Backward in Time: I Got the Last Nonstop Out of Singapore

Henceforth they will take you to Frankfort. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Now I know a bit of how the partisans of the Concorde supersonic flights between Europe and the U.S. East Coast felt when that fast connection ended.

I walked into a bit of history this weekend in boarding the last Singapore Airlines nonstop flight to New York, the world's longest commercial route. At a scheduled nearly 19 hours (shorter based on tailwinds), it was a link particularly suited to my Forbes Asia duties, connecting our business office in Singapore with the editorial hub in New York. The very last flight, SQ21, is returning to Singapore on the Airbus 340-500 as I write this.

The end of the road (runway?) was a sentimental occasion for many, including Singapore Air staff. Several, including a few of the iconic 'Girls' in their flight-attendant sarongs, hosted a gate reception on our departure. If the guests were unglamorous commercial soldiers doing cameos simply by luck of our travel plans, so, too, was the airline playing it down. Unlike when the service commenced in 2004, none of the brass was there to break out the Champagne (which, being a Bollinger brut on the plane itself, can be rather nice).

So why is it that air travel is taking a step back, increasing the total time to make the trek by at least 90 minutes (best case) and more likely a few hours, plus the hassle of re-boarding en route? Turns out that the cost of fuel (as figured through the various ever-more efficient aircraft that become available) and the 'yield' (how much revenue can be generated from each run) conspired against this looong-haul. The service, along with a nonstop to Los Angeles that was discontinued a few months ago, had been converted to all-business class in the booming 2000s but never recovered its viability after the Lehman financial squeeze.

As spelled out in a Nov. 23 analysis in the hometown Straits Times by aviation writer Karamjit Kaur (apparently not available online), Singapore Air faces increasing pressures on the competitive front as well, which affect pricing. The rise of Emirates and other Arab Gulf carriers is a particular thorn in the long-haul routes. (All airlines say that rivals receive various forms of subsidies and protections that unfairly disadvantage others, and that's true in this case.)

The virtues and tribulations of Singapore Air have been known to Forbes Asia readers for years, including in this 2005 cover article. Many of its cross-Pacific passengers will choose to stay with it through an alternative route via Frankfort that has existed for years. During the otherwise uneventful voyage this weekend, a cabin supervisor approached my seat specifically to encourage such loyalty-and of course there are the Star Alliance partner miles to consider. But that won't be the fastest option. The good, old A 340-500 is going back to its maker in Toulouse, I understand, in return for a more economical craft.

Even in this age of instant gratifications, I suppose it will remain the case that in transport, at least, the best, safe performance in terms of time will occasionally be sacrificed to other imperatives. Sometimes these will be purely political-remember when the U.S. highway speed limit was cut during the 'energy crisis'?-but often it will be a matter of trade-offs. If the European carbon tax on air travel becomes more widespread, this will only further narrow the traveler's band. Oh, well. I have my special certificate from the Sing Air senior VP for sales & marketing saying I was aboard this weekend as the skies darkened a bit.