LAX to Singapore - Direct !

[Whitney]

One day, someone is going to take a dump right in their seat :: I'm sure the flight attendants probably don't care for the new policy of no congregating passengers.

 

I was kind of hoping more countries would fingerprint and photograph all Americans coming into their country, as Brazil does

 

I think 26 countries are exempt from the fingerprinting and photographing routine upon entry into U.S., until next year.

[Whitney]

shygye said:

Thai Air in 2005.

 

[color:"green"] When or if a nonstop goes LAX-BKK, ... [/color]

 

I would think that they are going to closely watch and study how Singapore Air does with this ultra-long haul flight first.

 

When the A380 goes into service, that might be the mother of all changes coming. Emirates I think has 45 of these big planes on order. I wonder where they plan to utilize so many of these planes, as they have a huge capacity and very long range.

[Guest]

Whitney said:

I would think that they are going to closely watch and study how Singapore Air does with this ultra-long haul flight first.

THAI supposedly has a BKK-New York non-stop in the works and SQ has plans to add a SIN-New York non-stop later this year. I also heard on the news the other day that Cathay Pacific was thinking of adding a HKG-New York non-stop. I'm sure there are other proposals floating around out there. Agreed, all potential players will be monitoring how SQ fares with the new SIN-LAX route.

 

The problem I see with these ultra long-haul routes, especially if the airlines want to charge a premium for flying them, is that unless one is flying that specific trip, it's not worth the extra money. One needs to be specifially flying Singapore to Los Angeles or v.v. to make this worthwhile. Case in point: if you are flying Los Angeles to Bangkok, you won't save any time going LAX-SIN, SIN-BKK compared to the usual LAX-NRT/TPE/etc.-BKK route. If that's the case, why pony up the extra 50%?

[Guest]

Funny, I need to change planes. 18hrs is too long to be in some tube. I can see myself making a break for the door at the 17 hour mark...

 

If they are going to fly that big plane I won't be on it. If you are in a situation to escape, I would certainly not want to be on the upper deck... Your chances are less in my opinion. Provided you survive any impact if you are on the lower level... That would be a hell of a belly flop.

 

Can you imagine some type of super fast plane like the Concord but with 9-11 hour range from the states or like 6 from London? That would be worth the extra cash.

 

Oneye

[Whitney]

cm_spot said:

The problem I see with these ultra long-haul routes, especially if the airlines want to charge a premium for flying them, is that unless one is flying that specific trip, it's not worth the extra money. One needs to be specifially flying Singapore to Los Angeles or v.v. to make this worthwhile.

 

So true, this could very well narrow the market to such a point, that it may end up with very light loads. The A380, when it comes into service, I think is going to take over quite a few of the city pairs with high traffic loads. But I give Singapore Airlines credit for trying something new, and being the first with it.

[Whitney]

oneyejacks said:

Funny, I need to change planes. 18hrs is too long to be in some tube. I can see myself making a break for the door at the 17 hour mark...

 

Oneye

 

I do not mind too much the longass flight, as long as I have adequate room to sit. I like the break at NRT after 10 or 11 hours in the air though, its nice to actually be able to walk around the terminal.

[JJsushi]

I love the idea of a non-stop flight. I hate connecting, changing planes, going through extra security checks, delays during layovers, taking off and landing again.

 

One flight, my music, plenty of movies, a good novel, food and drink are all I need. The only downside is that I hate to use the toilets on the plane. I always wait until I am in the connecting airport to do my bathroom routine. Guess i gotta hold it another couple of hours.

 

I am sure glad all of that Catholic school discipline of holding your bladder and your bowels is paying off.

[USVirgin]

I would think that they are going to closely watch and study how Singapore Air does with this ultra-long haul flight first

 

Sure they'll watch, but I don't think SQ's performance will affect their decision. SQ is targeting business travelers, whereas TG's market is mostly leisure, but I'm certain the US-Thailand market has the numbers to support the nonstop flights. Thai gets killed on the Japan-USA route, while the Japan-Thailand route is no doubt lucrative. They're better off seperating the two routes, and they will finally be at a competitive advantage by offering nonstops between the US and Thailand. In that position, they may be able to assume some price leadership, but not on the scale of what Singapore Airlines is doing. Again, different markets, and West Coast-BKK ain't all that far anyway. I expect TG to just up their net fares a bit.

[USVirgin]

I also heard on the news the other day that Cathay Pacific was thinking of adding a HKG-New York non-stop.

 

Continental has been operating nonstop Newark-Hong Kong for quite a while. It's only a 16 hour flight! Apparently the polar route makes all the difference.

[Guest lazyphil]

I like going to the crapper in areoplanes. Take a good shit, fart and pick your nose in private