With its newest plane, Singapore Airlines hopes to regain its crown as operator of the world’s longest nonstop flight.
It plans to use the new Airbus A350-900 Ultra Long-Range jet to link Singapore to New York, a trip of nearly 20 hours in the air.
The airline will be the launch customer for the jet later this year.
Out of a total of 67 A350-900s, the airline has ordered seven of the ultra-long range variant which extends the A350’s flying distance to up to 11,160 miles.
SIA previously served New York from Singapore but shelved the route in 2013 due to using inefficient four-engine A340-500 jets.
It expects to restart the route next year.
"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.
Airbus touts its ‘latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines.’
