The Airbus A350-900 is a truly impressive aircraft. Its advanced technological features have allowed it to have unmatched range. That makes it perfect for Asian operators, who demand an aircraft that can make extremely long non-stop flights.
To illustrate the vast number of long-haul flights operated by A350-900 carriers, Simple Flying has procured Cirium data showing the top 18 A350-900 routes by length, of which this article focuses on the top ten. Read on to discover what the data shows, before we go into depth on the operators that have the most representation in the data, and how they have been able to use the A350 to offer their customers uniquely long nonstop flights.
What Does The Data Show?
The longest route flying the A350-900 this year is Singapore Airlines’ flight from Singapore Changi to John F. Kennedy International. The carrier also has the same number of flights each month from Singapore Changi to Newark. However, this route is a handful of miles shorter. Next in the list is China Southern Airlines’ 8,778-mile flight from Shenzhen Bao’an International to Mexico City. This route only occurs twice a month using A350s. However, the data is ordered only by average distance, so a single flight would be enough.
The table below includes the full data set for the ten longest A350-900 routes in 2025. The final route in the top ten is Vietnam Airlines flight from Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Intl (SGN) to San Francisco. The table after that includes the following eight longest A350 routes in 2025. It utilizes data that Simple Flying has procured from Cirium:
|
Airline |
Origin Airport |
Destination Airport |
Flights |
Seats |
ASMs |
Average Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Singapore Airlines |
John F. Kennedy Intl (JFK) |
Singapore Changi (SIN) |
31 |
4,991 |
47,349,617 |
9,487 |
|
Singapore Airlines |
Newark Liberty Intl (EWR) |
Singapore Changi (SIN) |
31 |
4,991 |
47,334,644 |
9,484 |
|
China Southern Airlines |
Shenzhen Bao’an Intl (SZX) |
Mexico City Intl (MEX) |
2 |
420 |
3,686,760 |
8,778 |
|
Singapore Airlines |
Los Angeles Intl (LAX) |
Singapore Changi (SIN) |
45 |
11,385 |
99,709,830 |
8,753 |
|
Singapore Airlines |
San Francisco Intl (SFO) |
Singapore Changi (SIN) |
62 |
12,834 |
108,318,960 |
8,440 |
|
Delta Air Lines |
Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Intl (JNB) |
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Intl (ATL) |
29 |
7,975 |
67,253,175 |
8,433 |
|
Delta Air Lines |
Cape Town Intl (CPT) |
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Intl (ATL) |
15 |
4,125 |
33,523,875 |
8,127 |
|
Cathay Pacific |
Hong Kong Intl (HKG) |
John F. Kennedy Intl (JFK) |
22 |
6,160 |
49,711,200 |
8,070 |
|
Singapore Airlines |
Singapore Changi (SIN) |
Seattle–Tacoma Intl (SEA) |
22 |
5,566 |
44,906,488 |
8,068 |
|
Vietnam Airlines |
Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Intl (SGN) |
San Francisco Intl (SFO) |
17 |
5,185 |
40,634,845 |
7,837 |
|
Cathay Pacific |
Hong Kong Intl (HKG) |
Toronto Pearson Intl (YYZ) |
1 |
280 |
2,186,520 |
7,809 |
|
Delta Air Lines |
Los Angeles Intl (LAX) |
Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD) |
31 |
9,176 |
68,700,712 |
7,487 |
|
Qatar Airways |
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Intl (ATL) |
Doha Hamad Intl (DOH) |
5 |
1,415 |
10,554,485 |
7,459 |
|
China Southern Airlines |
Tijuana Intl (TIJ) |
Shenzhen Bao’an Intl (SZX) |
2 |
364 |
2,684,136 |
7,374 |
|
Air India |
Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL) |
Newark Liberty Intl (EWR) |
17 |
5,372 |
39,339,156 |
7,323 |
|
Air India |
John F. Kennedy Intl (JFK) |
Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL) |
27 |
8,532 |
62,428,644 |
7,317 |
|
Air France |
Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) |
Santiago Arturo Merino Benítez Intl (SCL) |
38 |
12,312 |
89,126,568 |
7,239 |
|
Sichuan Airlines |
Chengdu Tianfu Intl (TFU) |
Los Angeles Intl (LAX) |
13 |
4,329 |
31,194,774 |
7,206 |
Fourth and fifth in the data is Singapore Airlines’ flights again, this time from Singapore Changi to the US West Coast: Los Angeles and San Francisco. The flight to LA is about 300 miles longer than to San Francisco. Both of these routes have a fairly high frequency. The sixth and seventh spots belong to Delta Air Lines for the carrier’s flights from Hartsfield-Jackson International to South African destinations. These routes are also well over 8,000 miles.
