Update: Read my full Singapore Airlines Business Class 777-300ER Hong Kong To San Francisco review.
My United 777-300ER flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong arrived at around 7PM, and then at 11:30PM I had a Singapore Airlines flight from Hong Kong back to San Francisco. I’ve reviewed Singapore Airlines Suites Class, first class, etc., though it has been years since I’ve reviewed their business class product.
I booked this ticket using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles just a couple of days before departure. The ticket cost 82,000 KrisFlyer miles one-way (after the devaluation), which is reasonable, especially when you consider how many transferable points currencies can be converted into KrisFlyer miles.
It was also my first time flying Singapore’s “new” business class product. In reality the seat has the same bones as their old business class product, though the finishes have been nicely updated.
Singapore’s 777-300ER business class cabin has a total of 42 seats, spread across 11 rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. There are two rows of business class between doors one and two (behind the two rows of first class), and then behind door two there are another nine rows.
Singapore’s new cabins are really stylish and elegant, between the mood lighting, finishes, color scheme, etc.
I had assigned myself seat 21A, which is in the second to last row of business class. Business class was about half full, so I had the last three rows of the cabin to myself, which was nice.
The seats themselves are simultaneously well designed, and also fairly uncomfortable. The seat is really wide, and has tons of storage. Furthermore, most things seems to be logically placed. The outlets and headphone jack were right next to the seat, there were several compartments that close, etc.
The downside to these seats is the very limited foot space. I’ll talk more about the bed mode in a bit, but essentially the seat folds over to turn into a bed, and unless you sleep in the fetal position, you’ll have to rest your feet in a small cubby in the very left of the seat, which can best be done by sleeping diagonally. That’s probably not the most comfortable setup for most…
As far as the amenities go, Singapore doesn’t offer amenity kits in business class on any flights. Instead they offer slippers, socks, and eyeshades, and then other basic amenities are available in the lavatory. I’ve heard Singapore doesn’t offer amenity kits because they find them to be wasteful; I can’t say I blame them.
Given the late night departure, there was a limited supper service after takeoff, and then breakfast before landing.
The supper service consisted of drinks and nuts to start.
Then there was a starter consisting of prawns on nicoise salad. It was excellent.
For the main course I ordered the seared chicken breast with thyme jus. It wasn’t good at all — the chicken was rubbery. In fairness to Singapore, they do offer “Book the Cook,” where you can pre-order your meal from a wider selection, so perhaps that was partly my fault.
Dessert consisted of yuzu and milk chocolate mousse cake. It was light and refreshing, while also being sweet — yum.
Then there was also a cheese course.
There were light snacks available throughout the flight, and then breakfast before landing. I wasn’t terribly impressed by the food on this flight, but then again, supper flights on Singapore rarely impress, which is fair enough, since most people just want to sleep after takeoff.
The service was flawless. The crew was the typical perfection you expect on Singapore Airlines. They were attentive, friendly, confident, charming, and got all the little details right. The entire supper service was done just over an hour after takeoff. So the crew gets full marks for the great job they did.
After supper I tried to sleep. The seat can be turned into a bed by flipping over the back of the seat, where the mattress sheet and pillow are already attached, so it’s quite easy to do yourself. The sleeping surface is quite large, though the seat’s padding isn’t great, and you do have to squeeze your feet into a small cubby at the far left of the seat if you’re someone who doesn’t sleep in the fetal position.
I actually didn’t mind that too much, since I curl up when I sleep, so I was mostly fine just slightly placing my feet in the foot cubby. Regardless, this isn’t an ideal hard product. If you do book Singapore’s business class, do everything in your power to select a bulkhead seat, as they have significantly more personal space.
I had intended to sleep most of the flight back, given what a couple of long travel days it had been. I slept pretty well for the first half of the flight, though the second half of the flight was bumpy. There was a strong jet stream — the flight time was under 11 hours, so we arrived 90 minutes early. And we really felt that for the second half of the flight, where there was consistent chop. The turbulence wasn’t horrible or anything, but it was noticeable enough that it kept me awake.
Fortunately Singapore’s 777s have Wi-Fi, and it’s reasonably priced. You can buy a Wi-Fi pass lasting the entire flight without data caps for ~$21, which is fair. The Wi-Fi speed was great as well. This is so much better than the setup they have on the A380, where they charge based on usage, and it’s outrageously priced.
Entertainment on Singapore was excellent as well in terms of their selection of movies and TV shows.
Singapore Airlines 777 business class bottom line
Singapore Airlines is known for offering among the best onboard experiences of any airline in the world. While they’re still excellent, I think there’s no denying that other airlines have been catching up, and have been narrowing the gap a bit.
