We were originally scheduled to be on an A380 between Singapore and Melbourne, though due to a schedule change the route is now exclusively operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. Initially I was disappointed at being downgraded from Suites Class to First Class. Then again, for a daytime flight I didn’t think we’d suffer too badly. 😉
Singapore 217
Singapore (SIN) – Melbourne (MEL)
Thursday, November 20
Depart: 10:45AM
Arrive: 9:15PM
Duration: 7hr30min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 1D (First Class)
We boarded through the forward door, where we were greeted by our three person first class crew, including inflight supervisor Vienna, leading stewardess Michelle, and leading steward Jimmy. We weren’t on the plane for more than five seconds before I could tell we were in for an amazing flight. You expect a high level of service from Singapore, but these three were beyond top notch.
We were brought to our seats in row one, where we had the two center seats assigned.
Singapore Airlines first class 777-300ER, seat 1F
Singapore’s first class seats are outrageously wide, almost too much so. I actually don’t love the hard product, since you have to flip the seat over in order to turn it into a bed. I find that to be a bit of a pain, since it means you can’t recline all that far without putting the seat into the fully flat position.
But for a sub-seven hour daytime flight, I think it’s perfectly acceptable. 😉
Singapore Airlines first class 777-300ER, seat 1D
The 777 first class cabin doesn’t have overhead bins, so everything goes underneath the ottoman, where there’s plenty of room. Even for my severely oversized carry-ons.
Singapore Airlines first class seat legroom
The seat and entertainment controls are to the right of the seat, and are intuitive.
Singapore Airlines first class seat controls
Then on the left of the seat are the power outlet, magazine pocket, and a storage unit sized perfectly for the headphones they hand out.
Singapore Airlines first class seat storage
Once settled in, Jimmy came by to offer pre-departure beverages. Not only is Singapore the only airline in the world to serve both Dom and Krug, but they also allow you to drink both on the ground, unlike some other cheap airlines which somehow have a $500 million wine budget, none of which is going towards paying the taxes required to be able to open the good stuff on the ground. 😉
Naturally I chose Krug, as did my dad.
Singapore Airlines first class pre-departure Krug
We were also offered menus at this point, which were offered in a nice leather binder.
Singapore Airlines first class menu cover
We were also offered the usual amenities, including Givenchy pajamas, Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kits, slippers, and socks.
Let me give the perfect example of how awesome Michelle was, and what I consider to be a good indicator of great service. Michelle brought each item to me in plastic wrap, which I appreciate, to show that everything was “new.” Then she asked if she could go ahead and unwrap them for me, which I of course agreed to. Not only did she remove the plastic wrap, but she removed the “cardboard” from the pajamas, and placed the slippers on the floor in front of my feet.
On Singapore I’ve found that when crews do that they’re consistently exceptional (though I’ve also had exceptional crews on Singapore that haven’t done that, for what it’s worth).
I really do like Singapore’s pajamas nowadays. I didn’t like the previous generation of pajamas they offered, but the new ones are awesome.
Singapore Airlines first class Givenchy pajamas
Singapore Airlines first class slippers and socks
The same goes for the amenity kit. It’s simple in that it only has a few items, though at least they’re large. The bottle of cologne they give isn’t quite as good as the one they offered about six years ago, but it’s still pretty awesome to to get a near full size bottle of cologne in your amenity kit.
Singapore Airlines first class Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kit
The other more basic amenities aren’t in the kit, but instead are in the lavatory, which I think is a good system. If I want to brush my teeth aboard I’d rather the toothbrush bet here, rather than having to bring my own kit.
Singapore Airlines first class lavatory amenities
Singapore Airlines first class lavatory amenities
At around 10:40AM, five minutes before our scheduled departure, the captain came on the PA to welcome us aboard. He had a very crisp and soothing Singaporean accent, which is possibly one of my favorite accents in the world. He informed us that our flight time would be 6hr50min, and that we would be arriving in Melbourne on shed-jewel.
