Singapore Airlines will resume service to the New York metropolitan area on Nov. 9 and is relocating its nonstop Singapore route to JFK Airport from Newark.
The flight will operate three times weekly.
Prior to the pandemic, Singapore Airlines flew to Newark nonstop from its hub at Singapore's Changi Airport while also flying a one-stop route to JFK with a stopover in Frankfurt. The carrier has not yet announced plans to resume that stopover route.
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Moving the nonstop service to JFK will enable Singapore Airlines to better accommodate a mix of passenger and cargo traffic than Newark service would, the carrier said. The airline's New York-area cargo operation is at JFK, and during the Covid-19 pandemic cargo revenues have become a much more important consideration in long-haul route planning than they previously were.
Singapore remains closed to visitors, with only citizens and permanent residents allowed. But the island state recently began allowing U.S. flyers to transit through Changi en route to other countries.
Singapore Airlines will operate the new JFK route in three-cabin Airbus A350-900s. Prior to the pandemic, the carrier was using a two-cabin A350-900ULR on Singapore-Newark, featuring only a business-class and premium-class cabin.
Singapore-JFK is scheduled for 18 hours and 40 minutes, which is five minutes shorter than Singapore-Newark, airlines spokesman James Boyd said. However, it retains its standing as the longest regularly scheduled passenger service in the world.
Singapore Airlines is currently operating a Los Angeles service, as well. The carrier had eight U.S. routes before the pandemic.