Singapore Airlines Launches Sea-Tac Route as Gateway’s Longest
The new flight to Changi clocks in at just under sixteen hours on an A350-900
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is on a roll with continued expansion of non-stop services from the U.S. as it launched SQ27 this week connecing Seattle to Singapore, The new flight caps a significant period of expansion for SIA in the U.S., in which the carrier’s flight frequency grew 42 percent over the past year.
The flight departed Seattle-Tacoma International Airport yesterday at 11:13 am and arrived 5:45 pm on what is today in Singapore. Covering 8,010 miles in 15 hours and 50 minutes became longest nonstop flight from Sea-Tac.
Seattle is the fourth U.S. destination after Los Angeles, New York (Newark) and San Francisco to be served non-stop from Singapore. The Seattle flights will initially be operated three times weekly before increasing to four times weekly in October, bringing the total number of weekly non-stop U.S.-Singapore services to 31. When combined with SIA’s existing one-stop flights to Houston, Los Angeles, New York (JFK) and San Francisco, total US service frequency will increase to 57 per week.
Connecting through Changi, SIA’s new Seattle services provides customers with faster and more convenient access to key markets including Southeast Asia, India and Australia. Convenient for Seattle-based passengers, Singapore Airlines is a codeshare partner of Alaska Airlines. Thus, Mileage Plan members are eligible to earn miles on Singapore Airlines flights.
The airline’s Airbus A350-900 aircraft fitted with 42 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy Class and 187 Economy Class seats are used on the route. The employed aircraft feature such added details as higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body and cabin lighting designed to reduce jetlag.
The Seattle services are the latest among SIA’s U.S. non-stop flights to offer wellness initiatives from Canyon Ranch, a premiere integrated wellness brand. These include sleep strategies and guided stretching exercises (accessible via the KrisWorld in-flight entertainment (IFE) system), as well as special cuisines developed by Canyon Ranch’s chefs and nutritionists. The cuisines are offered on top of SIA’s own meal selections and creations by its International Culinary Panel of chefs.
Through September 14, customers traveling in Premium Economy and Economy classes on the Seattle flights can experience complimentary 30MB WiFi text messaging as part of a beta testing project on selected aircraft types, Suites and First Class passengers enjoy unlimited complimentary WiFi, while Business Class passengers, PPS Club members and supplementary cardholders enjoy complimentary 100MB. Customers can also purchase WiFi plans starting at $3.99. More information is available at bit.ly/SQinflightwifi.
So, why Seattle?
James Boyd, vice president of public relations for Singapore Airlines told a Seattle newspaper: “It’s a fantastic balance of strong corporate traffic, strong leisure traffic. We know that there’s a lot of interest in travel not just to Singapore but beyond Singapore to all throughout Southeast Asia, even markets like Western Australia. This will be the fastest way to get to places that were previously really far-flung, like Perth. Now you have a faster, more efficient way of getting there that brings the destination a little bit closer.”
