Review: Singapore Airlines First Class 777 Moscow To Houston

While I’ve flown Singapore Airlines many times before (including reviewing Singapore’s 777 first class between Singapore and Melbourne, Singapore’s A380 Suites Class between New York and Frankfurt, etc.), this was Ford’s first time on Singapore Airlines. Singapore has one of my favorite first class products in the world, so I was excited for Ford to experience it.

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Singapore 62
Moscow (DME) – Houston (IAH)
Sunday, July 17
Depart: 9:40AM
Arrive: 2:05PM
Duration: 12hr25min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 2C (First Class)

We boarded at around 9:10AM through door L2, where we were greeted and escorted to our seats in first class. This route is operated by Singapore’s oldest first class product, consisting of a total of eight seats, spread across two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Singapore Airlines 777 first class cabin

I remember back when this product was cutting edge, though nowadays it seems a bit outdated, almost.

Singapore Airlines 777 first class cabin

I assigned us seats 2C & 2D, which are the two center seats in the second row of the cabin. In this instance, however, we were the only passengers in first class, so I suppose we could really sit wherever we wanted. While first class is awesome to begin with, it’s always an extra special treat when you have the entire cabin to yourself. It has happened maybe a dozen times in my life.

Singapore Airlines 777 first class, seat 2C

The Singapore Airlines first class seat is really wide, almost too wide, if that’s a thing, because you can’t sit while having your arms on both armrests.

Singapore Airlines 777 first class, seat 2A

The cabin doesn’t have any overhead bins, but rather has plenty of storage under the seats. Both my 20″ Tumi bag along with my weekender bag fit underneath my seat. Then there’s also an ottoman of sorts, which becomes part of the bed when the seat is fully reclined.

Singapore Airlines first class legroom

If you’re in the center seats, there’s a small partition that’s always raised, in addition to a large partition that can be manually raised when inflight.

Singapore Airlines first class privacy partition

The seat and entertainment controls were located on the left side of the seat. The seat controls were super easy to use, though that’s partly because the seat has limited recline and movement.

Singapore Airlines first class entertainment & seat controls

Moments after settling in the inflight supervisor, Alvin, came by to welcome us aboard and wish us a pleasant flight.

Shortly thereafter the leading stewardess and leading steward came by our seats to welcome us aboard as well, and inform us that they’d be taking care of us for the 11hr35min flight to Houston.

We were asked whether we wanted something to drink before takeoff. Naturally we ordered some champagne. With the typical proud smirk, the leading stewardess said “would you prefer Dom or Krug?”

We were quite hungry at this point since we hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast or in the lounge, so also asked for some nuts, which we were promptly served with our Krug.

Singapore Airlines pre-departure champagne

Singapore Airlines pre-departure mixed nuts

After we were served drinks, we were also offered Bose noise canceling headphones.

Singapore Airlines first class Bose headphones

We were then offered pajamas, an amenity kit, and the menu for the flight.

Singapore Airlines first class pajamas, amenity kit, and menu

While I’ve always gotten Givenchy pajamas on the Singapore Airlines A380, the ones on this flight weren’t branded. They were still quite comfortable, if not a bit on the warm side.

Singapore Airlines first class pajamas

The amenity kit contained cologne and a couple of types of cream, all from Salvatore Ferragamo.

Singapore Airlines first class amenity kit

Singapore has a different system than most airlines, given that they give you several other amenities after takeoff, and the other ones you’d ordinarily get in the kit are available in the lavatory. Similarly, Singapore Airlines doesn’t offer amenity kits at all in business class, even though they’re a premium airline.

Singapore Airlines first class Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries

The menu was served in a beautiful leather binder, as is the norm in Singapore first class.

Singapore Airlines first class menu

Drink refills throughout boarding were frequent, and shortly before pushback we were offered hot towels.

Singapore Airlines first class hot towel

At around 9:25AM the very Singaporean captain (I love the accent) came on the PA to welcome us aboard on behalf of himself, his co-captain, and his first officer, and inform us of our flight time of 11hr35min, and the mostly smooth conditions enroute.

Boarding was completed within 15 of when it started, and at 9:30AM we began our pushback. At that point the safety video screened. Singapore really needs to come up with a new safety video, in my opinion.

My eyes were of course glued outside the window for the entire taxi, given the amount of interesting traffic I’m not used to in Russia, both in terms of airlines and planes.

Planes at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

S7 737 at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

Planes at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

Planes at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

Our taxi to the departure runway took about 15 minutes, and short of the runway I also found my favorite planes at the airport — there I saw a Transaero 747 and Transaero 767. This is the Russian airline that went out of business last year… I wish I had flown them!

Planes at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

Former Transaero 747 at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

Former Transaero 767 at Moscow Domodedovo Airport

At 9:45AM we were cleared for takeoff.

