Passengers are welcomed with luxurious drinks such as Piper Heidsieck champagne and can also choose classic cocktails like the Singapore Sling. Photo / Supplied
Passengers are welcomed with luxurious drinks such as Piper Heidsieck champagne and can also choose classic cocktails like the Singapore Sling. Photo / Supplied
Visas and requirements: New Zealanders can transit through Singapore with no visa or Covid documentation, and stay in the country for up to 90 days without a visa.
Departure airport experience: Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport is huge and sprawling, with a slightly intimidating feel - lots of police, unfriendly Customs officers and cleaning staff begging in the toilets. The immigration queue was long and slow-moving. With many people joining the queue who were about to miss their flights, things became quite shambolic – lots of cutting in and jumping ahead. After 45 minutes I was through to the departures hall, where things felt much nicer - many souvenir shops with local handicrafts and clothing.
The Business Class seats on Singapore Airlines' A350-900 are finished in Scottish leather and offer a 132-degree seat recline for extra comfort when upright. Photo / Supplied
Seat: I flew Business Class and was highly impressed by the entire experience. There are 40 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 configured cabin. Each seat is comfortable, spacious, private and with all the tech you need whether travelling for business or pleasure. USB and universal plug sockets, cubby holes for storing your personal bits and pieces, large windows, and an in-built mirror were all thoughtful features that added to the luxury.
Seats are finished in Scottish leather, with curved back and 132-degree seat recline, for extra comfort. They’re easily converted into lie-flat beds at the touch of a button, with ergonomically designed seat cushion, lightweight duvet and a high quality pillow stored ready for use.
There’s a car-style seat belt so you can strap yourself in when lying down but still be comfortable.
In short, it’s one of the most luxe Business Class seats you’ll ever experience. I got hours of sleep on both flights, meaning my jetlag was relatively minimal when back in Auckland.
Crew: Professional, immaculately presented, and very helpful, throughout both legs of the journey. Extra points to the Singapore to Auckland crew, who saw me outside the airport in Auckland and still remembered my name. “Bye Ms Holmes! Welcome home!” they chorused, as they made their way to their transfer bus while I waited for my Uber.
Food and drink: It should come as no surprise for the national airline of a country with 55 Michelin star restaurants, that food and drink on board is top notch. Book the Cook is available up to 24 hours before flying, where you can pre-book specialty items over and above the usual menu, including lobster thermidor, Singapore laksa, Nasi biryani and grilled Angus beef burgers. You can also opt to skip meals – notifying in advance helps to reduce food waste and your carbon footprint.
I did just this for the second leg of my journey, as we were taking off after 10pm Singapore time, which is 2am NZ time, and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible. It didn’t stop me enjoying a few glasses of Piper Heidsieck Champagne though, naturally.
As well as expensive bubbles, you can also choose from fine French wines, spirits and classic cocktails, like the Singapore Sling.
Entertainment: Business Class passengers can enjoy up to 1800 entertainment options, including movies, TV box sets, music, games and apps, all on an 18-inch HD LCD TV screen, with noise-cancelling headphones provided. You can also use free Wi-Fi, if you need to clear emails or send humble-brag messages to friends and family back home.
Arrival Airport Experience: I had a long layover at Singapore’s Changi Airport, so had booked a room at Yotel to freshen up and get a few hours sleep. This is “landside” at the hotel, so I needed to clear immigration. To do this, I needed to complete a traveller declaration form, which was easy – I scanned a QR code on my mobile phone, then filled out the online form. There’s fast, reliable, free airport Wi-Fi to use to do this. If you’re not travelling with a smartphone, you can use a self-service kiosk to fill this out.
Once through to the other side, it took me a little while to locate the hotel, but I was soon checked in and lying down in a very comfortable bed. I had a few hours sleep, then spent the rest of the day wandering Changi’s terminals and attractions, before making my way back through immigration, taking the Skytrain to Terminal 3, and spending the rest of my layover in Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer lounge, which is an absolute delight.
Here, I made good use of the wide range of food options available, starting off with some cheese and crackers, then a made-to-order laksa, followed by fresh fruit. I ate enough to enable me to skip dinner on the plane from Singapore to Auckland so I could get more sleep.
The seats can easily be converted into lie-flat beds at the touch of a button, ensuring maximum comfort for sleep during the flight. Photo / Supplied
Arriving in Auckland at midday, the airport was busy but running smoothly – I was quickly through immigration and my suitcase arrived promptly. The biosecurity queue was fast-moving, but I had a few delays with my declared goods – boots that had been worn in wilderness areas on safari, and packaged food. Don’t make the same mistake I did – you can’t bring meat products into New Zealand from South Africa. So the $40 of biltong from OR Tambo went straight in the bin.
The best bit: The comfort of the lie-flat bed. I could have stayed there for much longer.
The worst bit: Trying to work out what’s more important - staying awake to enjoy the service, food, entertainment and luxury of being in Business, or taking the time to lie down and go to sleep. For me, sleep always wins.
Final verdict: Everything you want from a Business Class experience, and more.
