Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class Boeing 777 (FRA-JFK)

For the last segment of my downgraded adventure to Oman, I flew Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER business class on the eight hour fifth freedom flight from Frankfurt to New York.

Suffice it to say that the trip ended on a high note — Singapore Airlines is one of my favorite airline brands, and the carrier has one of my favorite business class products.

While I’m not a huge fan of Singapore Airlines’ business class seats, everything else about the experience is exceptional, from the kind and attentive service, to the endless entertainment and free Wi-Fi, to the delicious meals, to the constantly refreshed bathrooms.

Flying Singapore Airlines is always a pleasure, but it’s especially nice between Frankfurt and New York, when you consider the alternatives. Let’s get into the review.

How I booked my Singapore Airlines business class ticket

I booked my Singapore Airlines business class ticket using Air Canada Aeroplan points. Specifically, I booked the following award in business class for 60,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $184.30 in taxes and fees:

1/14 SQ26 Frankfurt to New York departing 8:20AM arriving 11:15AM

Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. On top of that, there’s the Aeroplan® Credit Card (review) in the United States, which is quite rewarding.

Singapore Airlines business class lounge & boarding

Singapore Airlines sends its business class passengers to the Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt, which I’ve reviewed in the past. If you’re looking for a fun alternative, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Frankfurt is also conveniently located, and is accessible with a business class ticket, in line with Star Alliance lounge access policies.

Both lounges are pleasant, especially given the early morning departure of the Singapore Airlines flight, as it’s before the peak bank of flights.

Boarding for the 8:20AM flight to New York was scheduled to start 35 minutes before departure, at 7:45AM. However, the inbound flight from Singapore was delayed by around 40 minutes, so boarding ended up only starting at 8:10AM.

Singapore Airlines 777 business class cabin & seats

Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ERs feature a total of 48 business class seats. These seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration, and are spread across two cabins. The main cabin is behind the second set of doors, and consists of 36 seats, spread across nine rows.

Then there’s also the forward cabin, located in front of the second set of doors, which consists of 12 seats, spread across three rows. This is located immediately behind the first class cabin, which consists of just one row (and which I recently reviewed).

Singapore Airlines’ business class seats are the same in each row (except the bulkheads), with seats that are forward facing. However, when you want to turn the seat into a bed, you have to “flip” the seat over, and sleep at an angle, as the footwell is to the side of the seat. Below is a look at seat 12A, a standard seat in the second row of the cabin.

However, the best seats in this configuration are the bulkhead seats (in rows 11 and 15), since they don’t have a footwell, but rather offer a massive amount of space. See my guide to these seats, and how to reserve them, as this extra space can make a big difference.

I assigned myself seat 11A, the window seat on the left side in the first row of business class. This is an unbelievably good seat, thanks to the amount of personal space, and also thanks to there being no foot traffic here, as food is served from the galley behind the mini-cabin.

The actual seats (not including the ottomans) in this row are identical to the seats in every other row.

To the side of the seat is an exposed storage compartment, as well as a reading light, AC and USB-A power outlets, and a headphone jack.

To the left of the seat is an entertainment controller, as well as a deep storage compartment, where you could place a pair of headphones.

The tray table folds out from immediately in front of the storage compartment, and it’s quite easy to use. What’s great about the tray table is how easily it can be moved around, as you can move it side to side, and can even move it up and down.

All the seat controls are on a panel to the side of the seat, and are easy to use. Furthermore, they’re well placed, as they’re easy to access, but you won’t hit them by mistake.

What makes these bulkhead seats so special is the huge amount of space you have your feet, as there’s no small footwell you have to squeeze your feet into. This is awesome when you’re sleeping (since you don’t have to angle your body), and it’s also useful when you’re awake, since you essentially have an ottoman on which you can rest your feet.

One downside to this seat is that the entertainment monitor is a bit further from you (given the extra space you have), so it might not appear to be as big.

To the side of the entertainment monitor is a vanity, with a little panel that you can open or close.

Due to the huge width of the seat, there’s a large pillow that’s always at the seat, which makes a great armrest, if nothing else.

The overhead consoles contain reading lights, though don’t have individual air nozzles.

Singapore Airlines business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was a pair of noise canceling headphones, which aren’t amazing, but do the trick.

The (very thick) menu was also waiting at each seat, in the literature pocket.

On top of that, there was a bottle of water at every seat.

