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Jun 25th 2015, 14:19 by J.F | SINGAPORE
UNTIL 2013, the world s longest direct commercial flight was the Singapore
Airlines (SIA) route between Singapore and Newark. Flight 21 took 19 hours to
fly more than 9,500 miles: long, but well within range for the five Airbus
A340-500s that plied the route. The problem was the cost: the A340-500s can
cover long distances but the four-engine planes are not terribly efficient. The
last decade s fuel-price rise hurt. By the end of the flight s nine-year run,
the five planes had been converted into all-business-class cabins, with tickets
priced at S$14,000 ($10,423) a piece. Even that could not save them: the last
of Flight 21 s epic journeys landed at Changi Airport in Singapore on November
25th 2013.
Now SIA wants to resume nonstop flights to America as soon as possible ,
according to Goh Choon Phong, its boss. But in this context, ASAP does not mean
next week, next month or even next year: Mr Goh said that SIA is talking to
Airbus and Boeing about designing a new aircraft, which takes time. Airbus
began designing the A340 family of aircraft in the mid-1970s; the first
A340-500 did not take wing until 2002.
Still, Mr Goh has good reason to return to the action. Today you can only get
as far as Hong Kong from New York flying direct. Three airlines Cathay Pacific,
United and American compete on the route, which helps keep fares below $2,000.
Assuming that many passengers are not dwelling in Hong Kong, but transferring
to other points in Asia, Hong Kong s airport offers the same advantages as
Changi: it is big, pleasant and modern, with ample onward connections. If you
are going to India or South-East Asia Changi probably has the advantage; if you
are flying onward into China then Hong Kong probably does, but you can get
virtually anywhere from either place. Hong Kong could use the competition.
INFOGRAPHIC: The long haul: Flights that ferry us the farthest
For those not flying onward, however, a nonstop flight between Singapore and
New York cannot come soon enough. In this I am not a disinterested observer: I
live and work in Singapore, but I was raised on America s east coast, and much
of my extended family remains in the New York area. My family and I fly between
Singapore and New York at least once a year. The plane-change (usually in
Tokyo) means time and energy lost in repacking carry-ons, going through
security again, standing in line to leave and reboard, and so on.
But it also lets us stretch our legs, and more importantly it allows my two
young kids to run around and let off some steam. I get to eat some surprisingly
good ramen, and the children have found a charming little Irish restaurant
called McDonalds that they like. I suspect most families would prefer to break
up the flight, while those without kids might prefer to save the time and
hassle of changing planes. The question is whether there are enough flyers who
want to go to or through Singapore specifically, rather than Seoul, Tokyo or
Hong Kong, to keep the route profitable.