The ultra-long-haul payload penalty

What Singapore Airlines gave up to fly nonstop to New York, in its own two Airbus A350-900 fleets

MetricA350-900 (standard, SQ long-haul)A350-900ULR (SQ)
Total seats253161
Business4267
Premium economy2494
Economy187None
Seats lost versus standard92 (about 36 per cent)
Quoted maximum rangeAbout 8,100–8,300 nm9,700 nm
Where the extra range comes fromModified fuel system inside the existing tanks. No auxiliary tanks were added.
Design missionLong-haul network flyingUp to about 20 hours airborne

Source: Airbus and Singapore Airlines fleet data; SQ cabin configurations as published. Airbus range figures for the standard A350-900 have risen with successive maximum takeoff weight increases, so quoted values vary by source and year.

Afterburner — MiGFlug’s Magazine · migflug.com