Swiss International Air Lines has announced it will introduce a daily direct flight between Zurich and Singapore beginning May, 2013.

The new service will add an additional 1,500 one-way seats per week to the route, increasing total capacity by 54 percent.

Operated by the carrier’s 219-passenger A340 aircraft in a three-class configuration, the service marks a return of sorts to the city-state for Swiss, which for decades operated a six-weekly Zurich-Singapore service via Bangkok until its cancellation in 2009.

The flight will be open for reservation from October 8. The westbound LX 179 service will depart from Singapore at 11.05 p.m. and touchdown in Zurich at 6.10 a.m. the following day, almost two hours ahead of its Singapore Airlines counterpart. The eastbound LX 178 will leave Zurich at 10.45 p.m. and arrive in Singapore at 5.10 p.m. the following day.

Singapore is the Swiss flag carrier’s eighth destination in Asia.