Overseas Aviation

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Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) is in talks with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and Boeing (BOE, Washington National) over an Ultra-Long Range passenger liner capable of serving the United States nonstop. The Singaporean carrier operated an all-Premium service from Singapore Changi to Los Angeles International and Newark up until late 2013 when the fuel-thirsty A340-500s used on the routes no longer proved economically feasible. Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong told Bloomberg news last month that resuming direct services to the US would allow his airline to recover a market niche that has since been filled by the likes of Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) and Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International). “We, of course, want it as soon as possible,” Goh said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin. “There isn’t really a commercially viable aircraft that could fly nonstop.” However, doing so has proven difficult owing to limitations in existing available aircraft. Of the market's current offerings, only the B777-200(LR) has the ability to serve Los Angles nonstop but would not be able to do so with Newark without weight penalties in the form of added fuel tanks. According to Leeham News, the Singaporeans have now turned their attention to a Long Range variant of the A350-900 which, if developed, would likely feature a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) that is 12 tonnes heavier than the standard version (280tonnes vs 268tonnes). A heavier MTOW would allow for more fuel to be accommodated (12 tonnes) thus extending the A350's range. While the standard A350 model is capable of ferrying 301 passengers up to 7,900nm, the LR version would match the -200LR's range of 8,665nm albeit with improved fuel burn which Leeham believes may be as high as 22%. With Boeing's closest offering - the B777-8X which features a 9,300nm range - still seven years away from commercial service, it is believed Singapore Airlines may convert some of its A350-900s on order from Airbus into LRs should the project indeed go ahead. As it currently stands, Singapore Airlines' maiden A350 is scheduled to arrive in January of next year.

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