My Business Class Experience with Singapore Airlines
On my recent trip to the United States, I booked myself on the world’s second longest flight operated by Singapore Airlines from New York (Newark Airport) to Singapore. It is an 18 hours 45 mins flight and I thought it would be the best opportunity to experience the business class product onboard.
Long haul business class seat on Singapore Airlines’ A350 Ultra Long Range plane.
Singapore Airlines (SQ) business class is broadly separated into three categories - long haul, A-380 business and regional. The airline also offers business class on its 737-8 Max planes., which ply short regional routes. I have always wanted to experience their long haul business class product with the widest seat compared to their other seat configurations.
Singapore Airlines regional business class aboard the A350 and B787 variants. (Screenshot from Singaporeair.com)
Business class on Singapore Airlines’ A-380.
My business class experience started from the British Airways Lounge, which is located one floor up the departure gates in Newark Airport Terminal B. The food varieties were pretty basic and I had fruits and yogurt for my breakfast as I was looking forward to enjoy my book-the-cook meals on the plane. Nevertheless, the lounge is quite spacious and offers stunning views of the tarmac for plane spotting. It seemed SQ passengers were the only group of customers in the lounge at that time, probably due to it being one of only three flights that the lounge is catering for in the morning. SQ return flight to Singapore departs daily from Newark Airport at 9.35am. I did not need to worry of missing my flight because the lounge staff will make an announcement to ask passengers to proceed to the gate for boarding, which only took about 5 minutes to get there.
The view of the tarmac inside British Airways Lounge at Newark Airport Terminal B.
Singapore Airlines operates the A350-900 Ultra Long Range planes between Singapore and Newark sector. The other sectors that use the same plane type are to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York (John F. Kennedy). It only has two classes of travel - business and premium economy. New York is served generally by three airports - John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia and Newark. JFK and LaGuardia are located in Queens whilst Newark is located in New Jersey. In terms of convenience, flying from JFK makes more sense as it is nearer to Manhattan than Newark. On the other hand, Newark offers a quieter and faster immigration clearance than JFK since lesser people would go there.
The whole SQ business class experience truly began once I stepped onto the plane. My seat was at 10A a bulkhead seat, which offers much better legroom compared to other seats in the business class cabins. There are a total of eight bulkhead seats, four of which are aisle seats and the rest middle seats. They are usually reserve for the airline’s priority customers like PPS club members, as well as passengers travelling with a baby. But surprisingly, it was available to select online at the time, when I was reserving my seat. One possible theory is it is very close to the business class galley, which turns into a hive of activities when the meal service starts. The crew pulls out the curtains after take-off but it is not soundproof. It didn’t bother me much as their noise cancelling headphones works wonders.
One of eight bulkhead seats on the plane.
The service started with a welcome drink - a selection of water, cloudy apple or orange juice. I chose the cloudy apple juice. A leading stewardess came to my seat to confirm the two meals I have pre-booked via the book-the-cook - pan roasted veal cutlet and slow roasted beef fillet, and my preferred drink on this flight. I would strongly recommend to pre-order your meals cause you would usually be the first group of passengers to be served. Between the two book-the-cook option, I loved the pan roasted veal that was very juicy and tender. It also came with an assortment of mushrooms and vegetables. Dessert choices were cakes, fruits and ice cream. I chose the last option and it was ready to eat, which was very much appreciated because you usually have to wait quite awhile before you can start digging into it.
Pan roasted veal cutlet pre-booked using the Book-the-Cook service.
Slow roasted beef fillet, which could also be pre-booked via the Book-the-Cook service.
During mid-flight the lead stewardess came to offer a variety of snacks, but I was thinking of noodles and decided to ask her if she could offer me instant cup noodles instead. After about 10 minutes, she came over with a bowl of noodle soup with slices of chicken, a stalk of kai lan and corn. It also came with asian style chili condiments and a glass of water and apple juice. It warmed my stomach and I felt very comfortable after that.
Requested an instant cup noodles and was not expecting to receive this.
The seat configuration does not become fully flat and in order to make it into one, I have to flip the back seat down, which also reveals the blanket, pillow and the bed. It was very easy to set it up by myself and I was lying flat on the bed in no time. Since it is a bulkhead seat, I did not have to squeeze my legs into the footwell underneath the TV screen, and have lots of freedom to move around. During the mid flight meal and last meal before landing, I could easily have my meal on the tray table that could be adjusted up and down and towards or away from my seated position. Together with the plushy pillows, I sat comfortably on my fully flat seat having my meals and watching shows on the 18-inch screen. I managed to sleep three times during the flight, each time about 2-3 hours. Having had the opportunity to experience SQ’s A380 business and regional products prior to this one, the long haul product is my favourite.
The business class lie flat bed on the A350. One has to flip the back seat over to reveal the bed. (Photo from HeadforPoints.com)
Overall, my business class experience has been exceptional. In my opinion, there are three things that separates SQ from the other airlines - customer service, people and image. Customer service is the most important one among the three. This is the most direct connection that customers can enjoy the airline’s well curated suite of services. It can be meals, beverages, remembering your last name and checking your preferences, turning off the seat lighting if you doze off or resting, and if you are traveling with a kid, how they could make them feel comfortable traveling in a confined environment over a long period of time. Second, SQ steward and stewardesses are willing to go the extra mile to make your time with them a special one. Even though I’ve asked for a simple instant noodles, I was not expecting the lead stewardess to prepare a bowl of noodles with extra toppings. I thought she was very kind and thoughtful, which also left me with a very good impression of the airline. Lastly, the uniform and unique image of the steward and stewardesses gives customers a sense of consistency and familiarity. Unlike other airlines which allow their stewards and stewardesses to change into a different uniform for cabin services, SQ standard uniform design seems to allow stewardesses to work just as efficiently. More importantly, their kebaya uniforms allow customers to immediately identify them from SQ.
Personally, it gives me a sense of home away from home and to others who are not residence of Singapore, a feeling of exceptional service to be expected from SQ. Thus, I feel specially seat features is secondary; the current seat design has been around for more than 10 years but SQ has always been consistently ranked in the top two airlines in the world.
Go and experience Singapore Airline’s business class product at least once, when you have the opportunity.