Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class Airbus A350 (KUL-SIN)

For the next segment of my Iceland to The Residence via Cambodia trip, it was time to fly Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350-900 business class on the 50-minute flight from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore (SIN). At 184 miles, this is Singapore Airlines’ shortest route, and it’s always impressive to see what a high service standard the airline offers even on short hops like this.

As you’d expect, this was an excellent flight, with flat beds, great entertainment and Wi-Fi, friendly service, and pretty good food. There’s not an airline that’s more consistent when it comes to service than Singapore Airlines, and that’s something I really respect.

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 for 25,000 Aeroplan points plus $109.65 in taxes & fees (that includes an extra 5,000 points for having a stopover of more than 24 hours in Singapore):

11/03 SQ105 Kuala Lumpur to Singapore departing 10:30AM arriving 11:45AM
11/04 SQ156 Singapore to Phnom Penh departing 12:45PM arriving 1:45PM

I was excited about this itinerary, since the first flight was on Singapore Airlines’ regional A350, while the second flight was on Singapore Airlines’ 737 MAX, both of which were new (to me) experiences on the airline.

Singapore Airlines business class lounge & boarding

After an incredible stay at the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, I arrived at Kuala Lumpur Airport Terminal 1 at around 9AM. Singapore Airlines sends its premium passengers to the Global Lounge at the airport, which is just a pretty generic contract lounge.

My flight was departing from gate C12, with there being security screening at the gate. The gate opened around 9:30AM, and boarding was scheduled for 10AM, 30 minutes before departure.

At the gate I had a great view of 9V-SHF, the roughly six-year-old A350 that would be my ride for the short hop to Singapore.

Boarding started exactly at 10AM as planned, with those in wheelchairs, plus business class passengers, being invited to board first.

Singapore Airlines A350 business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the forward left door, where I was greeted by one of the friendly flight attendants, and pointed toward my seat, down the near aisle.

Singapore Airlines has three versions of the A350-900 — there’s the ultra long range version (used for flights to New York, Newark, etc.), the long haul version (used for most long haul routes), and then the regional version (used for short and medium haul flights).

This was my first time flying on the regional A350, so I was looking forward to checking that out. I had flown Singapore Airlines’ regional 787 business class before, and that has basically the same product.

It’s pretty incredible that even the carrier’s regional business class has flat beds with direct aisle access. Specifically, the regional A350-900 business class cabin consists of 40 seats, spread across 10 rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration. There are seven rows (with 28 seats) in the forward cabin, and then three rows (with 12 seats) in the rear cabin.

These planes have the Stelia Aerospace Symphony business class seat, which is an upgraded version of the Stelia Aerospace Opal business class seat, which you’ll otherwise find on airlines like Air Senegal, Aircalin, Turkish Airlines, Vistara, and Uganda Airlines. This is a staggered product, meaning the location of the seats differ in each row.

For example, in the center section, you’ll find that in every row there are “honeymoon” seats, whereby you’re seated really close to the person next to you, ideal for couples or families. The good news is that if you’re seated next to a stranger, there’s a privacy shield that can be raised. Meanwhile in the other rows, the seats in the center section are closer to the aisles.

The seats by the windows alternate between being closer to the aisles and closer to the windows. The seats closer to the aisles don’t give you much separation from the aisle (as you’d expect), though at least this product offers quite a bit of privacy, thanks to the big shield along the seat of the seat. So you won’t feel overly exposed, and shouldn’t be bumped into by people in the aisle.

Then the best seats on the plane are the “true” window seats, which get you closer to the windows and farther from the aisles. I assigned myself seat 17A, which was the window seat on the left side in the second to last row of the forward business class cabin.

This seat not only features a good amount of privacy, but really feels like a cocoon, thanks to the shield along the side of the seat. Some might find the seat to be a bit tight or claustrophobic — personally I kind of like that cozy feeling. I do find it a bit strange how even the seats right by the windows have the privacy shield along the fuselage, which may block your view out the window, if anything.

I can appreciate that it’s most efficient to just manufacture all seats in the same way, though arguably it’s not only unnecessary, but counterproductive.

When it comes to the details of the seat, along the aisle-side is a large counter that’s big enough for placing a laptop during the flight. There’s also a large storage compartment, which can be fully closed. The compartment has enough space for lots of smaller items (headphones, phones, glasses, a wallet, etc.). It also has two USB-A outlets and an AC power outlet. Then there’s a small mirror that can be extended from the side of the seat.

Underneath the console are the seat and entertainment controls. The seat controls can be tough to figure out at first, since the screen goes totally “black” if it’s not touched. However, as soon as you touch it, the buttons light up, allowing you to adjust your seat, turn on lights, etc.

Then there’s the entertainment controller, which can be extended and used to control the functions on the personal television. However, the TV is also touchscreen, so I didn’t end up having much use for this.

The tray table in this configuration folds out from underneath the personal television. When stored, it’s folded over in half, so you can extend it by pushing a button, pulling it out, and then flipping it over.

As is standard in staggered configurations, the footwell is to the side of the seat in front. I actually found this to be one of the bigger footwells, so would have no issues getting comfortable on a longer flight.

Speaking of the footwell and getting comfortable, while this flight was too short to get any real rest, I did still try the bed, and found it to be comfortable.