Within a minute of settling in, one of the lovely flight attendants was by my seat to welcome me aboard by name, inform me of the flight time, and to give me the amenities for the flight. These amenities included an amenity kit with select products from Penhaligon’s, including hand lotion, lip balm, and facial mist.

Then I was also given slippers, eyeshades, and earplugs.

A little later into the boarding process, pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of orange juice, apple juice, or tomato juice, and those were offered with warm towels.

Singapore Airlines 777 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

A real highlight of the Singapore Airlines business class experience is the entertainment selection. For one, Singapore Airlines offers unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi to business class passengers.

To log into the free Wi-Fi, you just need to enter your email address, last name, and seat number. I found the speeds to be good, and you could even use Wi-Fi on multiple devices at the same time, which is generous. Singapore Airlines is the first major, global airline to offer free Wi-Fi throughout its Wi-Fi enabled fleet, and the airline should be commended for that.

For what it’s worth, a paid Wi-Fi plan costs anywhere from $3.99-15.99 for the entire flight without data caps. However, very few people should be paying for Wi-Fi, as even KrisFlyer members in economy get free Wi-Fi.

When it comes to seat back entertainment, Singapore Airlines has its KrisWorld entertainment system, which I consider to be among the best inflight entertainment of any airline. The entertainment selection is massive, with a huge variety of movies, TV shows, live TV, music, games, and more.

There’s endless entertainment, and in particular, I appreciate how there are entire seasons of TV shows, making it easy to binge watch.

Of course the system also has a map feature, which is usually my inflight entertainment of choice.

Singapore Airlines 777 departure from Frankfurt

Boarding was quite efficient, and wrapped up by 8:30AM, 20 minutes after it started. Business class was about two-thirds full, as there were 16 open seats in the cabin.

I love Singapore Airlines’ boarding music, so enjoyed listening to that throughout the boarding process. It’s so calming.

Once the door closed, the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 7hr55min, and and our initial cruising altitude of 32,000 feet. Some bags were still being loaded, so we ended up pushing back around 8:45AM.

At that point the safety video was screened.

We started our taxi at 8:50AM, and had a short five minute journey to our departure runway, which was 25C.

While holding short of the runway, the captain announced that the first officer had to go into the cabin to make sure there was no ice on the wing. Everything looked good, and a couple of minutes later we were cleared for takeoff.

It was a smooth climb out, and just five minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off.

Once the seatbelt sign was turned off, the crew sprung into action, starting with closing the curtains between cabins. It was interesting to be on this side of the curtain. 😉

Singapore Airlines business class lunch service

On this Singapore Airlines business class flight, lunch was served after takeoff. I tend to think one sign of good service in a premium cabin is how quickly you get your first drink. After all, people tend to be more patient and have a better perception of service if they feel like they’re not waiting for too long.

I was amazed when just 10 minutes after takeoff, the crew came through the cabin with glasses of champagne, prior to actually starting the main drink service. I don’t think I’ve ever had a drink within 10 minutes of takeoff in business class, so huge kudos to Singapore Airlines.

It also wasn’t just any champagne, but it was Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage 2014, which was lovely. This was a limited time offering, and now the airline is back to serving the non-vintage version of this.

Below you can find the lunch menu for this flight, as well as the (extensive) drink list. Keep in mind that Singapore Airlines offers Book the Cook, where you can preorder your meal from a larger selection. However, I elected not to use that on this flight.

The quick pace of service continued, as 25 minutes after takeoff I was served Singapore Airlines’ signature chicken satay dish, with onions, cucumbers, and spicy peanut sauce. Yum, yum, yum. It had just occurred to me that this was the first time in many years that I’ve been served satay on Singapore Airlines, so it was a real treat to enjoy this again, especially out of Frankfurt.

About an hour after takeoff, the appetizer was served. This consisted of sautéed prawns and quinoa salad with asparagus and lemon creme fraiche. I was also offered a selection of bread, and of course chose Singapore Airlines’ sinfully delicious garlic bread.

Once the appetizers were cleared, it was time for main courses. I ordered the Gai Pad King, which was a Thai style stir-fried chicken with ginger, vegetables, and steamed rice. While perhaps not the fanciest premium cabin meal ever, the dish was well executed, and I was happy with my choice.

About 90 minutes after takeoff, I was served dessert, with the choice of coconut ice cream, strawberry shortcake, or both. I went with both.

I was also asked if I wanted any coffee, so I asked for a cappuccino, which appeared within a few minutes.