Taxiing into position for takeoff

Our takeoff roll was quite long, and the views after takeoff continued to be interesting.

View after takeoff from Moscow

View after takeoff from Moscow

View after takeoff from Moscow

View after takeoff from Moscow

The seatbelt sign was turned off 10 minutes after takeoff, and at that point I changed into pajamas. Singapore Airlines has two lavatories in 777 first class, including one on the left side of the cabin, as well as one by the flight deck. The lavatories aren’t huge, though are nicely appointed.

Singapore 777 first class lavatory

There’s a fold down table that you can use as a seat (or whatever).

Singapore 777 first class lavatory

Then there’s a drawer with all kinds of amenities.

Singapore 777 first class lavatory amenities

Much like in the amenity kit, toiletries in the lavatory are by Salvatore Ferragamo.

Singapore 777 first class lavatory amenities

Once back at my seat, the cabin crew distributed slippers, eyeshades, socks, and earplugs. They don’t typically distribute these on the ground since Singapore requires that you wear shoes for takeoff and landing, so they don’t want to give you slippers but then not let you wear them.

Singapore first class slippers, socks, eyeshades, and earplugs

Service on Singapore is so attentive, and they really do think about all the little details. For example, when they gave us the amenity kit, pajamas, slippers, etc., they asked if they could unwrap them for us, or if we preferred them wrapped.

Shortly thereafter the crew asked us when we wanted to eat. We said we were hungry, so preferred eating right away. They took our orders immediately. The lunch menu read as follows:

And the beverage list read as follows:

For canapés, Singapore Airlines alternates between caviar and satay on many of their flights. Am I the only one who finds it a bit backwards that on their Singapore to Moscow to Houston flight, Singapore serves caviar out of Singapore, and satay out of Moscow? 😉

Singapore is unique in serving both Dom and Krug in first class. While I have a preference for Krug based on many side-by-side tastes, I figured we’d put Ford’s preferences to the test. The flight attendants gladly obliged in setting up a tasting. Ford closed his eyes and I mixed up the glasses, and Ford preferred the Krug.

Singapore Airlines first class Dom vs. Krug tasting

The satay was tasty, and we were even offered more once we were finished, though declined given how big Singapore’s meals are.

Singapore first class lunch canapé — chicken and lamb satay

For his starter, Ford had the antipasto platter.

Singapore first class lunch appetizer — antipasto platter

Meanwhile I had the beetroot stained cured salmon fillet. The preparation was interesting, though typically I’m not a fan of beetroot.

Singapore first class lunch appetizer — beetroot stained cured salmon fillet

Singapore first class lunch appetizer — beetroot stained cured salmon fillet

For the soup, Ford had the Oriental clear chicken broth.

Singapore first class lunch soup — Oriental clear chicken broth

I had the pumpkin veloutte, which was rich and creamy.

Singapore first class lunch soup — pumpkin veloutte

We also both had a salad.

Singapore first class lunch salad — mesclun, shaved fennel salad, and cherry tomato

After several glasses of Krug (and some Dom) I eventually switched to the riesling.

Drink switch to riesling

For his main course, Ford had the wok-fried sliced chicken.

Singapore first class main course — wok-fried sliced chicken in black peppercorn sauce

I had the rice noodles soup, which was pretty flavorless.

Singapore first class main course — rice noodles soup

We were so full that we decided to have dessert later on in the flight. The meal service up until this point took about 90 minutes, and the service throughout was fantastic, as you’d expect. The two flight attendants taking care of us were extremely attentive and precise, and they’d always bring out our courses at exactly the same time, etc.

While the food was plentiful, I didn’t find the food as such to be that “first class,” both in terms of the type of food, as well as in terms of the execution. I would have expected all of those dishes in business class as well. So I’m not sure if Singapore is cutting back on their catering budget, or if this is simply a function of flying out of Moscow, a station that in my experience doesn’t have very good catering

At this point we were flying over the Nordic countries, and asked to have our beds made, as we didn’t get all that much sleep the night before.

Airshow enroute to Houston

Airshow enroute to Houston

Airshow enroute to Houston

One thing I don’t like about Singapore’s 777 first class seat is that you have to get up in order to turn it into a bed. The seat itself doesn’t actually recline that far. Below is a picture of how far the seat reclines — that’s it.

Singapore 777 reclined seat

To turn the seat into a bed you have to fold the back of the seat over. While the sleeping surface is huge, the bed isn’t all that comfortable due to the lack of a mattress pad. The “pad” used is more of a sheet than anything else. Because the seat has to be folded over in order to recline, there’s also no way to slightly angle the bed upwards, for those of us who prefer sleeping with the back of our seat a bit higher.

