While reading a bit this week about ultra-haul flights of modern times, I recalled that in the period (2000-2010) when I was active in (RW) long-haul travels, several landmark long-haul (RW) flights and records were established and reported in the news. My topic for this post is specifically about Singapore Airlines, and I mention, here, up front, that the (New York City - Singapore) route has been long recognized in modern (commercial) aviation as one of the world's longest flights. So, not surprisingly, Singapore Airlines has been in the forefront of many ultra-long-haul milestones. This airline singularly operated one of the stalwarts of ultra-long-haul flights, the A340, for such purpose, and specifically the A340-500 variant. The A340-500s of Singapore Airlines pioneered many of the long-haul records of this decade, opening up, for other operators, non-stop world routes, unheard of at the time (e.g., once unthinkable London-to-Perth direct connection by Qantas, from UK to Australia...).

The two flights of Singapore Airlines, (historically) most significant, are/were Flights 21 and 22, aka: SIA21 and SIA 22, between Singapore Changi Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. In June 2004, SIA introduced Flight SQ21 (see below), using Airbus A340-500 on a record breaking 9,534 miles great-circle route from Newark to Singapore, passing within 80 miles of the North Pole. Singapore Airlines has since, on the same route, replaced the (fuel-inefficient) quad-jet A340-500 by the modern (twinjet) A350-900ULR, equipped with advanced fuel system and capacity technology, designed for such ultra-haul routes.

1. SIA21/SQ21 - Newark (EWR) -> Singapore (SIN); this flight currently flown by A350-900 is en-route today (Nov.6) as I write this (1hr 55 min into the flight) with an estimated total travel time of 17hr 48min, and a direct distance of 9,540 miles. (For comparison, note that the Earth's diameter is about 8,000 miles.)
2. SIA22/SQ22 - Singapore (SIN) -> Newark (EWR); this flight for this week currently (also) flown by A350-900 is expected to depart tomorrow Nov. 7 with an estimated total travel time of 17hr 50min, and a planned distance of 9,619 miles. [Note: The 11-year-old FlightAware record for the first such record-breaking flight with an A340-500 shows 18hr 34mins total travel time and an actual distance of 10,262 miles...! My goodness...🙂...! Back in 1903, 120 years ago, humankind's first ever flight aka the Wright brothers' first powered flight had lasted just 12 seconds, flying a distance of 120 feet...we have advanced by leaps and bounds for sure...]  

It's the 2nd flight above that I've replicated for myself, for this post, with a SimBrief Flight Plan calculated distance of 9,027 miles (excluding SID/STAR). This is my longest ever SIM flight in memory, not considering my (early-on) hardy and zealot days...🙂...in this hobby, when such ultra-long-haul routes were somewhat more common for me. ICAO and IATA define any flight over 16 hours as "Ultra Long". My own many (RW) long-haul trips typically consisted of 2 B2B legs of either ~ (10+8) hours, or ~ (9+9) hours. However, I did fly a couple of times non-stop for ~17 to ~18 hours.

I've flown in LH's A340-300s (the same variant, you see below) and A340-600 (the longest fuselage 340 but not with the longest range, which is the -500). I think, LH didn't have any A340-500 in its fleet, and I've never flown ultra-haul on any A340. My ultra-hauls were always in the B777, and one memorable (non-stop) ultra-haul of 18+ hours was in an AA 777. This included a diversion flight of about an hour due to adverse weather conditions at the destination airport. As I'd looked out of my (cabin) window into the darkness with rain and sleet pattering against the airplane, while listening to the cockpit announcement, I was thinking of the "Reserve Fuel" we allocate (even) in our virtual (airliner) flights here...giving me a new meaning and respect for such emergency fuel allocation in our (make-believe) flight planning phase. You could imagine my relief when the wheels of the 777 finally touched down, in total ambient darkness, on Mother Earth after 18+ hours... (thought to myself, we earth-bound humans do not belong suspended up there for so long...🙂...) ...

Anyway, I'd realized that those types of non-stop ultra-haul flights are not to my liking. During such flights, I recall cabin announcements advising pax to occasionally stretch their legs and arms or walk in the cabin if/when permitted, to keep themselves from staying immobile for such long periods. However, all I could do, was walk the short span in the isle between the 2 bathrooms/restrooms of the 777, being mindful to not cross over into first/business class sections...🙂...So, it was not very convenient as I was also eager to be back in the seat, and be strapped in, for safety reasons.

So, here we go on my marathon flight, from Singapore Changi to Newark Liberty in my (symbolic) A340-300 standing in for an actual A340-500 (or A350-900ULR). I left Singapore on Nov. 5 at ~11:00am (local), traversed 13 time zones (Singapore is 13 hours ahead of Newark), experienced being a time-traveler of sorts...🙂...while crossing the International Date Line on the narrow stretch of water between the borders of Russia and U.S. (off Alaska's west coast), enjoyed 2 sunsets and 1 sunrise (see images), and finally (and safely) arrived and landed in Newark (ILS Rwy 22R) on the "same day" (Nov. 5) at ~6:00pm (local), all the time been in continuous flight... (I mean...in the comfort of my easy chair) ...of course with ample health breaks, coffee breaks, snack breaks, and cold-brew breaks...🙂... (2x Sim rate has been used in cruise...) ... 