For example, service on Singapore continues to be phenomenal, and the cabin is stylish, but the hard product isn’t really cutting edge anymore, the bed is a bit hard, the food wasn’t great on this flight, etc.
So overall Singapore is fantastic, though I can’t definitively say it was better than United’s new 777-300ER Polaris, which is saying a lot…
guys, I don't understand is why would you book 87,5k singapore miles(unless you want really want to tried them out, liked i transfer 100k to singapore just to experience first class A380 back then from NRT LAX. but if you want to fly united, I will use Amex points to transfer to ANA miles, round trip business would only cost 95k from North America to Asia with one free stop, and one open Jaw. if...
guys, I don't understand is why would you book 87,5k singapore miles(unless you want really want to tried them out, liked i transfer 100k to singapore just to experience first class A380 back then from NRT LAX. but if you want to fly united, I will use Amex points to transfer to ANA miles, round trip business would only cost 95k from North America to Asia with one free stop, and one open Jaw. if i want to fly cathay, japan airline or american, i will use japan air transfer from SPG, which is 85k round trip from asia to north america.
but flying alaska is better off on one way, to max out the points would be using SPG 90k to Marriott points 270k, and use marriott vacation package to get 120k Alaska miles and 7 night cat 1-5 let me know if there's any better deal
hahaha....United Polaris is NOT even close to SQ Biz...even shorthaul biz on older aircrafts....
just lost a ton of cred with that last statement...I guess UAL is putting there ad dollars to good use.
What is the registration of the plane ? I would love to know . Thanks in advance.
@Samuel L, are you referring to the newer Air NZ PE or the soon-to-be-phased out Spaceseats on the 777-300ERs? I have tried neither and read lots of differing opinions on both, so am curious.
@Guy Donald
I think Air NZ has a pretty good PE. Well a "Basic Business" will definitely cannibalise J but it could be managed with proper revenue yield management. We Singaporeans love to innovate. I hope SQ does something to be a first.
Basic business will only cannibalize J pax. PEY intention is to move Y Pax up.
The intention is to get ppl to spend more $$$ so I doubt any airline want pax to spendless and downgrade J pax
@Rick
Yeah the PE was about $200 more than the semi flex EY which did make sense. PE now feels like an extension to EY and the service was I dare say a little less off than normal EY since the cabin crew did not patrol the PE area as often as the back. What I'm saying if SQ could rebrand this as an extension to BC instead of EY, they may have stumbled...
@Rick
Yeah the PE was about $200 more than the semi flex EY which did make sense. PE now feels like an extension to EY and the service was I dare say a little less off than normal EY since the cabin crew did not patrol the PE area as often as the back. What I'm saying if SQ could rebrand this as an extension to BC instead of EY, they may have stumbled upon a new market segment here. Don't think any other airline has a "Basic Business" yet... for 20-30% more, more dedicated service, better food, lounge access, increased luggage... heck, I would pay for a 10 hour flight any time.
Interesting you mention "Basic Business". I'm waiting for the first airline to do angled lie flat in premium economy, perphaps in a 2-4-2 or 2-3-2 configuration depending on the plane and with the minimum possible pitch. (Qantas seems to be the closest to this with its 787, but still not flat.)
I think it's inevitable - yes they won't want to cananbalise their own Business but I think completion between each other will mean one eventually takes the lead.
My husband and I flew SQ Business class from SIngapore to LAX with a stop in NRT. He is very tall and found the seats very uncomfortable. I would not rush to fly them again.
@CR Exactly. The one with 4 first class seats and 48 business class seats have premium economy. While the ones with 8 first and 42 business don't have premium economy, and can either be the old or the new products.
Isn't @Lucky banned from United? How did he redeem points for that flight?
Samuel, after flying SQ's premium econcomy twice (including the inaugural ICN-LAX route), I have to respectfully disagree with you. I don't think it's worth the 20-30% higher fare at all. They have one of the best coach products on the market and their premium economy seat really isn't any much more comfortable, the "champage" could melt a plastic cup and the book the cook food i had on both flights was atrocious. That said, i've...
Samuel, after flying SQ's premium econcomy twice (including the inaugural ICN-LAX route), I have to respectfully disagree with you. I don't think it's worth the 20-30% higher fare at all. They have one of the best coach products on the market and their premium economy seat really isn't any much more comfortable, the "champage" could melt a plastic cup and the book the cook food i had on both flights was atrocious. That said, i've noticed a few routes in which premium economy is priced the same as semi-flex econ, in which case, yea, who wouldn't go for that?
