Singapore Airlines will operate 10 non-stop services a week from its Changi hub to Los Angeles using its premium A350-900ULR as it increases flights to San Francisco to the same frequency.
The LA flights will start November 2, with daily flights starting November 9 as an additional A350-900ULR enters service. The airline will move to 10 flights a week from December 7.
The new West Coast flights and the airline’s daily direct A350-900ULR flights to New York will see the airline flying 27 weekly non-stop services a week to the US by the end of 2018.
The ultra-long-range A350, due to be delivered in September, will enable the launch of the world’s longest flight between Singapore and New York (Newark) from October 11.
Singapore is the launch customer for the A350-900ULR and has seven on firm order. The plane is configured in a two-class layout with 67 business class and 94 premium economy class seats.
READ: Singapore announces dates for world’s longest flights.
That compares with SIA’s existing A350-900s with 42 business class, 24 premium economy and 187 economy seats.
The airline currently has 21 A350-900s in its fleet with 46 more on order, including the seven ultra-long-range planes.
A casualty of the new services will be Singapore’s one-stop service to LA via Seoul, which will stop operating from November 30.
However, the airline will continue to fly four times a week between Singapore and Seoul with the introduction of a new service from December 1.
The three additional flights to San Francisco will operate as SQ 34 from November 28 and depart every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to complement the daily services.
Los Angeles will also be served by a daily one-stop service via Tokyo and San Francisco by a one-stop service via Hong Kong, bringing both to 17 services a week.
“Our US services have always been popular with our customers and we are pleased to be able to provide even more travel options with the launch of non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles, and an increase in frequency on the existing non-stop Singapore-San Francisco route,” Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong said in the announcement.
“Together with our non-stop flights between Singapore and New York that will launch in October, SIA will redefine the convenience of traveling between Singapore and the United States, delivering on our promise to constantly enhance the travel experience of our custom.”
Singapore currently operates 40 flights per week to the US cities of Houston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. With the new flights, total US frequency will increase to 53 per week by December.
United also flies non-stop to Singapore but will ax its daily flights from Los Angeles from October 27 while doubling up on San Francisco with a second daily flight.
The US carrier uses the Boeing 787-9 on the flights.
