The first commercial flight between Singapore and Newark Liberty International Airport will be on Oct 11, Singapore Air said in a statement yesterday. This is the first of the seven A350-900ULRs the carrier has on firm order with Airbus.

Reviving the route that the Singapore flag carrier scrapped more than four years ago will help the airline fill a gap in its US network that has benefited rivals including Qantas Airways Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Singapore Air’s new service — which will overtake Qatar Airways’ Doha-Auckland route as the world’s longest — will initially offer three flights in the first week, increasing to daily from Oct 18.

Singapore Air will use the aircraft for non-stop services to Los Angeles in November.

Some of the features of Singapore Air’s A350-900ULR:

The plane is capable of flying about 20 hours non-stop. The flight to New York will cover a distance of approximately 16,700 kilometres, with travelling time of up to 18 hours and 45 minutes The aircraft is configured in a two-class layout with 67 business class seats and 94 premium economy seats The ULR is a variant of the A350, with the main change over the standard aircraft being a modified fuel system. This will help the plane carry 165,000 litres of fuel, an increase of 24,000 litres: Airbus The plane also features a number of aerodynamic enhancements, including extended winglets: Airbus