This was an excellent meal. Not only was the food quality very good, but the service pace and level of attentiveness was perfect. Singapore Airlines crews have this amazing ability to consistently anticipate needs, in a way that no other airline does. It’s almost impossible to ask for anything in Singapore Airlines business class, because the crew won’t even let it get to that point.

Singapore Airlines 777 business class lavatories

After the meal, I checked out the lavatories in Singapore Airlines’ 777 business class. There are three lavatories by the galley at the second set of doors, with two lavatories being on the left side, and one being on the right side.

The lavatories were pretty standard, though there were a few cool features.

For one, there were some toiletries from Penhaligon’s, just as you’ll find in the amenity kits.

Furthermore, rather than just having paper towels, the lavatory also had proper cloth towels, which was a nice feature.

Lastly, the lavatory was spotless throughout the flight. I think this is such an underrated point of differentiation between airlines. On some carriers, you go into a business class lavatory at the end of the flight, and it looks like a war zone. On other airlines, it looks as clean upon landing as it does when you departed.

Singapore Airlines 777 business class bed

Singapore Airlines’ 777 business class bed is a bit controversial among passengers, and many aren’t a fan of it. You can’t recline your seat into a bed, but instead you have to flip the seat over. The crew is more than happy to help with this, and to provide a nice turndown service.

The bulkhead seats offer the most comfortable beds, thanks to the spacious sleeping surface, where you don’t have to angle your feet to the side.

I love Singapore Airlines’ bedding, and I appreciate how there are two pillows, a thick blanket, and a mattress pad.

However, the catch is that the sleeping surface is really hard, and I know that’s a point of frustration that many people have with this product. I hope that this is something that Singapore Airlines addresses when it (eventually) introduces its new business class seat.

I know some people also don’t like how there’s not much middle ground between being fully reclined and sitting up. However, I find that you can get pretty comfortable lounging in bed mode, by simply propping up the pillows behind your back. This is similar to Finnair’s no recline business class seat.

I ended up napping for around two hours after lunch, and woke up at roughly the halfway point of the flight. What’s amazing about Singapore Airlines is that within a minute of waking up, before I was even able to sit up, a crew member was by my seat to ask if she could get me something. I ordered a coffee, which was promptly served.

Singapore Airlines business class pre-landing snack

About 90 minutes before landing, a refreshment service was performed, and you can find the menu below.

There were two choices, and I selected the fried rice vermicelli with marinated chicken, with Chinese mushrooms and leafy greens. This was served with water, coffee, and tea, though other drinks were also available upon request. This was a tasty dish, though not the most substantial meal service ever, given that it was only a single main course, with no starter or dessert.

Singapore Airlines business class service

The single greatest thing about flying with Singapore Airlines is the service. Singapore Airlines flight attendants are in a league of their own when it comes to how attentive, professional, poised, and confident they are. Service on Singapore Airlines feels more like a performance than anything else.

The service on this flight was exceptional. From never having to ask for a drink refill, to the lavatories being spotless, to the crew addressing each passenger by name, I have nothing but good things to say about the service.

Singapore Airlines 777 arrival in New York

At 10:15AM New York time, the first officer announced that we’d be descending soon, and would be landing at around 11AM local time. He warned that it was gusty in New York, and there would be some turbulence on approach.

Sure enough, we began our descent at around 10:30AM, and then 10 minutes after that, the seatbelt sign was turned on, and the crew was told to prepare the cabin for landing.

The first officer wasn’t lying — it was a very bumpy approach, though despite that, we had a perfectly smooth touchdown at 11AM.

We then taxied toward our gate at Terminal 4. Unfortunately there was heavy congestion on the apron, and on top of that, our gate was still occupied by an Emirates A380. So we ended up having to wait for around 20 minutes, until our gate opened up. The pilots did a great job keeping us updated, and made no fewer than three announcements during that period.

We pulled into our arrival gate at 11:30AM, and parked next to an EL AL 787.

Bottom line

I had an amazing flight in Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777 business class, and it was especially a treat that this was a fifth freedom flight. What I love most about Singapore Airlines is the flawless service, the extensive entertainment, the free Wi-Fi, and the spotless bathrooms. The food and amenities are also very good, and the seats are certainly large. If you can get a bulkhead seat, you’ll have an even better experience.

The only downside to this product is that the bed is on the hard side, but on balance, this is an incredible product. There’s not an airline that impresses me as consistently as Singapore Airlines. Consistency is important, and that’s an area where Singapore Airlines shines.

What’s your take on Singapore Airlines 777 business class?