Singapore Airlines to launch world’s longest flight

Travel and tourism industry sources feel that the recent adverse weather conditions will not have much impact on tourism in Salalah, especially during upcoming khareef season.

Timely and accurate warnings on the progress of the tropical situation helped hotels, especially beach resorts, to take preventive measures and save human lives and minimise material damage.

“I don’t think people who have made plans to visit Salalah during Eid al Fitr holidays or khareef will think differently now. Foreign tourists, especially from the West, generally follow travel advisories and there have been none to discourage them from visiting Salalah,” said an official from the holiday division of an airline operating from Salalah.

There are concerns over whether most of the properties will be fully operational around that time and many roads are to be repaired.

Officials at the Ministry of Tourism have indicated that some hotels have reported damages, especially to lawns and other outdoor facilities, but most of the properties are still welcoming guests. Also a couple of hotels are expected to be launched this year.

Work will be carried out to restore road links, which has been affected in some places.

Sources at Fanar and Salalah Rotana told the Observer that they are functioning normally, while Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah has re-opened and welcomed the first guests on Monday. Online bookings for Hilton Salalah Resort shows room availability from June 14. SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines said on Wednesday that it will relaunch the world’s longest commercial flight in October, a journey of almost 19 hours from the city-state to New York, but it will not be available to economy travellers.

The daily, non-stop journey from Changi to Newark Airport will cover about 16,700 km and take about 18 hours 45 minutes, the airline said in a statement. The current record holder is Qatar Airways Flight 921 from Auckland to Doha, which takes 17 hours 40 minutes.

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight will use the long-range Airbus A350900ULR, which will be configured to carry 161 passengers — 67 in business class and 94 in premium economy.

“The two-class configuration... was a business consideration to meet market demand. This configuration will also provide our customers with greater comfort on non-stop flights,” an SIA spokesperson said.

The airline had flown a similar route from 2004 until 2013 but cancelled it as it fell short of revenue expectations.

However, its latest decision comes as carriers look for new sources of revenue in a competitive environment, while long-haul flights often make more cash than those that require stops.

There are also plans for a non-stop route from Singapore to Los Angeles using the same plane, the airline said.

Analysts said the decision to have no economy class was an attempt to promote the airline to wealthy customers.

“It’s about SIA marketing themselves as a premium service provider,” Brendan Sobie, chief analyst at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said.

But there have been concerns that such long flights might pose safety risks, particularly for cabin crew.

Britain’s largest union, Unite, alleged this month that Qantas had tried to “silence” crew members who wanted to discuss concerns about health and fatigue on their Perth to London route, one of the longest flights in the world at 17 hours and 20 minutes.