TIL Desk/Business/Singapore/ Singapore Airlines is set to launch the world’s first non-stop flight with almost 20 hours in the air, by the end of this year, the media reported on Thursday. Singapore Airlines’ newest plane, the Airbus A350-900ULR for Ultra Long-Range — will travel on a record-breaking, globe-spanning flight that will connect Singapore to New York.
Earlier, the airline used to fly the gas-guzzling, four-engine A340-500 on the 9,500-mile route, with just 100 business-class seats on board. The service proved to be inefficient, and Singapore Airlines cancel Led the flights in 2013.
Singapore Airlines is now taking delivery of Airbus’ newest wide-body, the A350-900. It has 21 planes in its fleet, of an order for 67 aircraft. It has ordered seven of the Ultra Long-Range planes.
On April 23, the plane had its first test flight, an almost five-hour round-trip that launched from the airframer’s assembly plant in Toulouse, France.
The Ultra Long-Range will be able to fly a remarkable 11,160 miles, an increase of more than 1,800 miles over the standard A350. It means that Singapore Airlines will reclaim the crown of running the world’s longest non-stop air route.
