American Airlines is reportedly mulling a return to Singapore — this time as an ultra-longhaul nonstop from Los Angeles. Aviation insider JonNYC has flagged early talk of an LAX–SIN route, and American's chief commercial officer Nat Pieper has told staff the carrier wants to rebuild longhaul flying from Los Angeles as new Boeing 787-9s arrive. Nothing is on sale, no schedule has been filed, but the idea alone is striking given American's history here.

The airline once tried hard to make LAX a gateway to Asia, flying to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney. That strategy collapsed before and during the pandemic, with network planners admitting bluntly that too many Asian carriers served LA for American to stand out or turn a profit. American last served Singapore via Tokyo Narita, dropping it back in 2001 — so a nonstop would be both a 25-year comeback and a completely different playbook.

The scepticism writes itself: Singapore Airlines already flies the route nonstop with a strong product, a beloved brand, and easy onward connections across Southeast Asia. American would land with no local hub, no joint-venture partner, and little help from oneworld in Singapore, relying mostly on LA-origin traffic and connections over its domestic network. If it couldn't make Hong Kong or Shanghai work, why would an 8,770-mile route approaching 18 hours be different? Delta, notably, has also expressed interest in returning to Singapore — and if both US carriers pile in, added capacity could deflate the premium fares these routes depend on.

What's changed is the aircraft. American's new 787-9 carries 51 Flagship Suite business seats with closing doors, 32 premium economy seats and 161 in economy — a far more premium-heavy configuration than its older Dreamliners, and arguably the only kind of cabin mix that could make such a demanding route pay. A nicer seat helps, though filling 51 business beds daily against Singapore Airlines' loyal corporate base is a taller order.

Why should travellers care? If this happens, it means more competition on one of the world's longest routes, plus a genuinely appealing new business class product as an alternative to Singapore Airlines. For now, treat it as a rumour worth watching rather than a flight to book.

Story via Live and Let's Fly.