REVIEW: Flying Business Class on Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER
The route: London to Singapore (LON-SIN) on SQ321
Pre-flight
Download the app and have some fun with it. Put in your booking reference and away you go, Book the Cook, download newspapers and magazines and be regularly updated on your
flight's status and where your luggage will turn up. It also will display flights on other airlines that are part of your trip with a booking reference entered. After close to three years of no international travel for me, the ubiquity and improved usability of apps for airlines and other parts of the travel system is very apparent.
The Heathrow experience
Plan your trip to the airport carefully, it took one hour 40 minutes to get from Paddington station aboard the Heathrow Express (25 booked the same day) to the lounge in Terminal 2 of Heathrow. You will work up an appetite as there's about 45 minutes of walking in total to the lounge entry opposite Gate B44. Heathrow was not particularly busy on a Tuesday afternoon in early September when we went through. Lines through the stringent security were short. Terminal 2 itself is known as the Queen's Terminal, relatively new with some good airside shopping options but there are long distances to cover between piers.
Singapore Airlines' Lounge
Entry opposite is opposite B44. It has a view of an airfield apron from some seats, a good range of snacks and substantial meals. It's hard to beat the substantially remodelled range of lounges at the airline's Singapore hub at Changi where close to $55 million has been spent during the past two years creating some special spaces from Kris Flyer and the Star Alliance lounge through to the Private Room. Still, the London lounge has five very roomy showers (which were all operating when I was there), ample comfortable seating for working (eight private booths are excellent for this), or relaxing. It was busy between 7pm and 9.30pm.
Boarding
It was a short walk from the lounge but a bit of a scrum for many passengers. Airlines can't control everything on the ground, especially in ports far from their hubs.
The plane
A Boeing 777-300ER which Singapore Airlines has been flying for more than a decade. The big wide bodies are the oldest in the airline's fleet and eight out of 26 planes haven't been brought back from pandemic storage yet, according to Planespotters. It was, however, in good nick for an older aircraft.
Cabin configuration
Business is a 1-2-1 layout with all seats having aisle access.
The seat
I was in 23K, a window seat at the back of the cabin. First unveiled the 2013 the seat really is a throne, it's a big friendly bear of a seat that even a reasonably large person has 15cm of with spare. It is said to be the widest seat in the sky. It is simple to operate and forward facing with wings providing as much privacy as you want but by leaning forward you're able to easily talk to a fellow traveller in the middle section and across the aisle. This is where it has it all over Air New Zealand's existing herringbone Business Premier seats, something noted by the airline's boss Greg Foran earlier this year. The Singapore Airlines seats are all forward facing and views out of two windows with the notable exception of rows 19 and 21 which don't have windows.
From an easily reached control panel in the armrest of the simple to a follow recline at 132 degrees and features an improved ergonomic seat cushion. When converted to a bed (easily enough yourself or getting the help of the ever-obliging crew, it is 79 inches (2m) long. Wide at the top, it tapers to an alcove where your feet are.
The seat also features a padded headboard cushion and two new seating positions - 'Lazy Z' and 'Sundeck' - these followed research and feedback from customers. You have shoe or bag storage on the floor, a big storage area in what is the foot alcove when sleeping. Next to the LCD screen, there's a mirror behind a sliding cover and a roomy cupboard behind another sliding door, ideal for valuables such as a passport and big enough for a camera as well. There's an alcove over your shoulder for your laptop or it sits more comfortably on the floor beneath part of the seat. In summary, there's more storage than the most haphazard working traveller needs and the pop-out table is to height adjustable so you'll find a good ergonomic position.
On the job
What the airline describes as an all-in-one business panel which is a bit of a twist to your right or left includes a three-point plug, (no adaptor required), and a choice of USB ports. It has a floodlight reading light and the LCD monitor on/off switch. Inflight Wi-Fi is simple to join through Safari and free for Business Class passengers to 100MB. It gets tricky with reliability and is blocked by some countries you'll overfly so keep on checking. Mine was erratic but to be fair I was on holiday so had no pressing work commitments. Add a premium package for US$16 if you're in the depths of a big work project.
Food and drink
Passengers are offered a glass of juice or Champagne prior to takeoff, nuts and a drink soon after wheels up and one hour 15 mins minutes into the flight the main meal, supper, was served. This is the main meal and where your Book the Cook is served out - so it's a big meal early in the flight. The airline's catering chiefs told me during a stopover in Singapore that the greater number of customers in premium cabins are not only savouring more of a revamped menu, they're hitting the drinks trolley harder as they celebrate. When masks were required (the rule was dropped between my flights in August and September) passengers could graze and imbibe without wearing them and this encouraged more consumption.
You'll dine in a restaurant-style setting onboard with full table service, and a wide range of wines and non-alcoholic drinks to match. The Book the Cook service is available up to 24 hours before you fly. I would recommend trying the food for the Singapore hawker range – the airline persuaded a dozen street food vendors to share their secret recipes with great result. Here's a peak at the menu for those ordering a la carte:
The extras
The amenity kit is available on request and is well worth asking for. British perfumer Penhaligon's Quercus range includes hand lotion, facial mist and facial mist.
There's also slippers, socks, an eyeshade, hair brush and ear plugs for you and in the two bathrooms for Business Class there are dental and shaving kits (and more Penhaligon product).
The flight
Pushback was delayed 30 minutes - Heathrow's horror summer meant a slot was available. We made up the time on the 11,467km flight. It's lights out at about 12.30am after supper and the cabin was stirring about six hours later. We landed at Changi just five minutes later than scheduled.
Entertainment
There are 1800 entertainment options – movies, television programmes, music, games and apps – a video touchscreen handset, and an 18-inch HD enabled personal LCD screen with noise-cancelling headphones (there are two sockets for these - one in the armrest and one behind your elbow). The live news channels are great.
Baggage
Up to 40kg and your luggage carries priority stickers.
(A note on baggage from an earlier flight: Although Singapore Airlines doesn't have codeshare arrangements with Icelandair - which we flew from Heathrow to Reykjavik - the interline agreement ensured smooth ticketing all the way thanks to friendly check-in staff at Changi. Most importantly our luggage made it all the way through and was first on the belt in Iceland in what was a bumpy spell for many travellers.)
The price
A Business Class flight booked six months out from Heathrow to Singapore is listed at just over $6400. You can use KrisFlyer miles to upgrade if you have booked Premium Economy.
Where Business Class fits
The strong recovery of demand for the premium cabins came at a great time for Singapore Airlines. The 70-year-old carrier was one of the hardest hit in the early stages of the pandemic, down to 4 per cent of capacity before benefiting from a surge in demand when borders reopened from late last year. It had kept its operations recovery-ready by rotating planes and crew on cargo flights and taking a punt on bringing back most of its parked-up A380s months well ahead of reopening. Following heavy losses, it has turned an operational profit in the first quarter of the financial year. And demand for the front of the plane is helping
I was a guest of Singapore Airlines whose senior vice president marketing planning, Jo-Ann Tan said during a briefing that premium cabin demand was slightly higher than before the pandemic. That's apparent. There were few empty seats on our flights. While corporates are tracking behind the general population, she says that those who said travel by businesses was dead are wrong. ''We're also seeing that with leisure and revenge travel people are willing to spend a little bit more because they've had two and a half years of savings. Some also were willing to spend more for more space because of health fears,'' Tan said.
The verdict
Greg Foran has done a bit of travelling and rightly identified Singapore Airlines' product as something to admire. The Business Class experience on this flight was impressive.
New seats, bigger screens and legroom plus a luxury business premier option.