BMI regional rebrands as flybmi
July 12, 2018
United to add two seasonal Express routes from Los Angeles
July 13, 2018
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will launch nonstop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles using the new Airbus A350-900 ULR (ultra-long-range) aircraft in November.
In addition, SIA will step up existing daily nonstop Singapore-San Francisco services to 10 times per week. Together with the earlier announced nonstop Singapore-New York services, SIA will link Singapore and the US with 27 weekly nonstop flights by the end of 2018.
Flight SQ38 from Singapore to Los Angeles will commence on November 2, 2018. The route will initially be served three times per week, departing Singapore on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Daily operations will commence from November 9, 2018 after an additional A350-900 ULR aircraft enters service. From December 7, 2018, a further three services per week will be added as SQ36, lifting total nonstop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles to 10 times per week.
With the introduction of nonstop services between Singapore and Los Angeles, SIA’s existing one-stop service to Los Angeles via Seoul will cease after November 30, 2018. Singapore-Seoul frequency will be maintained at four flights per day with the introduction of a new Singapore-Seoul return flight from December 1, 2018, operating as flight SQ612. Together with SIA’s current daily one stop service to Los Angeles via Tokyo, Los Angeles will be served 17 times per week.
SIA will also be increasing frequency on the existing Singapore-San Francisco route with three more weekly flights, with effect from November 28, 2018. The three additional services will operate as SQ34, departing every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to San Francisco and will complement existing daily SQ32 nonstop services. Together with SIA’s current daily one-stop service to San Francisco via Hong Kong, San Francisco will also be served 17 times per week.
SIA will be the first airline in the world to operate the A350-900 ULR, with seven on firm order with Airbus. This ultra-long-range aircraft will be configured in a two-class layout, with 67 Business Class seats and 94 Premium Economy Class seats. SIA’s existing A350-900s feature a three-class layout with 42 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy Class and 187 Economy Class seats.
Singapore Airlines currently has 21 A350-900s in its fleet, with 46 more on order including the seven ULR variants. The first A350-900 ULR is due for delivery in September, enabling the launch in October of the world’s longest non-stop flights, between Singapore and New York (Newark).
Singapore Airlines currently operates 40 flights per week to the US cities of Houston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. With the new flights, total US frequency will increase to 53 per week by December.
Images: Airbus and Singapore Airlines.
Video: Sam Chui reviews the Airbus A350-900 Business Class:
