Photo: Airbus
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWould you like to take a seat in a brand new Airbus A350 Ultra Long Range aircraft recently delivered to Singapore Airlines? Even more, would you like to enter the history flying a record-breaking, new longest direct flight in the world?
After picking its newest aircraft, Singapore Airlines will start flying non-stop between Singapore and New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport from 11 October, covering 9,000 nautical miles (9,537 miles) in about 19 hours.
The A350ULR is big, with a total length of 219.5 feet and a wingspan of 212.43 feet, roughly 20 feet shorter than a 777 but with a wingspan 12 feet wider. The aircraft making the New York-Singapore flight also has an integrated modified fuel system, which increases the aircraft’s fuel carrying capacity by 24,000 liters to 165,000 litres, with no need for supplemental fuel tanks.
The aircraft, which is capable of travelling for over 20 hours without stopping, also comes with higher ceilings, larger windows, a wider body, quieter cabins and lighting designed to reduce jet lag.
The ULR 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 a travel crown: that of running the world’s longest nonstop air route.
Currently, Qatar Airways, which operates an almost 18-hour flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to its home in Doha, operates the world’s longest non-stop flight.