Thanks for viewing this collection of pictures from my virtual trip, mimicking the one-time world-record longest flight...! 

Hope you enjoy...!

Great set and yes this is realy longhaul, but that is what a Pilot sometimes have to do..

Did you flown real life or with the use of time compression ?

Just because I'm interested 😊

cheers 😉

Great set of shots!  Looks like it was quite a journey.

You must have been glad to land - at least you were treated to a nice sunset en route.  Cheers,

Calum

Excellent shots, P_7878. If I remember correctly, those SQ A340 flights were Business Class only. I can't imagine anyone would like to sit in a cramped Coach Class seat for such a long time.

We flew back from Singapore on the 3rd trip for the airline's first A380, what stood out most for my wife was one of the beautiful and impeccably dressed air hostess comment of "For F*** Sake" when one of the passengers rung for service for the fourth time in as many minutes🤣

Great shots of a long ride P_7878, I like shot #1, shows trhe A340 very well.

Very nice set of shots...that was one hell of a flight you pulled off! Who flew while you were sleeping? 😉 

Folks: Many thanks for chiming in with comments and curiosities...🙂....

 

On 11/7/2024 at 1:43 AM, pmplayer said:

Great set and yes this is really longhaul, but that is what a Pilot sometimes have to do..

Did you flown real life or with the use of time compression ?

Just because I'm interested 😊

cheers 😉

Thanks....🙂... I know you've done ultra-hauls w/o time compressions...pmplayer...But as I've stated/admitted...🙂..., I'd to use 2x due to some time constraints. I did not try 4x because, I've found that, occasionally at the waypoint transitions, 4x on my Xbox can make my (steadily) cruising jetliner doing the Sully Act on the oceanic waters when I'm away and not looking...🙂...

On 11/6/2024 at 7:04 PM, P_7878 said:

...of course, with ample health breaks, coffee breaks, snack breaks, and cold-brew breaks...🙂... (2x Sim rate has been used in cruise...) ...

 

On 11/7/2024 at 5:50 AM, CBass said:

Great set of shots!  Looks like it was quite a journey.

You must have been glad to land - at least you were treated to a nice sunset en route.  Cheers,

Calum

Yes, Calum, I was certainly very glad to finally land in Newark virtually, just as I was during my RW trips....🙂...And the SIM and Xbox fortunately survived the whole ordeal w/o any mishaps...

 

On 11/7/2024 at 8:36 AM, bernd1151 said:

Excellent shots, P_7878. If I remember correctly, those SQ A340 flights were Business Class only. I can't imagine anyone would like to sit in a cramped Coach Class seat for such a long time.

Thank you, bernd. Yes, you're correct. I'd read similar things in the historical accounts. In fact, the Wiki for SQ Flights 21 and 22, says this, "Singapore Airlines originally offered 64 business class and 117 Executive Economy Class seats on this flight. SIA phased out the Executive Economy Class in favor of 100-seat all-Business Class flights in 2008."

 

On 11/7/2024 at 8:52 AM, SierraHotel BSc said:

We flew back from Singapore on the 3rd trip for the airline's first A380, what stood out most for my wife was one of the beautiful and impeccably dressed air hostess comment of "For F*** Sake" when one of the passengers rung for service for the fourth time in as many minutes🤣

Must have been nice flights...🙂...And yes, we cannot blame those stewardesses...especially on those marathon flights...I always made it a point to be courteous to them and not be a nuisance...lest they mark me (and my seat no.) down ...🙂...

 

On 11/7/2024 at 5:47 PM, andiflyit said:

Great shots of a long ride P_7878, I like shot #1, shows the A340 very well.

Thank you, Andreas. Yes, the (quad-jet) A340 lifting off the ground...always looks good...🙂...

 

On 11/7/2024 at 6:40 PM, Alaska738 said:

Very nice set of shots...that was one hell of a flight you pulled off! Who flew while you were sleeping? 😉 

Appreciated the comment, Will. No, I did not sleep...🙂...2x Sim rate and all-day helped. Of course, when I'd to be away on (life-sustaining) errands (e.g., grocery and some red wine...🙂...), I went back to 1x, and recruited family members to act as observers to let me know if the plane was flying normally. Most significantly, the SIM and Xbox stood up to the challenge without any crash ...which was impressive...I surely felt a real sense of achievement to be able to capture the last few images above...🙂...

Cheers...!

A real long flight, and a good documentation of the essence here.

My longest ever in RL was 14.5 h. But I had a 1 h before and a 3 h afterwards, not to mention the changeovers. Not real fun.

On 11/10/2024 at 9:31 AM, Stiller Water said:

A real long flight, and a good documentation of the essence here.

My longest ever in RL was 14.5 h. But I had a 1 h before and a 3 h afterwards, not to mention the changeovers. Not real fun.

Thanks for the comment and your experience…!

14.5hr is grueling enough…🙂…