Google – AFP, 25 November 2013
 |
Undated
photo shows a Singapore Airlines Airbus A340-500 used to
complete the longest
non-stop commercial flight, between Singapore and
Los Angeles (AFP/File)
|
Singapore —
The world's longest non-stop commercial flight ended without fanfare Monday
after Singapore Airlines (SIA) flew its last nearly 19-hour service from New
York.
Flight SQ
21 landed early Monday in Changi Airport, bringing an end to a nine-year run. A
direct service to Los Angeles has also been cancelled as part of a fleet
renewal.
"Food
and refreshments were served to customers at the airport gate hold rooms in
Singapore and Newark. Customers were also presented with commemorative gift
sets and certificates," an SIA spokesman added.
Analysts
said the rise in fuel prices since 2004, when the 15,335-kilometre
(9,529-mile)service was launched to cater to business travellers, made it
economically unsustainable.
The
cancellation of the service was first announced a year ago.
Five Airbus
A340-500s used by SIA for the service to New York -- through neighbouring Newark
-- are being swapped for Airbus A380 superjumbos, a larger but more
fuel-efficient model that is not designed for such distances.
The
100-seat, all business-class service to New York was pricey but passengers flew
in comfort and saved hours of travel time by not having to make stopovers.
A Singapore
travel agency said the last list price for the New York direct service was
Sg$14,000 ($11,180).
"Ultra
long-range routes have proven to be uneconomical, making it unlikely there will
be a return of flights over 17 hours, which can only be flown by the niche
A340-500 or (Boeing) 777-200LR," the Sydney-based Centre for Aviation said
in a commentary in September.
Following
the withdrawal of the two direct US services by SIA, three routes will share
the distinction of being the longest in terms of duration ?- Dubai-Houston,
Dubai-Los Angeles and Johannesburg-Atlanta -- at 16 hours and 20 minutes, the
centre said.
In terms of
distance, a Qantas flight from Sydney to Dallas will be the longest, but
tailwinds enable it to be completed in 15 hours and 20 minutes, it added.
In a
statement in October 2012 announcing the shift in its US services, SIA said it
was disappointed that it was cancelling the direct flights to Los Angeles and
New York but remained committed to the US market.
It now
serves New York with a stop in Frankfurt.
A spokesman
for Airbus said it was in negotiations "with a number of potential new
operators" for the five A340-500 aircraft previously flown by SIA.
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