I love SQ, but the cramped foot space on the new business class seat is just atrocious. Unless they cram an extra seat into their coach configuration, there is simply no way I would pay top dollar or burn a bunch of miles to fly on one of these cabins vs their consistently good and reasonably-priced economy product.
Lucky, love reading your reviews as always.
The bulkhead seats are really the best without that angled cubby hole u spoke of as u essentially get a whole bench for your legs. However it is worth nothing that those are also bassinet seats and I had my baby girl with me when I last flew SIN-HKG-SIN on the 773ER. Thankfully she was a good girl otherwise I pity the poor souls who chose the...
Lucky, love reading your reviews as always.
The bulkhead seats are really the best without that angled cubby hole u spoke of as u essentially get a whole bench for your legs. However it is worth nothing that those are also bassinet seats and I had my baby girl with me when I last flew SIN-HKG-SIN on the 773ER. Thankfully she was a good girl otherwise I pity the poor souls who chose the neighbouring bulkhead seats for the leg room! Also u get significant light from the galley shining on u when they dim the cabin lights..
I flew SIN-DXB on the new premium economy a couple of days ago and am going to do the return tomorrow. The hard product is pretty good and I would pay the difference for a medium to long flight. I think SQ has hit on something here if they rebrand it as a sort of "basic business" instead of "premium economy". You should have a go on it.
Also the seats mentioned herein are virtually identical to what you find on the A350 with some minor adjustments due to cabin width.
@Lucky - yes they are.
They basically have 3 types of configs on the 777-300ER: old product throughout with 8 first class seats, new product throughout with 8 first class seats (which is what I believe your flight had) and new product throughout with 4 first class seats due to addition of premium economy cabin.
General rule of thumb: if the 777-300ER has premium economy, you'll get the new product. But hard to...
@Lucky - yes they are.
They basically have 3 types of configs on the 777-300ER: old product throughout with 8 first class seats, new product throughout with 8 first class seats (which is what I believe your flight had) and new product throughout with 4 first class seats due to addition of premium economy cabin.
General rule of thumb: if the 777-300ER has premium economy, you'll get the new product. But hard to tell at the moment if you'll get the "old" or "new configuration" on the planes with 8 first class seats as they have identical seat layouts and counts. Someone had a list going on FlyerTalk with the registration numbers of the aircraft that had the new product with 8 first class seats.
Finally after 3 and half years since SQ released this product you've finally tried it :)
But when UA released Polaris internationally you jump on pretty fast
I've never flown business class, so it's fascinating to read what happens in the front of the plane. The foot rest seems a bit weird although the bed itself looks fantastic compared to economy class. ;) Do you often have difficulty sleeping with the movement of the plane with lying down (e.g. turbulence)? I have always wondered about that!
Hi Lucky, you are yet to try their updated first class on the 777-300ER. Any plans to try it? This 777-300ER you rode is one of the yet to be reconfigured 777s with premium economy, increasing business class to 48 seats, and decreasing first class to 4 seats. Your friend Sam Chui was able to try first class on one of the reconfigured planes and he was a bit disappointed that just like business class, you also have to lie down diagonally when the bed is made.
@ Singularity -- While I know Singapore has an updated configuration with a smaller first class cabin and premium economy, aren't the business class seats the same?
@credit, @wooo
Thanks for objectifying the flight attendants. I'm sure all of them thank you for commenting on their "tight," "hot," "young," bodies.
Wf you can't detect the sarcasm in my comment, please know that it's extremely disrespectful to the flight attendent industry (and humanity as a whole) when you objectify them. There's also more behind this, such as certain employee protections that don't exist for some Asian carriers and you can be fired for...
@credit, @wooo
Thanks for objectifying the flight attendants. I'm sure all of them thank you for commenting on their "tight," "hot," "young," bodies.
Wf you can't detect the sarcasm in my comment, please know that it's extremely disrespectful to the flight attendent industry (and humanity as a whole) when you objectify them. There's also more behind this, such as certain employee protections that don't exist for some Asian carriers and you can be fired for not being pretty enough or too old. If your mom, sister, or daughter was working in this industry, would you want them treated/viewed this way, both by the company and by passengers like yourself.
I do think the Asian carriers provide great service, but I can quantify that without making creepy comments.
the SQ uniform are tight. hot bodies. great.... AA? drab uniforms and old air waitresses..!
Crossing the pacific in the winter is for the most part turbulent. The 777-300ER is a true dog heavy. You are stuck at 34,000 and below due to performance. Years ago I left NRT on the 11am AA to Dallas. My food in row 12 was 4 rows behind me 90 minutes out of Tokyo. I have not crossed the pacific in the winter again. I came home last week from HK and went Thai...