Shortly after the captain’s announcement the main cabin door closed, with seven of the eight first class seats occupied. There were two Europeans seated behind us, one Singaporean, and then two Singapore Airlines captains seated at the windows on the left side.
Our pushback and taxi to the runway was fairly slow, and eventually we were airborne a few minutes after 11AM.
Singapore Airlines airshow
Singapore Airlines airshow
As we climbed out of Singapore I browsed the KrisWorld entertainment selection.
Singapore Airlines KrisWorld entertainment
Singapore Airlines KrisWorld entertainment
I decided to watch an episode of The Mentalist. Unfortunately I had already seen two of the episodes.
Singapore Airlines KrisWorld entertainment
About 10 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off, and Jimmy and Michelle sprang into action, starting with closing the curtains between cabins.
Shortly thereafter meal orders were taken.
The lunch menu read as follows:
And the beverage list read as follows:
I started off with a glass of Krug and some still water, which were served with mixed nuts.
Singapore Airlines first class nuts and champagne
About 20 minutes later our tables were set for lunch. Singapore does have gorgeous plating, which is also Givenchy branded.
Singapore Airlines first class table setup
For the first course I ordered caviar, which was beautifully served and delicious. If only they had a mother of pearl spoon (#firstworldproblems)…
Singapore Airlines first class appetizer: chilled malossol caviar
Singapore Airlines first class appetizer: chilled malossol caviar
I also selected some garlic and focaccia bread out of the breadbasket. Really I’m not sure why Singapore bothers with proper meals — their garlic bread is the best in the sky, and could easily be considered a meal.
Singapore Airlines first class garlic bread
Then I had the soup, which was a sunchoke soup with cold cauliflower custard. It was one of the better soups I’ve had on a plane — the texture was unique, and I loved the temperature contrast.
Singapore Airlines first class soup: sunchoke soup with cold cauliflower custard
Next I had the salad. I find Singapore’s salads to consistently be disappointing, both in terms of portion and quality.
Singapore Airlines first class salad: baby spinach salad
For the main course I had used “Book the Cook” to reserve lobster thermidor in advance. While I was disappointed by the lobster thermidor on my recent Singapore Suites Class flight out of New York, this lobster was to die for. If you fly Singapore Airlines out of Singapore, you absolutely must pre-order the lobster. It’s possibly the best airplane entree in the sky.
Singapore Airlines first class main course: lobster thermidor
For dessert I had the gotham black. Not only was it beautifully presented, but it was tasty as well.
Singapore Airlines first class dessert: Gotham “black”
Meanwhile my dad had the apple-raisin crepe, which was equally delicious, though didn’t score quite as many points for presentation.
Singapore Airlines first class dessert: apple-raising crepes with vanilla sauce
To finish off the meal I ordered a cappuccino.
Singapore Airlines first class cappuccino
I can’t stress enough how good the service was throughout the meal. Michelle, Jimmy, and Vienna were not only more attentive than the Secret Service, but couldn’t have been friendlier. They constantly addressed us by name, were genuine, and couldn’t stop smiling. And most importantly they treated my dad like a king for his special trip.
Since it was a daytime flight I didn’t want to sleep, so I watched a couple of episodes of 2 Broke Girls.
Singapore Airlines KrisWorld entertainment
Then I watched Almost Royal, which is quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen on TV… and I’ve watched Mob Wives, The OC, and Britney And Kevin. Apparently my appreciation of British things is limited to One Direction and afternoon tea…
Singapore Airlines KrisWorld entertainment
After the meal, Michelle asked my dad if he wanted a quick tour of the plane. I followed along. When we got to business class, my dad said “wow, I didn’t know the first class cabin was this big.” I pointed out that this was actually business class. He was shocked, and (correctly) pointed out that it looked almost identical. Yep, Singapore’s business class product is that good.
