge.
Even if entry to Singapore remains suspended, passengers with onwards connections throughout Southeast Asia and beyond may choose to fly Singapore, especially since nearby Hong Kong is reportedly closing to (most) connecting traffic, while flag carrier Cathay Pacific continues to pull back its U.S. service.
All three of Singapore's flights are already available for sale.
Round-trip fares from New York to Singapore currently start at around $1,300 for premium economy or $4,000 for business class. You can book awards through Singapore's KrisFlyer loyalty program starting at 73,000 miles for premium economy, or 99,000 miles in biz. There's plenty of availability in premium economy, and many dates offer saver business-class availability as well.
Historically, redeeming Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles has been a popular option for scoring awards in Singapore's long-haul biz, though Singapore has limited access to partner award travel due to the complexities of enforcing global travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Full schedule of Singapore's New York flights
SQ24 Singapore (SIN) to New York-JFK departing 11:50 a.m. arriving 6:30 p.m.
SQ23 New York-JFK to Singapore (SIN) departing 10:30 p.m. arriving 5:20 a.m. (+2 days)
SQ22 Singapore (SIN) to Newark (EWR) departing 11:35 p.m. arriving 6:00 a.m. (+1 day)
SQ21 Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) departing 10:25 a.m. arriving 5:10 p.m. (+1 day)
SQ26 Singapore (SIN) to Frankfurt (FRA) departing 11:55 p.m. arriving 6:45 a.m. (+1 day)
SQ26 Frankfurt (FRA) to New York-JFK departing 8:35 a.m. arriving 11:10 a.m.
SQ25 New York-JFK to Frankfurt (FRA) departing 8:55 p.m. arriving 10:40 a.m. (+1 day)
SQ25 Frankfurt (FRA) to Singapore (SIN) departing 12:30 p.m. arriving 6:50 a.m. (+1 day)
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