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Singapore Airlines confirms details of non-stop Los Angeles flights

11 Jul 2018 by Craig Bright
Singapore Airlines A350-900ULR

Singapore Airlines has confirmed details for its planned non-stop flights to Los Angeles, with the first of its flights set to take off this November using its new Airbus A350-900ULR (ultra long range) aircraft.

Initially, Singapore Airlines’ flight SQ38 from Singapore to Los Angeles will operate just three times per week starting November 2, flying on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

However, this is set to increase to a daily flight soon after, on November 9, when the airline receives an additional aircraft before being further boosted to 10 times per week on December 7 with the introduction of a three-times-weekly flight operating as SQ36.

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
SQ38 Singapore (SIN) Los Angeles (LAX) 2045 1955 Wed, Fri, Sun (starting Nov 2)/Daily (starting Nov 9)
SQ36 Singapore (SIN) Los Angeles (LAX) 0820 0730 Wed, Fri, Sun
SQ37 Los Angeles (LAX) Singapore (SIN) 2225 0815+2) Wed, Fri, Sun (starting Nov 2)/Daily (starting Nov 9)
SQ35 Los Angeles (LAX) Singapore (SIN) 0915 1905+1 Wed, Fri, Sun

Coinciding with the announcement of the Los Angeles route, Singapore Airlines has also announced plans to boost its existing non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco from once per day to 10 times per week starting November 28. The three additional weekly flights from Singapore to San Francisco will operate as SQ34, also using an A350-900ULR, and will fly on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
SQ34 Singapore (SIN) San Francisco (SFO) 1520 1350 Wed, Fri, Sun
SQ33 San Francisco (SIN) Singapore (SIN) 2010 0540+2 Wed, Fri, Sun

The carrier announced its intention to launch non-stop flights to Los Angeles back in May when it also announced its plans to launch non-stop flights between Singapore and New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport in October.

The upcoming New York service is set to be the longest commercial flight in the world when it takes off, covering a distance of roughly 16,700km (9,000 nautical miles) and taking up to 18 hours and 45 minutes.

As with its New York flights, the Los Angeles service will be flown by its A350-900ULR aircraft – a longer-range variant of Airbus’s existing A350-900.

The most notable thing about the aircraft is that – perhaps mercifully – it will feature just two cabin classes with neither of them being economy. Flights will instead offer just 161 seats in business class and premium economy.

The new business class seat on Singapore Airlines' new A380 superjumbo

Fans of Singapore Airlines’ new A380 business class seat products will be pleased to know that the A350-900ULR will feature the exact same seat with 67 in total. These are slightly less roomy than its current A350-900 seats, though they do offer notably more storage space.

Business Traveller reviewed the new seat product on its debut A380 flight from Singapore to Sydney back in December.

SIA A350-900ULR Premium Economy

Premium economy, meanwhile, will feature the same product as is currently offered on both the A350-900 and the new A380s and will offer a total of 94 seats.

Business Traveller has also reviewed the airline’s premium economy offering on both of these aircraft.

Singapore Airlines has yet to take delivery of its first A350-900ULR, though the aircraft did complete its maiden flight back in April. Singapore Airlines is the launch customer for the A350-900ULR, which it expects to begin receiving in September, and has a total of seven on order.

But what do these new routes and frequency boosts mean for Singapore Airlines’ existing, one-stop flights between Singapore and the US?

Currently, the airline flies to Los Angeles once per day via Seoul and once per day via Tokyo, while its San Francisco services include daily non-stop flights as well as a daily service via Hong Kong.

Unfortunately for fans of Singapore Airlines’ Seoul-Los Angeles flights, these will cease to operate from November 30 onwards. The airline’s four-times-daily Singapore-Seoul flights will be maintained, however, with a new Singapore-Seoul return flight taking off on December 1 and operating as SQ612.

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
SQ612 Singapore (SIN) Seoul (ICN) 0230 0950 Daily
SQ611 Seoul (ICN) Singapore (SIN) 1240 1825 Daily

The carrier’s Singapore-Tokyo-Los Angeles and Singapore-Hong Kong-San Francisco routes will remain unchanged.

Combining the New York, Los Angeles and added San Francisco frequencies, Singapore Airlines will provide a total of 27 weekly non-stop flights between Singapore and the US by the end of this year.

The news comes as fellow Star Alliance member United recently announced it would be dropping its own newly launched Los Angeles-Singapore service this coming October, in favour of boosting frequency on its San Francisco-Singapore route instead.

When United launched its service to the Lion City from Los Angeles last October it was the longest in its network and the longest route operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in the world.

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