Singapore Airlines business class 777-300ER
I’m not going to lie, it has been a while since I’ve walked back to economy on a longhaul flight, though I have to say that it actually looked quite spacious. With only nine seats per row and good legroom, I could actually imagine flying back there. The fact that economy was only maybe 60% full didn’t hurt either.
Singapore Airlines economy class 777-300ER
Singapore Airlines economy class 777-300ER
Once back at my seat, Jimmy approached me and asked if I wanted some port, which he suggested I might like. I’m not usually a port guy (I prefer airports), but this was one was good.
Singapore Airlines first class dessert wine
My dad and I spent the next couple of hours mostly just talking, and before we knew it we were 90 minutes out of Melbourne, and it was time for the pre-landing snack.
The snack menu read as follows:
We weren’t really hungry, so it’s a good thing it was just a small snack. My dad ordered the seafood soup, which he quite enjoyed.
Singapore Airlines first class seafood and rice vermicelli soup
Meanwhile, I ordered the fajitas chicken salad, which, simple as it may be, was very good.
Singapore Airlines first class fajitas chicken salad
After that I had some tea.
Singapore Airlines first class TWG tea
At this point my dad proclaimed he was stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite, so our trays were cleared. Except five minutes later Michelle returned with another tablecloth and a fork for my dad.
“No no no no, I don’t vant anymore of zha food.”
Michelle just looked at me and smirked.
“Benny, vhy iz she not lizening to me? I don’t vant more food. Zha service has been so good until now, but vhy is she not listening?”
Moments later Michelle, Vienna, Jimmy, and two other crew showed up to sing my dad happy birthday.
To say he was caught off guard would be the understatement of the year (for what it’s worth, I had pre-ordered the birthday cake — Singapore offers it regardless of which cabin you’re traveling in).
Singapore Airlines birthday cake!
They had a gorgeous cake, some dry ice art, and a card signed by several members of the crew, including the captain.
Singapore Airlines birthday cake!
Singapore Airlines birthday card
Since we were both stuffed, my dad asked if we could share it with everyone else in the cabin and the crew. They of course agreed, and the captain seated across from us even thanked my dad for the cake and wished him a happy birthday. Hah!
Singapore Airlines birthday cake
My dad had mentioned how we had fun in Singapore but totally forgot to have Singapore Slings, which he really wanted to do. So Jimmy emerged and said “they might not be as good as at the Raffles, but here’s your Singapore Sling.”
Singapore Airlines Singapore sling
The sunset views enroute were gorgeous.
Sunset approaching Australia
30 minutes prior to landing the captain came on the PA with updated arrival information, informing us of our anticipated arrival time of 9PM.
Singapore Airlines airshow
Singapore Airlines airshow
Our descent into Melbourne and landing were smooth as could be, and from the runway it was just a short two minute taxi to the gate, where we arrived ahead of schedule.
As we waited to deplane, one of the other passengers (who was a PPS Solitaire member) told the crew that they were the best he ever had. He said “Michelle, when do you fly back, because I might just have to change my flight to go back with you?”
That made Michelle’s face light up, and she said “see Vienna, he like my service. That means you should also let me work first class on the way back.” Adorable!
And for those of you that don’t get the reference, on Singapore 777s there are two leading stewardesses and two leading stewards. In one direction one pair of leading stewards and stewardesses will work economy, while in the other direction they’ll work first class. So since Michelle was working first class on the way out, she’d have to work economy on the way back.
Singapore Airlines first class bottom line
There’s good customer service and then there’s genuine hospitality. This crew was just beyond fabulous.
I have to say I really enjoyed the daytime flight from Singapore to Australia. For such a short flight it’s nice to just enjoy Singapore’s amazing service and a great meal without being too worried about getting rest. Then when we landed in Australia we stayed up for a couple of hours and then went to bed, with no jetlag (well, at least not beyond what we had before).
Thanks to Michelle, Jimmy, and Vienna for making my dad’s extra special trip extra extra special.
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