SIA to launch non-stop Singapore-LA flight

Benget Simbolon Tnb, Singapore, The Jakarta Post

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has unveiled the ultra long-range Airbus 340-500, its newest aircraft type to ply the 16-hour non- stop flight -- the longest service in the world -- from Singapore to Los Angeles in the U.S., starting from next February.

"We have named the aircraft the A345Leadership to underscore its unique characteristics and SIA's continued commitment to product and service innovation.

"With the A340-500, we are offering non-stop services over long distances, that translate to greater convenience, comfort and time savings. It is especially designed for today's business travelers," said SIA's Senior Executive Vice President, Michael Tan in a ceremony to unveil the new aircraft on Wednesday.

SIA's flight service to Los Angeles will take 16 hours, and return service from Los Angeles about 18.5 hours. It will be a savings of nearly two hours over SIA's current one-stop flights.

SIA will also offer a non-stop flight service from Singapore to New York in August 2004. The service will take about 18 hours in each direction.

Currently, the carrier's longest non-stop flight services are from Singapore to London and from Hong Kong to San Francisco in the U.S. both of which take about 13 hours.

The construction of the A345Leadership by Airbus is nearly complete and it is expected to be delivered to SIA by December this year. The aircraft will have 181 seats in a spacious two- class configuration comprising Raffles (business) Class and Executive economy Class.

The aircraft is part of the SIA's plan to get ten new Airbus planes. SIA placed an order for 10 A340-500s in 1998 with five on firm order and five on option. The order was worth at total of US$2.2 billion, including the cost of spare parts. The A340-500 will be powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 553 engines.

The A345Leadership will be the first new aircraft type to join the SIA fleet since 1997, when the carrier took delivery of its first Boeing 777.

SIA's operating fleet comprises 51 B777s and 27 B747s, a total of 78 aircraft.

Its operating revenue increased by 8.2 percent to US$8.047 billion last year from $7.44 billion in 2001.

SIA, along with other major carriers in Asia including Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and Australia's Qantas, was severely affected by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) during the first half of this year.

During the peak of the SARS crisis SIA's passenger load factor dropped to around 50 percent, but then rose to more than 70 percent after June.