Crossing the pacific in the winter is for the most part turbulent. The 777-300ER is a true dog heavy. You are stuck at 34,000 and below due to performance. Years ago I left NRT on the 11am AA to Dallas. My food in row 12 was 4 rows behind me 90 minutes out of Tokyo. I have not crossed the pacific in the winter again. I came home last week from HK and went Thai to FRA overnight then LH to Dallas. Both day flights which I prefer and smooth as glass!
PS: Flown SQ a lot past 2 years. Nothing that great anymore really. For a long long time they were # 1 but now everyone has caught up. My last Suites flight was less then impressive with little food.
If the foot cubby thing is an issue grab a bulkhead seat - no cubby just a wide bench - so much better.
The seat ok the 777s is fine and a big step up from their A380 seats but still average at best.
Despite the crews Lucky seems to get I also find the crews to be hit and miss. After a lot of flights to and from Aus most seem to be on auto pilot and fairly cold but maybe they just don't like me as much
To the skeptics in the comments, I have been a blog reader for years and trust Ben to be honest. I don't believe for a second he has been "incentivized" by United to say positive things. This blog and his business run on his credibility and expertise!
His point was not "on the whole, SQ Business and UA Business are equivalent." It is that on these two flights he took, Singapore Business was not necessarily better than UA Business. Which makes sense to me!
Wow. I never thought it would ever be possible to say that SQ business class isn't better than UA. First UA won't have Polaris seats on most of their long haul planes due to years of delays. Won't have blankets for everyone?
And service? No US airline will ever come close to SQ. SQ has a passenger first philosophy to service that UA or AA or DL will never have. In all classes. I...
Wow. I never thought it would ever be possible to say that SQ business class isn't better than UA. First UA won't have Polaris seats on most of their long haul planes due to years of delays. Won't have blankets for everyone?
And service? No US airline will ever come close to SQ. SQ has a passenger first philosophy to service that UA or AA or DL will never have. In all classes. I have a story in discount economy where SQ went far and above almost any airlines would have due to a major delay because of weather.
While I normally respect Lucky's opinions as being relatively uninfluenced, especially compared to some other sites, it's starting to become obvious while reading the other sites too, TPG and OMAAT that UA has started to "incentivize" travel bloggers for ultra positive write ups.
I flew this route, SQ2, two weeks ago. Also, flew SQ11 from LAX to SIN with a stop in Narita three weeks before that. In both directions we flew in the forward business cabin. One flight had two rows of business ahead of door 2 and the other plane had three rows of business between door 1 & 2. The service was excellent. As for the seat, in my opinion it is too wide. They...
I flew this route, SQ2, two weeks ago. Also, flew SQ11 from LAX to SIN with a stop in Narita three weeks before that. In both directions we flew in the forward business cabin. One flight had two rows of business ahead of door 2 and the other plane had three rows of business between door 1 & 2. The service was excellent. As for the seat, in my opinion it is too wide. They give you a pillow but it was still too wide. We also, got the 100 mph tailwind coming back from Hong Kong. I am 6' 2" and slept for a good five hours. Thought the bouncing around helped me sleep. Did Book the Cook both directions. Lobster Ravioli was excellent. The return flight left Hong Kong close to midnight and by the time dinner was served it was really too late so didn't enjoy that meal as much.
I am astounded at the "bottom line" conclusion. Credibility, meet window.
This is really a reverse herringbone seat masquerading as a forward facing seat!
I've done bulkhead on this seat before and it is most definitely where you want to be. Way more comfortable.
@Jim not with their present planes. They are getting A350-900ULRs from next year that would be able to do the distance, but I would think Dulles would be unlikely to be their rumoured third destination after LAX and New York, noting they don't fly there today.
@Colleen - YQ is short for fuel surcharges. SQ is the airline code for Singapore Airlines as is UA for United. What other abbreviations do you need explained?
CX - Cathay Pacific
UR - Chase Ultimate Rewards points which can be transferred to various airline mileage programs
AA - American Airlines
AS - Alaska Airlines
So why did you do a same day turnaround?
@ dave -- See here:
https://onemileatatime.com/quick-international-turnaround/
:)
Hello,
I'm new also. All of the shortcut words and abbreviations don't help me to learn and understand anything. Please consider this when commenting. Lucky thank you for your well documented reviews.
