Are we there yet?

THE 17+ hour non-stop flight is not for everyone, but airlines are now taking on the longest routes ever, as lower fuel prices and more efficient aircraft make the ultra-long-haul sector feasible.

Singapore Airlines' 18hr 45min flight to New York will be the world's longest when it takes off in October, overtaking Qatar's 17h 30min Doha-Auckland route. And Qantas is working on a Sydney-New York flight which would top the threshold at 22 hours.

While the prestige gives carriers an edge in the ever-more competitive market, will this challenging sector be viable? Find out in Brunch this Saturday in The Business Times Weekend.

Our Raffles Conversation is with JLL global CEO Christian Ulbrich, on how the real estate giant is riding the digital wave.

With the recent sell-off in emerging market debt, is this sector now worth a look? Our Fund Watch column explores the EM bond space. Elsewhere in the Investing & Wealth section, CFA Singapore Insights weighs in on dual class share IPOs and asks: will they help stock exchanges find their mojo?

Why do some people thrive when it's crunch time and some people fall apart? This week, Cubicle Files looks at why we get performance anxiety and what we can do to perform when the stakes are high.

Sass & The City walks on the dark side of working for startups, where the gloss of newness can hide predatory behaviour within.

The Steering Column, meanwhile, drives the Kia's Cerato 1.6 and reports that it is, indeed, good for the Seoul.

Those of us who put pen to paper every now and then will appreciate that a good ballpoint pen can make a real difference. Cult Status points you in the write direction.

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