After weeks of procrastination, I finally did the longest flight in the world, from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Changi Airport in Singapore. This route took the title from SIN-EWR in 2020, a route also served by Singapore Airlines from 2004-2013, 2018-2020, and from 2022 to the present. Service begin with the standard A350-900, but switched in 2021 to the specialized A350-900ULR, a variant with a higher maximum takeoff weight and longer winglets for even more fuel efficiency, allowing it to fly up to 20 hours’ non-stop for a route that can sometimes take over 19. Due to Infinite Flight not having yet modeled the longer -900ULR winglets that are now appearing on standard A350-900s, including Singapore Airlines’s newer ones, the current, older configuration is standing in for the ultra-long-haul variant of the jet.
Server: Solo
Airline: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900ULR
Origin: John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, New York (JFK)
Destination: Singapore Changi Airport, Changi, Singapore (SIN)
Flight Number: SQ23
Route: KJFK-WSSS
Seat: 21A (Business)
Time En Route: 18 Hours 14 Minutes
Looking at our aircraft in the evening light after spending most of the afternoon hanging around Air India’s Maharaja Lounge, since Singapore Airlines doesn’t have one at JFK. While this is the only non-stop service between JFK and Singapore, it isn’t the only Singapore Airlines service to here. The airline also operates a Fifth Freedom route from Singapore to New York via Frankfurt with the Boeing 777-300ER, after switching from the Airbus A380-800 a few years ago and the 747-400 before that.
Holding short of JFK’s longest runway before takeoff. This is the 32nd-longest runway in the world and the 6th in the United States.
Feeling the acceleration from a full-power takeoff as we leap skyward
Dining service begins shortly after we go feet wet over the Atlantic near Boston. Personally, we’re going to take advantage of the lie-flat business class seat for a few hours.
Some hours later, we’re cruising on the other side of the Pond over an overcast England
Enjoying a dinner of braised egg noodles with beef brisket over Turkmenistan before closing the shade in a couple hours and getting some more shut-eye before we land in Singapore
What wakes us up is not the captain announcing our final descent into Singapore, not the sound of the flaps lowering throughout the descent, but the rumble of the gear extending into the airstream and locking into place
Gentle pre-dawn landing at Changi after spending 75 percent of a day in the air
Parked at Gate A1 and getting our carry-on bags out of the overhead bin
Looking back at our aircraft as we hike to Gate C24 for the next leg of our journey down to Sydney. Overall, it was an excellent flight, and I can’t imagine another airline whom I’d rather spend 18 hours straight on.