October 20, 2020 / Singapore Airlines (SQ) will return to New York on November 9, 2020, when it launches thrice-weekly non-stop flights between Singapore and JFK International Airport. The world longest non-stop route had been suspended on March 25, as the Covid pandemic outbroke worldwide bringing commercial aviation to a standstill. Until then, SQ had flown into Newark Liberty airport (EWR), home to the US Star Alliance member United Airlines.
Operating to JFK would allow Singapore Airlines to better accommodate a mix of passenger and cargo traffic on its services to New York in the current operating climate. SQ anticipates significant cargo demand from a range of industries based in the New York metro area, including pharmaceuticals, e-commerce and technology firms.
While flights into EWR had been operated by two-class (Business and Premium Economy) Airbus A350-900ULR (Ultra Long Range), those to JFK will be flown by three-class A350s offering 42 seats in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class and 187 in Economy Class. Currently, the other only US destination served by SQ is Los Angeles (LAX).
Not having a domestic market, Singapore Airlines suffered particularly harshly for the pandemic and the consequent travel bans issued by almost all Countries. And so did its hub, Singapore International airport (SIN): in 2019 the hub had ranked seventh in the world for passenger traffic, while now it’s only 48th. (Photo Wikimedia Commons / Transport Pixels)