20-Hour Flights: 11 New Ultra-Long Nonstop Airbus A350 Routes Revealed

Published Oct 7, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT Prachi is a London-based journalist with extensive experience in the aviation industry. She has worked for several leading industry publications, covering a broad range of topics. Her expertise lies in aircraft maintenance, emerging technologies, and advanced air mobility. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Journalism, focusing on data journalism and its potential to transform conventional aviation reporting. Airbus developed the A350 as a clean-sheet widebody in the 2000s to compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner family and to offer airlines a more fuel-efficient alternative for long-haul flying. The aircraft was designed to deliver around 25% lower fuel burn and carbon emissions than the previous generation of aircraft it was intended to replace. More than a decade after entering commercial service, the A350 has become one of the mainstays of long-haul fleets around the world. According to ch-aviation data, more than 500 A350s are currently in active service across airlines worldwide. Carriers have been deploying the aircraft on some of the longest nonstop passenger flights in the world, including services that exceed 19 hours. The aircraft has a published range of between 8,500 and 9,000 nautical miles (15,742 and 16,668 km), depending on the variant. Simple Flying took a look at 11 of the longest nonstop routes operated by the type. Singapore Airlines Has The Longest Scheduled A350 Flights Credit: danielou_shots | Shutterstock For this list, we looked at the maximum scheduled block time for A350 flights this month. Block time is measured from stand to stand, or gate to gate, and includes the taxi time at both ends of the journey as well as the time spent in the air. Please note that these timings can change from one schedule to another, so the figures here are based specifically on the October 2026 schedule. Unsurprisingly, Singapore Airlines operates the four longest scheduled A350 flights. Its Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) service is the longest at around 19 hours and 40 minutes, covering approximately 9,484 miles (15,263 km). The New York JFK Airport (JFK) to SIN service follows at around 19 hours and 25 minutes. The next two are the airline's services from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), both of which have scheduled block times of more than 17 hours 30 minutes. Its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to SIN service also ranks among the longest A350 flights this month, at around 17 hours and ten minutes. Maximum block time in Oct. 2026 Direction of the route Operator 19 hours 40 minutes Newark Liberty (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) Singapore Airlines 19 hours 25 minutes New York JFK (JFK) to Singapore (SIN) Singapore Airlines 17 hours 50 minutes Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore (SIN) Singapore Airlines 17 hours 30 minutes San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN) Singapore Airlines 17 hours 20 minutes* Delhi (DEL) to New York JFK (JFK)* Air India 17 hours 20 minutes* Delhi (DEL) to Newark Liberty (EWR)* Air India 17 hours 15 minutes Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Hong Kong (HKG) Cathay Pacific 17 hours ten minutes Seattle (SEA) to Singapore (SIN) Singapore Airlines 16 hours 54 minutes Johannesburg (JNB) to Atlanta (ATL) Delta Air Lines 16 hours 50 minutes Shenzhen (SZX) to Mexico (MEX) China Southern Airlines 16 hours 50 minutes Toronto (YYZ) to Manila (MNL) Philippine Airlines *This depends on whether Air India reinstates nonstop flights Will Air India Reinstate Nonstop Delhi-New York Services? Credit: Paddytakesphotos | Shutterstock Air India's Delhi-New York flights are an interesting case. Both the DEL to JFK and DEL to EWR routes appear among the longest scheduled A350 flights for October, each exceeding 17 hours in the schedule, as mentioned in the table embedded above. However, as of early October, neither service is operating nonstop westbound. The Indian carrier is currently routing both flights through Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) on the westbound journey. Flight AI101 leaves Delhi at 10:55 PM local time and arrives in Rome at 4:40 AM. It departs FCO at 6:00 AM and arrives at New York JFK at 9:40 AM. Similarly, flight AI105 departs Delhi at 11:00 PM and reaches Rome at 4:40 AM. It leaves FCO at 6:00 AM and arrives at Newark at 9:30 AM. Both services are operated by the A350-900. The return flights to Delhi continue to operate nonstop, taking around 16 hours. The main reason for the difference is the wind. Loading map… Drag to explore Aircraft flying from India toward New York can face strong headwinds, especially during the winter months. The return flights travel in the opposite direction and can benefit from those same winds as tailwinds. During winter, winds along the westbound route can reach 100 to 150 knots or even more when the jet stream is particularly strong. For an aircraft flying towards New York, that means it is effectively flying against a very strong flow of air for much of the journey. The aircraft therefore has to use more fuel to maintain its planned speed, and the flight can take several hours longer than the eastbound sector. According to Cirium schedule data, Air India has scheduled the nonstop DEL-JFK and DEL-EWR services from October 25. It remains to be seen whether those flights operate as scheduled or will remain one-stop. More Than 40,000 A350 Flights Are Scheduled For October Credit: JetKat | Shutterstock Overall, airlines have scheduled more than 40,000 flights using the A350 in October. Qatar Airways has the highest number of scheduled A350 flights this month, around 3,854. The airline is using the Airbus widebody on several of its long-haul routes, including several where it has multiple departures (two to three) each way. These include Doha to Jakarta, Bali, Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Singapore, Johannesburg, and Dallas/Fort Worth. Singapore Airlines has also scheduled over 3,800 A350 flights in October. Its Singapore-Jakarta route has as many as seven A350 departures in one direction. It has also scheduled four daily A350 flights each way between Singapore and Brisbane, along with three on routes to Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur. Japan Airlines has the third-highest number of scheduled A350 flights this month, but it is using the type heavily on some of its domestic routes. The airline has scheduled more than ten A350 departures in one direction between Tokyo Haneda and Sapporo, as well as between Tokyo Haneda and Fukuoka. Both routes are less than 600 miles (966 km) long and take less than two hours.