Short cuts: world’s longest flight and London’s priciest suite

Singapore

Singapore Airlines has confirmed it will reinstate its direct services to New York in October, a route that will be the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight. That honour is currently held by Qatar Airways, whose Doha to Auckland flight covers just over 9,000 miles; Singapore Airlines says its flight will cover 10,377 miles, with up to 18 hours, 45 minutes in the air. The carrier first launched the route in 2004, using a four-engine Airbus A340-500, but despite adopting an all-business class layout in 2008, the high fuel costs made it uneconomic and it was cancelled in 2013. This time, it will use a new Airbus A350-900ULR, an ultra-long-range variant of an existing model, for which the airline is the launch customer. It is due to take delivery of the aeroplane in September, with six more by the end of the year, and will start services on October 11. The two-engine plane, which has a carbon-composite airframe, is more efficient than the older A340 but, given the extra fuel costs of such long routes (because fuel is used carrying the fuel to be burnt later in the flight), Singapore Airlines will attempt to maximise revenue by offering no economy seats. Whereas A350-900 aircraft typically have more than 300 seats, those on the new route will have just 161, comprising 67 in business class and 94 in premium economy. singaporeair.com

London

The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park last week completed a two-year refurbishment that includes the creation of the capital’s most expensive suite. The three-bedroom penthouse suite, which covers 397 square metres and has private terraces overlooking Hyde Park, will cost £42,000 per night. The hotel has remained open during the restoration, which was the most extensive in its 115-year history. All 181 bedrooms and public areas have been redesigned by Joyce Wang, a Hong Kong and London-based practice, taking inspiration, according to the hotel’s owners, “from the glamour of the early 20th century’s Golden Age of travel”. Double rooms cost from £540; mandarinoriental.com

Cumbria

The departure of the first scheduled flights from Carlisle Lake District Airport, originally scheduled for June 4, has been delayed. Stobart Group, the airport’s operator, blamed a “global shortage” of qualified air traffic control staff and said the launch would be postponed until September 3. “This major project to launch air services from a new airport relies not only on the airport’s infrastructure being complete but also on a full complement of essential operational staff being in place,” said Kate Willard, the group’s head of corporate projects. Loganair had been due to begin flights from the airport, six miles north of Carlisle and 16 miles from the Lake District national park, to Dublin, Belfast and Southend. carlisleairport.co.uk

Follow @FTLifeArts on Twitter to find out about our latest stories first. Subscribe to FT Life on YouTube for the latest FT Weekend videos