Not good news for jis. He's taken that flight a number of times.Singapore Airlines has announced that the world's longest non-stop flight will be cancelled sometime in the 4th quater of 2013. The Airbus used for the flight is being phased out and it will no longer fly non-stop from Newark to Singapore.
HERE is a link to the article.
I have taken three round trips on it, all before it went all Business Class. I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!Not good news for jis. He's taken that flight a number of times.Singapore Airlines has announced that the world's longest non-stop flight will be cancelled sometime in the 4th quater of 2013. The Airbus used for the flight is being phased out and it will no longer fly non-stop from Newark to Singapore.
HERE is a link to the article.
What did it look like?I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!Not good news for jis. He's taken that flight a number of times.Singapore Airlines has announced that the world's longest non-stop flight will be cancelled sometime in the 4th quater of 2013. The Airbus used for the flight is being phased out and it will no longer fly non-stop from Newark to Singapore.
HERE is a link to the article.
A candy cane w/o the hook and with a gold ball on top. :giggle:What did it look like?I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!Not good news for jis. He's taken that flight a number of times.Singapore Airlines has announced that the world's longest non-stop flight will be cancelled sometime in the 4th quater of 2013. The Airbus used for the flight is being phased out and it will no longer fly non-stop from Newark to Singapore.
HERE is a link to the article.
What did it look like?I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!
Big cracks in ice We also flew somewhat low, like FL180 that day because of solar activity as I recall.What did it look like?I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!Not good news for jis. He's taken that flight a number of times.Singapore Airlines has announced that the world's longest non-stop flight will be cancelled sometime in the 4th quater of 2013. The Airbus used for the flight is being phased out and it will no longer fly non-stop from Newark to Singapore.
HERE is a link to the article.
Is there a trip report for any of these somewhere? In the past I've done my best to avoid ultra long haul flights because I don't enjoy being stuck in a seat for more than ten hours or so, but something about these flights reminds me of when I missed out on the Concorde before it was decommissioned. Although the the A345 is not nearly as sexy or exotic it still has the longest distance and longest duration revenue routes to its name.I have taken three round trips on it, all before it went all Business Class. I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!
Nope, no trip reports.Is there a trip report for any of these somewhere? In the past I've done my best to avoid ultra long haul flights because I don't enjoy being stuck in a seat for more than ten hours or so, but something about these flights reminds me of when I missed out on the Concorde before it was decommissioned. Although the the A345 is not nearly as sexy or exotic it still has the longest distance and longest duration revenue routes to its name.I have taken three round trips on it, all before it went all Business Class. I am glad I got to see the North Pole before this flight went away. They actually announced it on the flight!
IMO, the chances of such ultra long-haul flights like this returning are far, far greater than the chances of a Concorde-equivalent (i.e. commercial supersonic) aircraft returning. The former has more to do with fuel prices and global travel demand, whereas the latter has much more to do with logistics and start-up costs. It could be another 10 years or more before we see this specific route again, but I think there's a better-than-average chance of it someday returning. I mean, after this goes away the new winner will by SYD-DFW on Qantas, which isn't a polar route but still ranks fairly high on overall length. Whereas when the Concorde went away, there wasn't any experience remotely close to that to take its place, short of becoming an Air Force fighter pilot.In the past I've done my best to avoid ultra long haul flights because I don't enjoy being stuck in a seat for more than ten hours or so, but something about these flights reminds me of when I missed out on the Concorde before it was decommissioned. Although the the A345 is not nearly as sexy or exotic it still has the longest distance and longest duration revenue routes to its name.
I actually flew that exact route twice in the last few weeks. But it's a conventional B773 route that doesn't come close to pushing any envelopes and holds no records. I don't care much for "seeing" the north pole per se. It's more about experiencing what are likely to remain the longest of the long haul revenue flights for the foreseeable future. Not as rare or specialized as the Concorde of course, but still rare enough compared to the 742/3/4's and 772/3's that have plied long haul routes for decades now. The A388 and B788/9 aircraft are more specialized and unique on many levels, but they're also likely to be around a lot longer than the A345 will. In addition to the Concorde I've also managed to miss out on other unique aircraft like DC-10/MD-11's and L-1011's. An A345 may seem garden variety compared to those quirky specimens, but you take what you can get I suppose.For those of you in Texas, or other places in nearby countries: There is a Houston to Singapore flight with a stopover is Moscow. Taht should get you over the North Pole or close enought that you could not tell the difference. Don't know the schedule, but my oldest son did a round trip on that one sometime in the last year, forget exactly when. As to daylight for it: The question is not what time of day you go voer, but what time of year.
Good points all around.IMO, the chances of such ultra long-haul flights like this returning are far, far greater than the chances of a Concorde-equivalent (i.e. commercial supersonic) aircraft returning. The former has more to do with fuel prices and global travel demand, whereas the latter has much more to do with logistics and start-up costs. It could be another 10 years or more before we see this specific route again, but I think there's a better-than-average chance of it someday returning. I mean, after this goes away the new winner will by SYD-DFW on Qantas, which isn't a polar route but still ranks fairly high on overall length. Whereas when the Concorde went away, there wasn't any experience remotely close to that to take its place, short of becoming an Air Force fighter pilot.
Sorry IAH - SVO - SIN goes nowhere near the North PoleFor those of you in Texas, or other places in nearby countries: There is a Houston to Singapore flight with a stopover is Moscow. Taht should get you over the North Pole or close enought that you could not tell the difference. Don't know the schedule, but my oldest son did a round trip on that one sometime in the last year, forget exactly when. As to daylight for it: The question is not what time of day you go voer, but what time of year.
It's actually IAH-DME-SIN, but same difference so far as the North Pole is concerned.Sorry IAH - SVO - SIN goes nowhere near the North Pole Here is the great circle route: Houston - Moscow - Singapore great circle route If you want to fly over the North Pole just take the Newark or JFK to Hong Kong nonstop
The real money is in flying larger and larger numbers of people between the same two wings. Keeping passengers in the air nonstop on ultra long haul flights doesn't work with today's fuel prices. Which is bad news for ultra long haul flights going forward, regardless of incremental improvements possible with each new generation of aircraft. Looking into the future if the economy does well the cost of fuel will likely increase even further. On the other hand if the economy does poorly there probably won't be enough demand to sustain such routes. It's all lose-lose for ultra long haul flights in the near term.BTW, the 777-200LR is more than capable of flying the EWR - SIN route and for much cheaper too, since its fuel consumption would be about 10 to 15% lower than on the A340-500. But the real problem is that at the current fuel prices such long segments simply do not pay.
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