Aviation

United launches longest flight to or from US, from LA to Singapore

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United Airlines on Friday was set to launch the longest non-stop flight to or from the United States, an 8,700-mile (14,001-kilometer) journey connecting Los Angeles and Singapore. The nearly 18-hour flight will depart Los Angeles at 9:25 pm local time and will land on Sunday in Singapore at 6:20 am local time.

United officials said the daily service will be the longest non-stop flight from the US to anywhere in the world. Previously, the record was held by Qantas, which operates an 8,576-mile flight between Dallas and Sydney, as well as United’s San Francisco-Singapore route (8,446 miles) launched last year.

Both of United’s Los Angeles and San Francisco routes are operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that can accommodate some 250 passengers. David Hilfman, United’s senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, said the new route will consolidate the airline’s position in Asia, with Singapore a key destination for business travelers.

Aviation

No More Jet Airways. Supreme Court Says “No Choice”, Orders Liquidation

Jet Airways was once one of India’s leading airlines, known for its service and extensive network. Founded in 1993, it served millions of passengers, connecting cities across India and international destinations.

However, since grounding its flights in April 2019, Jet Airways has struggled to navigate financial turbulence, leading to years of efforts to revive the airline and return it to the skies.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways, citing “no choice” but to take this decisive step after the resolution plan failed to meet creditor obligations. The court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142, which allows it to make orders for “complete justice” in any case, overriding previous tribunal rulings.

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The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC), which had won the bid to revive Jet, faced criticism for not fulfilling payment commitments to creditors, which included major banks like the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank.

The Supreme Court’s ruling pointed to “peculiar and alarming” issues surrounding the resolution plan’s implementation, leading to its conclusion that liquidation was the only feasible outcome.

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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized that while liquidation should be a last resort, it was necessary as the resolution plan was “no longer capable of implementation.”

In line with this decision, the court ordered that the ₹200 crore already infused by JKC be forfeited and directed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Mumbai to appoint a liquidator to oversee the process.

JKC, a partnership between Murari Jalan, a UAE-based Indian entrepreneur, and Florian Fritsch, a Jet shareholder through Kalrock Capital Partners Limited, had taken ownership of Jet Airways two years after it was grounded. The consortium’s inability to fulfill its financial obligations has now led to this final verdict, marking the end of an era for Jet Airways in India.