The last thing worth mentioning is that Singapore Airlines’ A350 overhead consoles don’t have individual air nozzles, though they do have reading lights.

All-in-all, I’d say this is a very impressive regional business class product. Obviously getting a flat bed on a sub-one hour flight is over the top, but even on a longer flight, this would be a very pleasant product.

Singapore Airlines A350 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Singapore Airlines’ entertainment offering is among the best out there. For one, the carrier is known for its excellent KrisWorld entertainment system, which offers a truly endless selection of movies, TV shows, music, games, and more. This is all available on an 18″ seat back monitor — while it’s high definition, there’s definitely a bit of glare.

On top of that, there’s the map feature, which I love to keep an eye on, and typically my preferred inflight entertainment. Singapore Airlines also offers free Wi-Fi for all premium passengers and KrisFlyer members, with the GX Ka-band SITAOnAir system being offered on the regional A350-900s.

Logging in as a business class passenger is easy, as you can just enter your last name and seat number, and then you’ll be connected. You can switch between devices at will.

I found bandwidth to be good, though admittedly I only had a limited amount of time to play around with this on such a short flight.

Singapore Airlines business class amenities

Obviously amenities on this flight were fairly limited, compared to what you’d find on a long haul flight. Nonetheless, there were substantial pillows and blankets at each seat.

During boarding, pre-departure drinks were also served, with the choice of orange juice or apple juice.

Later during the boarding process, warm towels were distributed.

Singapore Airlines A350 departure from Kuala Lumpur

This flight was absolutely packed, with every seat on the plane occupied. So while boarding was busy, it was still a smooth process, thanks to the use of two jet bridges. I love Singapore Airlines’ boarding music, which sets the relaxing tone found onboard the carrier.

At 10:25AM both of the cabin doors closed, and the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our (rather long) flight time of 50 minutes, and our imminent departure. Moments later, the safety video was screened.

At around 10:30AM we began our pushback.

Then five minutes later, around 10:35AM, we began our taxi, as we passed a Singapore Airlines A350, Emirates 777, etc.

We had a long distance but fast taxi out to our departure runway, which was 32L… I couldn’t help but notice all the grounded AirAsia A320-family aircraft.

By 10:45AM we made it out to runway 32L, and were cleared for takeoff.

We had a smooth climb out, and I enjoyed the views.

The seatbelt sign was turned off around five minutes after takeoff.

Singapore Airlines business class meal service

Within 10 minutes of takeoff, the crew was in the cabin to perform the inflight service. On this flight, there were two options to choose from, and they were described as cold refreshments.

I ordered the gado gado, a cold salad of boiled egg, potato, cabbage, green beans, and fried tempeh fermented soya bean cake, served with peanut sauce. The meal was nicely presented and fresh, and was served with water, coffee, and/or juice. I had a glass of water and a cup of coffee.

Singapore Airlines A350 business class lavatory

While the flight wasn’t very long, I also checked out the lavatories onboard. For business class passengers, there’s one lavatory at the front left of the cabin, and two lavatories in the center galley, between the two business class cabins.

As usual, the lavatory was spotless, and there were some products from PAYOT.

Singapore Airlines business class service

My single favorite thing about flying with Singapore Airlines is the service. There’s simply not another airline in the world that offers such a consistently high standard of service. Every single time I fly with Singapore Airlines, the onboard service just feels like a carefully choreographed performance, and I can’t help but appreciate the hard work that goes into that, because I know it’s not as easy as they make it look.

Even on such a short flight where there’s a huge rush to get things done, the crew are so gentle, graceful, and calm. They take their time with each passenger, greet them with a smile, and address them by name.

Admittedly you might find more extensive service on a Gulf carrier on a flight of this length, but the thing about Singapore Airlines is that they’re really strict about cabin preparations for landing, and flight attendants have to start preparing the cabin for landing 30 minutes out. It’s a bit different than flying Qatar Airways within the Gulf region, where they’re still serving you as the landing gear comes out.

Singapore Airlines A350 arrival in Singapore

What’s funny is that just 10 minutes after takeoff the captain was on the PA with his pre-landing announcement. He was explaining that we were just 170 miles from Singapore, and would be descending in around 10 minutes, and landing in around 35 minutes, so the crew was told to prepare for arrival.

At that point I hadn’t even been served yet, but despite that, I never felt rushed. We did indeed start our descent at around 11:05AM, and then at 11:10AM the seatbelt sign was turned on. Our flight from Malaysia to Singapore took us down the coast along the Straight of Malacca, and then we flew out over the Singapore Strait and Batam, before turning back around and approaching Changi.

We ended up landing on runway 20C at 11:35AM, with a perfectly smooth touchdown.

We then had a roughly 10-minute taxi to our arrival gate in Terminal 2, where we pulled in next to a Thai Airways A350.

The seatbelt sign was turned off at 11:45AM, so we arrived exactly on schedule. After clearing immigration, I headed for the Singapore EDITION, where I’d be spending the night, prior to my connection the following day.

Bottom line

I always have pleasant flights on Singapore Airlines. In this case, I had an excellent flight on the carrier’s shortest route, between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. You can’t beat a “regional” business class product that has flat beds and direct aisle access. When you add in great seat back entertainment, free Wi-Fi, exceptionally friendly service, and tasty snack, this really is a great way to fly.

What’s your take on Singapore Airlines’ A350 business class?