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, reports CNN,
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 cancelled 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.
Keeping passengers’ comfort in mind, the A350s share Airbus’ design philosophy that makes the aircraft cabin feel more like a room, rather than a long tube. The plane has high ceilings, sophisticated LED lighting, almost vertical sidewalls and a low noise level. “The A350 is a clean-sheet design that has been designed for those long-range flights,” Florent Petteni, Airbus’ aircraft interiors marketing director for the A350, told CNN.
The air circulation system on the A350 has also been designed to be quiet and draft-free.
AFP