HOUSTON — Singapore Airlines and Houston Airports celebrated the launch of the airline’s new route Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, when the inaugural flight between Manchester Airport in England and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston touched down.

The new service is Singapore Airlines’ first transatlantic flight between the United States and the United Kingdom. Singapore Airlines will operate the route using a 278-passenger Boeing B777-300Extended Range aircraft, configured with 8 seats in first class, 42 in business class, and 228 in economy class.

“Houston Airports strives to be a world-class global gateway, and to do that we need both a commitment from our people, and a commitment to continued growth, continued investment, and continued excellence from our airline partners,” George Bush Intercontinental General Manager Ted Kitchens said at the celebration. “Today’s inaugural flight from Manchester is yet another example of how Singapore Airlines is committed to not just meeting, but exceeding passenger needs and expectations. We congratulate Singapore Airlines on its first transatlantic flight to the United Kingdom today, and look forward to a continued successful partnership in the future.”

The new route replaces the previous Houston to Singapore via Moscow operation. Singapore Airlines now offers five weekly flights from Houston to Manchester, each with continuing service to Singapore Changi Airport, where travelers have convenient connection options to more than 50 destinations throughout Asia. Travelers flying Singapore Airlines to Manchester also can take advantage of new connections to Paris, Milan and Amsterdam via the carrier’s partnership with Flybe, providing seamless single-ticketing to these three popular European destinations.

“We are excited to offer Texans the only nonstop flights from Houston to Manchester,” said Mr. Sek Eng Lee, regional vice president for Singapore Airlines at the company’s send-off for the first flight.  “Houstonians now have the option of the industry’s most awarded inflight experience, not only to Singapore and Southeast Asia, but also to Northern England for the first time.”

The new Houston-to-Manchester service is being launched concurrently with Singapore Airlines’ resumption of nonstop flights from the U.S. to Singapore and expanded operations in Los Angeles.  

Consistently rated the world’s best airline by the readers of both Conde Nast Traveler and Travel+Leisure magazines in their annual surveys, Singapore Airlines strives for industry-leading excellence in passenger service.

For details and to book, visit www.singaporeair.com.

Video of remarks from event available here.