NY to Singapore via Frankfort
Nov 21st, 2013, 05:25 PM
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NY to Singapore via Frankfort
I was wondering if anyone could explain to me why an airline flying to Singapore from nyc, routes the plane to Frankfort, Germany first and from Frankfort to Singapore? it is just a refueling stop, apparently, and not a stop to pick up additional passengers. why wouldn't they fly west instead of east?
Nov 21st, 2013, 06:16 PM
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Not sure I understand what's behind your question.
The Singapore Airline service from JFK via Frankfurt am Main is one of the quicker ones on the route NYC-SIN, most others take longer. SIngapore Airline sells tickets starting out in FRA, so it's not just a refuelling stop.
When you look at a world map, it's a fairly straight line heading east, not a detour.
Plus - Frankfurt allows them to pick up pax from all over Europe who might prefer to fly Singapore Airline, FRA is a huge hub - so, all in all, why not?
The Singapore Airline service from JFK via Frankfurt am Main is one of the quicker ones on the route NYC-SIN, most others take longer. SIngapore Airline sells tickets starting out in FRA, so it's not just a refuelling stop.
When you look at a world map, it's a fairly straight line heading east, not a detour.
Plus - Frankfurt allows them to pick up pax from all over Europe who might prefer to fly Singapore Airline, FRA is a huge hub - so, all in all, why not?
Nov 21st, 2013, 06:23 PM
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the only thing behind my question, is trying to understand the route. the flight from jfk to Singapore, via Frankfort, is 21 hours...that is one of the quicker ones? I thought I understood that no additional passengers would embark at Frankfort, so perhaps that is my misunderstanding. in any event thanks for the clarification you provided.
Nov 21st, 2013, 08:38 PM
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SIA use to have a direct flight from Newark to Singapore - about 18 hours. That is the fastest flight until they retired the A340 all business class flight. Flying west and then south would take nearer 27 hours. This SIN FRA NYC flight is very popular.
Nov 21st, 2013, 10:23 PM
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"...the flight from jfk to Singapore, via Frankfort, is 21 hours...that is one of the quicker ones?..."
Sure it is, just look up matrix.itasoftware.com or kayak.com or any of the others - the quick ones are all 21 hours and something, via HKG or FRA - the others take longer, and if you take the trouble of going to the Singapore Airline website you'll find that they indeed take on pax at FRA, so again, what's the question, really?
Sure it is, just look up matrix.itasoftware.com or kayak.com or any of the others - the quick ones are all 21 hours and something, via HKG or FRA - the others take longer, and if you take the trouble of going to the Singapore Airline website you'll find that they indeed take on pax at FRA, so again, what's the question, really?
Nov 22nd, 2013, 02:40 AM
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why wouldn't they fly west instead of east?
The answer is easy - Singapore it neither west nor eat of NY, it is on the opposite side of the world. The straight line/ shortest distance from NY to SIN is due actually due north north, believe it or not. The non-stop flight mentioned above flew over the North Pole, or slightly east due to tailwinds.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/S...400Z/KEWR/WSSS
The return flight, SIN to EWR non-stop used to hug the coast of the Pacific, again due to prevailing winds, so the fastest route now coming back to NY is connecting in Asia. China, Seoul, Japan...
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/S...430Z/WSSS/KEWR
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=jfk+-+sin
The answer is easy - Singapore it neither west nor eat of NY, it is on the opposite side of the world. The straight line/ shortest distance from NY to SIN is due actually due north north, believe it or not. The non-stop flight mentioned above flew over the North Pole, or slightly east due to tailwinds.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/S...400Z/KEWR/WSSS
The return flight, SIN to EWR non-stop used to hug the coast of the Pacific, again due to prevailing winds, so the fastest route now coming back to NY is connecting in Asia. China, Seoul, Japan...
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/S...430Z/WSSS/KEWR
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=jfk+-+sin
Nov 22nd, 2013, 02:44 AM
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The A340 does not have a long enough range to fly non-stop NY to EWR with a full passenger + cargo load due to the extra fuel it needed to carry, thus it was not profitable in the long term for SingAir.
Newer generation models like the new B777X might be able to do that route non-stop since it is designed for longer range.
Newer generation models like the new B777X might be able to do that route non-stop since it is designed for longer range.
Nov 22nd, 2013, 06:21 AM
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Wind direction and speed have an enormous impact on flight routes, times, and fuel consumption (i.e., profit).
Flights from west to east are quite a bit shorter than flights east to west because the prevailing winds come from the west. Thus you can fly from Boston to London in anywhere from one to two hours less than from London to Boston. Or more.
Thus while it makes sense to fly west coast passengers to Asia in a westward direction, it does not make sense to fly east coast passengers that way unless they are going somewhere on the east coast of Asia, e.g., Japan, Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong.
In the Old Days, propeller planes has a hard time with fuel consumption on the North Atlantic westbound. They stopped to refuel in Shannon or Iceland and then often in Newfoundland.
Military planes, rotating from mid country to Europe, flew from home to Gander, Newfoundland or Goose Bay, Labrador, then to Prestwick, Scotland or Shannon, Ireland (post war) then on to bases in the UK or Europe. They had tail winds all the way. On the way home to the US, they kept the tailwinds by flying a southern route through Morocco and the Azores to Charleston, SC.
Planes also fly, as J62 explains, Great Circle routes, the shortest route around the surface of a sphere as opposed to the shortest route on a flat map. The shortest route to Singapore is over (roughly) the North Pole and Russia, as he says.
Some routes are less easy to "get". From certain flight paths in the North Atlantic, a plane in distress is closer to the Azores than to Iceland, though it sure doesn't look that way on the map. Nantucket is closer to Bermuda than Philadelphia if a plane has an emergency.
Flights from west to east are quite a bit shorter than flights east to west because the prevailing winds come from the west. Thus you can fly from Boston to London in anywhere from one to two hours less than from London to Boston. Or more.
Thus while it makes sense to fly west coast passengers to Asia in a westward direction, it does not make sense to fly east coast passengers that way unless they are going somewhere on the east coast of Asia, e.g., Japan, Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong.
In the Old Days, propeller planes has a hard time with fuel consumption on the North Atlantic westbound. They stopped to refuel in Shannon or Iceland and then often in Newfoundland.
Military planes, rotating from mid country to Europe, flew from home to Gander, Newfoundland or Goose Bay, Labrador, then to Prestwick, Scotland or Shannon, Ireland (post war) then on to bases in the UK or Europe. They had tail winds all the way. On the way home to the US, they kept the tailwinds by flying a southern route through Morocco and the Azores to Charleston, SC.
Planes also fly, as J62 explains, Great Circle routes, the shortest route around the surface of a sphere as opposed to the shortest route on a flat map. The shortest route to Singapore is over (roughly) the North Pole and Russia, as he says.
Some routes are less easy to "get". From certain flight paths in the North Atlantic, a plane in distress is closer to the Azores than to Iceland, though it sure doesn't look that way on the map. Nantucket is closer to Bermuda than Philadelphia if a plane has an emergency.
