Singapore Airlines launch customer for A350-900 Ultra Long Range

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Artist impression of Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 ULR


Singapore Airlines is to be the launch customer of the Airbus A350-900 Ultra Long Range (ULR), so the airline can fly non-stop to New York (US) from Singapore.

The carrier has increased its order of A350-900s from 63 to 67, of which seven will be the ULRs, with a claimed capability of up to 19 hours. If Singapore Airlines operates the New York service, at a distance of 8,700 nautical miles, would be the longest commercial flight, at 19 hours. Singapore Airlines will start taking delivery of A350s in the first quarter of 2016 with ULRs scheduled to arrive from 2018.

Singapore Airlines chief executive officer (CEO), Goh Choon Phong says: “Our customers have been asking us to restart non-stop Singapore-US flights and we are pleased that Airbus was able to offer the right aircraft to do so in a commercially viable manner.”

Airbus president and CEO, Fabrice Bregier says: “We are excited to be working with Singapore Airlines to re-launch its premium non-stop services to the US. The A350 is the perfect, flexible platform for such operations, offering unrivalled operating economics for the very longest routes.”

Airbus says the A350-900ULR’s fuel capacity has been increased 165,000 litres compared to 141,000 litres in the standard A350-900. The manufacturer says the A350 eXtraWideBody (XWB) offers a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions as well as lower maintenance costs through aerodynamic designs, carbon fibre fuselage and wings and Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines.