NEWARK -- New Jersey will again be the Western terminus of the the world's longest non-stop commercial flight, now that Singapore Airlines plans to revive direct service to the United States with new Airbus jets suited to the route.

The carrier announced today that it would bring back its 19-hour, 9,506-mile flight between its home base at Changi International Airport and Newark Liberty International, after it takes delivery on a fleet of new Airbus A-350 X-Wide carbon-body jets sometime in 2018. The airline said it would also resume its lengthy direct flights between Los Angeles and Singapore.

Singapore Airlines said the lightweight A-350, which is just now going into service as Airbus' answer to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, is sufficiently comfortable and fuel efficient to make such long flights attractive to passengers and crew and profitable to the carrier.

"Our customers have been asking us to re-start non-stop Singapore-US flights and we are pleased that Airbus was able to offer the right aircraft to do so in a commercially viable manner," Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a statement today.

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Singapore scrubbed its 19-hour flights over the Arctic Circle in November 2013, in part because it was under contract to sell Airbus back the A-340 jumbo jets it had used during the five years it flew directly to the U.S. The carrier has continued service between U.S. cities and Singapore using connecting flights.

Like the Dreamliner, the A-350 has a carbon fibre body that is lighter than one made of metal and therefore the jet burns less fuel, one of airlines' biggest costs. The rust-free carbon body also allows cabin air to be moister and more comfortable, while the aircraft's ample width and height allows for lie-flat seating and more headroom for passengers and sleeping lofts for the flight crew and attendants.

When Singapore ended its direct U.S. service, Qantas Airways' nonstop flight from Dallas to Sydney, Australia, became the longest fight in terms of distance, at about 8,600 miles, while Delta's 17-hour flight between Atlanta and Johannesburg, South Africa, became the longest time-wise.



Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.