On the plus side, Singapore provides three excellent pillows, which help with getting a good night of sleep.

Singapore 777 first class bed

I managed to sleep for about 2.5 hours, and woke up as we were approaching Greenland. Ideally I would have liked to get more sleep, but it was better than nothing.

Airshow enroute to Houston

Airshow enroute to Houston

At that point I decided to “stay in bed” and work a bit on my laptop. Unfortunately Singapore’s 777s with the old first class don’t feature Wi-Fi, though I instead drafted part of this trip report in a Word document.

As usual, the views over Greenland were incredible.

View over Greenland

After working for a bit I decided to browse the entertainment selection, which is also excellent on Singapore. Not only is there a huge variety of programming, but for many shows there’s an entire season worth of episodes, rather than just one or two. My only complaint is that they have so many ads before each program.

Singapore KrisWorld entertainment selection

Singapore KrisWorld entertainment selection

After I told Ford how great Zootopia is, we both watched it. I’m not sure he loved it quite as much as I did, but perhaps that’s just not possible.

Singapore KrisWorld entertainment selection

During the movie we decided to finally have dessert. I ordered a cappuccino first, which Singapore does a great job with.

Singapore first class cappuccino

I had the chocolate delice, which was so good.

Singapore first class dessert — chocolate delice

Meanwhile Ford had the warm pear and almost tart. He enjoyed it as well, though the ice cream was rock hard when he was served it, which was probably our fault because we didn’t give the crew enough notice.

Singapore first class dessert — warm pear and almond tart

Once we were done with the movie, we were already over Northern Canada.

Airshow enroute to Houston

Airshow enroute to Houston

At this point we watched three back-to-back episodes of The Mentalist, which is my favorite show of the “crime” genre.

Singapore KrisWorld entertainment selection

Singapore KrisWorld entertainment selection

I ordered another cappuccino during the service, and was offered nuts to accompany it. It might sound like a weird combo, but the honey roasted pecans tasted great with it.

Singapore first class cappuccino and nuts

Eventually we were hungry again, so about two hours before landing we asked to have our pre-arrival meal.

The snack menu (which we didn’t order anything from) read as follows:

And the pre-arrival meal menu read as follows:

Once again our tables were beautifully set.

Singapore first class pre-arrival meal table setting

For the starter we were served the warm spiced tomato soup, which was great. It was probably my favorite dish of the flight, aside from the satay and dessert. It was so flavorful, and not too rich and creamy.

Singapore first class pre-arrival meal appetizer — warm spiced tomato soup

For his main course, Ford had the grilled beef.

Singapore first class pre-arrival meal appetizer — grilled beef fillet with veal jus

I had the salmon, which was fine. While I know the altitude can make some dishes a bit tasteless, smothering salmon in cheese is just strange to me.

Singapore first class pre-arrival meal main course — baked cheese-herb crusted salmon fillet

For dessert we had an excellent warm cherry streusel cake with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm…

Singapore first class pre-arrival meal dessert — warm cherry streusel cake with vanilla ice cream

By the time the meal was done, we were 40 minutes out of Houston, almost ready for our descent.

Airshow enroute to Houston

Airshow enroute to Houston

Airshow enroute to Houston

At this point I browsed the duty free catalogue and realized that they sold a ridiculously cute Hello Kitty Singapore Girl stuffed animal, which I wish I had bought. Unfortunately they were sold out at this point in the flight.

Hello Kitty Singapore Girl in duty free magazine

About 30 minutes before arrival the captain came on the PA to provide us with updated arrival information, informing us that we should land at around 1:10PM.

View on approach to Houston

We hit some turbulence on approach and flew past the airport, before turning back for landing.

View on approach to Houston

View on approach to Houston

At 1:10PM we had a smooth touchdown.

View after touchdown from Houston

From there we had a 15 minute taxi to the gate, including past an Air New Zealand 777, which arrived from Auckland.

Taxiing Houston Airport

Air New Zealand 777 Houston Airport

We pulled into the far gate at the terminal at around 1:25PM.

Arrival gate Houston Airport

We bid farewell to the crew, cleared immigration, and headed to the Amex Centurion Lounge, before our connecting flight.

Singapore 777 first class bottom line

Singapore first class will always be one of my favorite products. This flight featured Singapore’s oldest first class product out of an outstation that’s known for sub-par catering, so all things considered it wasn’t Singapore’s best showing. In other words, A380 Suites Class out of Singapore Changi will typically be a much better experience than old 777 first class out of Moscow.

That being said, the crew was fantastic, the entertainment great, and for ~57,000 KrisFlyer miles per person, this flight was an unbelievable value.

Keep in mind that this flight will soon be discontinued, and replaced with a Manchester to Houston flight. I’m excited about that flight as well.