Leaving on a jet plane, but when will we arrive?

A STEADY drive south from New York on the I-95 with minimal breaks for Savannah's historic district or a juicy Arby's roast beef sandwich will get you to balmy Miami in about 18 hours. It's a long haul on arrow-straight freeways negotiating traffic and, perhaps, a spot of enlivening road rage. It begs the obvious question, "Aren't there easier places to get to with a coconut tree and a pink bikini?" Like Singapore.

In fact, on the new Singapore Airlines (SIA) A350-900 service from The Big Apple to Lion City with an official block time (chocks-off to gate) of 18 hours and 40 minutes, the flight can be completed in less. Buoyed by tailwinds, the inaugural flight on Nov 9 from Singapore to JFK touched down in less than 17 hours to take on the mantle of the world's longest flight currently in operation.

This was a mammoth undertaking for a crew of four pilots and a few passengers as the plane cut through the skies skirting Japan, Anchorage and Chicago to complete 15,348km burning 97.5 tonnes of aviation fuel.