Singapore Airlines knows what it’s doing. No airline is perfect, but Singapore earns its status as a fan favorite for frequent fliers. Flying one of their long-haul premium cabins has been one of my AvGeek dreams for a while. So when I snagged a lucky award ticket during a trip to Asia/Australia — and on the A380, no less — I was EXCITED.
I’m not going to bury the lede. This flight was about as good as it gets. It was the airborne equivalent of watching a seasoned orchestra perform. Read on for the full story about my time in Singapore Airlines’ upper-deck A380 business class. And don’t worry, as great as things were inside the plane we still have plenty of window seat views for you to take in.
The world’s longest flight. Many routes have held that honor over the years. But right now the unquestioned champion is Singapore Airlines’ service between Singapore Changi and New York JFK, clocking in at an impressive 9,537 miles. I’ve been dying to get onboard since it launched. At long last, I got my chance.
The Airbus A350-900ULR was the clear star of the show. The “ULR” stands for ultra-long range. And the plane absolutely earns that title, handling 18-hour flights with ease. During our time in the sky with the ULR we appreciated the adaptations that allow it to handle routes that no other commercial craft currently can. The masterful inflight service touches of Singapore Airlines made the time in the sky fly by.
Read on for the full story — with plenty of photos and window-seat views — from the world’s longest-distance flight.
Our Northwest Boeing 747-200 (reg: N642NW & name: Madison) taken at Kansai International Airport in 1999 – Photo: Ken Fielding
I have a soft place in my heart for Northwest Boeing 747-200s. My first time flying in a 747, my first time flying as an unaccompanied minor, and my first time being able to ride in the nose section was all on one of those birds. Even though that was at the age of five, it was very exciting and has stayed with me.
Anytime I see a photo of one of these aircraft, I wonder if it is the one that I flew on. I have no way of knowing, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to get to know more about the life of every Northwest 747-200 that I come across.
A photo taken of Madison in Aug 2004 – Photo: saku_y | FlickrCC
Not long ago, I documented the life of a Lockheed L1011 (which I named Martin). I have fun tracking down the lives (and often the deaths) of classic airliners and I enjoyed sharing Martin’s journey with you all (and many of you seemed to get a kick out of it as well). When I came across N642NW, a Northwest 747-200, I thought her history was pretty interesting and worth sharing.
I have decided to name this classic beauty Madison for two main reasons. During my trip (explained above), I flew from Seattle to Minneapolis to visit my uncles and we spent some time in Madison, WI. I might have also had a boyhood crush at the time on Madison from the movie Splash (played by Daryl Hannah). Either way, we can say that I like the name and I like the plane, so it works!
Now, let’s take a look at Madison’s birth, how she lived, and if she is still around today.
Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 takes off from SEA – Photo: Singapore Airlines
The contest has ended and a big congrats to Alex Nieves for winning! He will be giving this model a wonderful new home. Be sure to subscribe to our story email (we shoot you an email when we publish a new story) to make sure you don’t miss the next contest!
I get excited every time a new airline flies out of my hometown airport and I am guessing that you can relate. Especially when it involves an aircraft that is rare for the airport, and it also becomes the longest flight out of the airport. This was the case recently when Singapore Airlines (SQ) started service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) using an Airbus A350-900.
Here is the sweet 1:400 scale Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 model you can win!
And I know you are already wondering “How do I win that Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 model? I bet he is going to make me read his story and look at photos before telling me the deal.” #nailedit Keep on reading…
My commentary from today, Oct 12, 2018: If you are connected to the airline world, you have probably seen that Singapore Airlines has re-taken the title of offering the world’s longest flight by re-starting their Singapore to Newark route. To celebrate the re-starting of the flight, using an Airbus A350ULR (That ULR stands for Ultra Long Range btw), I wanted to share my story from about five years ago where I live blogged taking this flight on an Airbus A340-500. Read below to experience a bit of the past and follow along our friend, Chris Sloan, on Airways as he starts his live blog adventure taking the flight today. If you have not experienced one of these super long flights, it is worth trying… at least once. Although, even five years later, I am not sure I would do SEA-LAX-SIN, be only on the ground for about a day, before heading home on SIN-EWR-SEA. I love flying, but I think I prefer to have a bit more time on the ground before taking those ultra long flights back-to-back (but I am also five years older and have a harder time recovering)!
My full story re-posted from October 13, 2013: It is almost that time to board a Singapore Airlines Airbus A340-500 and be a part of the world’s longest flight. Okay, well I still have a few hours left. Before then, I will be checking out of my hotel, getting a short tour of the airport, probably relax in the lounge for a minute or two and then find my seat for the next 18 hours or so. I will be departing on SQ 22, which leaves about 10:55am local time [which is 7:55pm 10/13 in Seattle or 2:55am 10/30 GMT].
You can follow along the flight on FlightAware and hopefully on this blog. Here is the catch though; due to the flight plan there is a good chance that I won’t be able to access the internet the whole time and when I do, it could be slow. Have no fear though, if I cannot connect up, I will write the story as a live blog on my local laptop and be sure to update when I have a chance. Worst case, that means after I get settled into my hotel after arriving at Newark (aka worst case scenario).
Since I will be crossing about half the existing time zones (and the international date line), I plan to update based on time spent on the aircraft. Once I enter the cabin, I will start a timer and update the post based on the elapsed time. I am hoping to stay awake the whole time, but know that I might need a little nap. Also realize that on a flight this long, there might not be too much happening between, “oh starting this movie,” and “done with the movie,” so my silence might not mean I cannot connect to the internet, but because I am doing something boring. Well, nothing is boring while on this flight, but I don’t want to give away plot lines of a movie.
With live blogging and possibly having a Singapore Sling or two, I realize that the grammar might not be 100%. No worries, it will all be worked out as the flight progresses or afterwards, so try to have a little more flexibility for the short-term and we shall do just fine. Well, I think that just about lays the ground work for how this shin-dig will work out. Hopefully you will be hearing from me soon and if not, know that I am enjoying the flight and looking forward to sharing soon.
