-Why did EWR get the nonstop rather than JFK? Seems JFK is a bit more preferred by more New Yorkers. Granted, it depends where you are coming from. We are on Long Island, and the trip to and from EWR seemed more arduous than the 18.5 hour flight.
I read somewhere that Newark got the nonstop because the JFK-FRA 5th freedom leg of SQ's JFK-FRA-SIN service was doing very well, while the EWR-AMS 5th freedom leg of SQ's previous Newark service wasn't doing well at all. Not terribly surprising - I would imagine that there would be far more demand for JFK-FRA tickets than EWR-AMS. IMO, It's just as well; I've been to both JFK and Newark and found that Newark is smaller and easier to manage than JFK. Also remember that JFK has far fewer connecting domestic flights than Newark, so if your journey begins or ends in a place other than New York, it's probably easier to go through Newark.
As for routing, our EWR-SIN flight cross the Atlantic and went through Europe (over Germany is one part I recall). The route continued through Kabul and Delhi on the way to SIN.
Even though you'd be going with the prevailing winds, this route is considerably longer distance-wise than going over the North Pole. Because of the added distance of this routing, are there payload restrictions?