I flew NRT-IAH a week before you took this flight and the jet stream was kicking our but; as you mentioned it was just a bumpy flight all together, making it hard to sleep, but nothing out of the ordinary and that the good ole 777 can't handle. Windyty is still showing that strong jet stream from Japan east to a little past State of Hawaii.
italdesign Singapore no longer charges YQ post devaluation
@ahmed
There's the Ask Lucky Forum
I am new and I know this is off topic but can you help me how I can visit Victoria, BC using my 100K delta points? I hate to use 45K point to visit BC. Is there other way to use delta point to visit BC cheaply?
Lucky- Do you have a place in your blog to ask questions?
@Credit - please stop. Only your other self must think you are funny
@ italdesign -- isn't SQ's YQ gone with the increased rates?
Lucky, you need to include the $200-250 YQ that you paid. That makes it more like 100K+. It hasnt been hard to rack up tons of AA and AS miles in the last few years. MR is better served by Aeroplan's 77.5k with EVA and no YQ. UR is better served by UA for 80k with EVA/ANA/Asiana and no YQ.
It does have lower change/cancellation/close-in ticketing fees. But those potential benefits are more than neutralized...
Lucky, you need to include the $200-250 YQ that you paid. That makes it more like 100K+. It hasnt been hard to rack up tons of AA and AS miles in the last few years. MR is better served by Aeroplan's 77.5k with EVA and no YQ. UR is better served by UA for 80k with EVA/ANA/Asiana and no YQ.
It does have lower change/cancellation/close-in ticketing fees. But those potential benefits are more than neutralized by the YQ you have to pay upfront.
I can't think of any situation when 87.5k + YQ is a good deal when there are so many cheaper alternatives.
@ italdesign -- Singapore eliminated fuel surcharges with the latest devaluation.
It's unlikely that Business Class in United would ever be as empty as this flight of yours. United, along with other US airlines, are good at yield managements and will drop the price rather than fly with empty seats. Foregn airlines seem more concerned with keeping their cabins quiet rather than maxxing out sales.
So one way SIN is better than UAL is that you have fewer neighbors, although that probably goes for other foreign...
It's unlikely that Business Class in United would ever be as empty as this flight of yours. United, along with other US airlines, are good at yield managements and will drop the price rather than fly with empty seats. Foregn airlines seem more concerned with keeping their cabins quiet rather than maxxing out sales.
So one way SIN is better than UAL is that you have fewer neighbors, although that probably goes for other foreign airlines too. I often notice lots of empty seats in First and Business on BA as well - they keep them just in case they get top dollar last minute sales.
@ Martin -- You're absolutely right on that one.
I always wondered if you're sitting in business or first class, are you allowed to send food back if it tasted really bad? The 3-4 course meal done in the air for premium classes is almost like dining in a fancy restaurant on the ground. I'm pretty sure you can send it back to the chef if it's not to your liking (though I've never tried it), so can do you this in the air?...
I always wondered if you're sitting in business or first class, are you allowed to send food back if it tasted really bad? The 3-4 course meal done in the air for premium classes is almost like dining in a fancy restaurant on the ground. I'm pretty sure you can send it back to the chef if it's not to your liking (though I've never tried it), so can do you this in the air? Lucky have you ever tried sending food back, I'm pretty sure I've read through ALL of your trip reports, and there were definitely a few instances that sounded like it warrants sending back to. Thanks!
@ Dan -- Yeah, if something isn't good it's totally fine to send it back. If they have enough food (which they almost always do), they'll gladly get you something else.
"The ticket cost 82,000 KrisFlyer miles one-way (after the devaluation), which is reasonable"
No way. It's terribly overpriced when you consider the extra ~$250 of YQ, when AA can get CX for 70K with no YQ and AS can for 50K. And you can add domestic and intra-Asia flights for free (SQ can only add the latter).
@ italdesign -- For 87,500 KrisFlyer miles you can book a one-way Star Alliance award from Hong Kong to the US with connections on United. You can get KrisFlyer miles through any of the four major transferrable points currencies. American and Alaska miles you can only transfer over for Starpoints. I think the cost is reasonable, especially when you consider how easy the miles are to rack up.
@credit
What exactly do they lack compared to United? I'd like to know as I feel ever aspect of Singapore air in miles beyond United.
Never thought I'd see the day where Singapore wasn't a clear winner over United. I'm still not completely sold on those new Polaris seats though, especially the aisle.
You wrote pictures wrong. @lucky
@ Dan -- Grrr, thank you. Fixed.
Evan
Or burying the lede, as it were
Any chance they'll offer service from Washington Dulles in the future? Is it too long for a non-stop flight to SIN?
Last sentence: "So overall Singapore is fantastic, though I can’t definitively say it was better than United’s new 777-300ER Polaris, which is saying a lot…"
This is an example of burying the lead.
Whatever they may lack compared to united, they make up for it by hiring young, hot air hostesses.