Langdistanseflyging - Singapore Airlines

Airbus A 340-500, the type used for Singapore Airlines Flight 21 - Singapore Airlines

Flight 21 routinely travels from Newark to Singapore nonstop, where passengers and crew fly just short of 9500 miles in 18½ hours. Yes, 18½ hours of flight with most of it at several hundred miles per hour within the stratosphere - and routinely.

Compare Flight 21 with the historic first powered and controlled flight by the Wright Brothers which lasted mere seconds, never leaving ground effect just over a century ago. The Wrights opened the door to a dimension of travel no one but the most insane of the day could have foreseen.

During the 20th Century aviation pioneers like Batten, Lindbergh, Post and Kingsford-Smith were rightfully lionized for their perilous one or two person ocean crossing feats. Now the infrastructure exists to safely and reliably cross half the globe on a scheduled basis three times per week with 99 fellow passengers. Truly, it is difficult to fathom this progress over such a short time!

Singapore Airlines uses the Airbus A 340-500 for this flight which is a poetic match to superior service of Singapore Airlines - both marked by elegance and poise.