Singapore Airlines’ A350 Dominance
One of the most immediately apparent observations one makes from this data is the extreme prevalence of Singapore Airlines. The Asian carrier features on half of the top ten, although it isn’t seen any further in the top 18. The routes flown by the carrier in the top ten for A350-900 length in 2025 range from 8,068 miles to almost 9,500 miles. The carrier’s longest flight to JFK is considered the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight. The carrier operates one flight in each direction each day, despite the revolutionary nature of this trip.
Both Singapore’s flights to New York use the A350-900ULR, a configuration of A350 built specifically for the airline. This jet has additional fuel tanks installed, and only offers business and premium economy classes. The lack of economy class saves weight, further boosting the range.
Goh Choon Phong, Singapore Airlines’ CEO when the carrier received its A350-900ULRs, said when the first A350-900ULR was delivered:
“This is a proud moment for both Singapore Airlines and Airbus, not only because we have again strengthened our partnership, but also because we have pushed the limits with this highly advanced new aircraft to extend long‑range flying to new lengths.”
Delta Makes A Surprise Appearance
The top ten is dominated by Asian carriers. Only Delta breaks this pattern, which continues into the top-18 with only Air France adding to the non-Asian outliers. The US carrier has earned its place on the list with flights from Atlanta to Johannesburg (7,333 nautical miles/13,581 km) and Cape Town (7,065 nautical miles/13,084 km).
Unexpectedly, these are not the longest flights that Delta has ever flown, with the Boeing 777-200LR route from Atlanta to Mumbai, served from 2008 to 2009, averaging 7,395 nautical miles (13,696 km). Delta operates its long A350 routes using A350-900s across three layouts.
The ‘359’ layout is in place on the first 15 A350s the airline received (2017-2022). These aircraft have 32 Delta One, 48 Premium Select, 36 Comfort+ and 190 Economy seats for a capacity of 306. Next came the 35L layout, for which Delta has just two A350s. This is the highest capacity layout, with 339 seats across Delta One and Economy Class. Finally, the lowest capacity A350 layout is the most recent. Delta has 21 of these jets – all four classes are available, and the aircraft has a capacity of 275.
Cathay Pacific’s Longest A350 Route Doesn’t Use The -900
Avid Simple Flying readers or regular Cathay Pacific travelers may be surprised to see that the 15-hour 25-minute Cathay Pacific service from Hong Kong to Boston is not featured in our data. Simple Flying’s Dr Omar Memon previously listed this as the longest service, but the implication from the Cirium data is that the airline will be operating this service with the A350-1000.
Instead, Cathay Pacific’s inclusion in this top ten is from Hong Kong to JFK. Expanding the scope to the entire top-18 means including the slightly shorter service from Hong Kong to Toronto. The table below includes the fleet numbers for all of Cathay Pacific’s current widebody fleet and its orders across both passenger and cargo aircraft:
|
Aircraft Variant |
Number in Fleet |
Orders |
|---|---|---|
|
Airbus A330-900 |
30 |
|
|
Airbus A350-900 |
30 |
|
|
Airbus A350-1000 |
18 |
|
|
Boeing 777-300 |
17 |
|
|
Boeing 777-300ER |
35 |
|
|
Boeing 777-9 |
35 |
|
|
Airbus A350F |
6 |
|
|
Boeing 747-400ERF |
6 |
|
|
Boeing 747-8F |
14 |
The service from JFK to Hong Kong is the New York airport’s fourth-longest route. It has operated this route up to three times a day, and, weather dependent, can have flight times blocked up to 16 hours and 25 minutes. One flight uses the Boeing 777-300ER, while the other two use a three-class A350-1000 and A350-900. Both Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific feature on lists of the longest non-stop routes involving JFK. However, they will both be surpassed when Qantas’ Project Sunrise finally comes to pass, with a regular service to Sydney featured in the plans.
What Makes The A350-900 Ideal For Such Long-Haul Aviation
Each one of the services in the top-ten longest A350-900 routes in 2025 list is facilitated by the jet’s incredible range. Simple Flying’s Prachi Patel ascribes the A350’s range to its advanced aerodynamics, lightweight materials, and next-generation engines.
The A350-900 begins with a clean-sheet designed airframe, making use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer fuselage and wings featured in over half of the overall structure. The wings take an advanced shape, with a high aspect ratio and advanced winglets, allowing them to maintain lift while reducing drag. The combination of these technologies has allowed Airbus to say that the A350 family boasts a 25% fuel efficiency improvement on previous-generation long-haul widebody jets.
The A350 family’s advanced design has contributed to impressive commercial success. Ch-aviation data states that there are 645 A350s currently in service. The vast majority, 528, are -900s. Meanwhile, 97 are the largest -1000 variant and seven are -900ULRs. Singapore Airlines simultaneously flies the A350 the furthest and is the largest operator. This carrier has all seven A350-900ULRs, 58 -900s, and has a further seven A350 freighters on order. Airbus continues to have plenty of these jets on order, and has plans to raise production to 12 A350s a month by 2028.


