Over the coming years, Singapore Airlines will be radically transforming their fleet. This week the airline is taking delivery of their very first Boeing 787-10, an aircraft for which they’re the launch customer. Over the next few years the airline will take delivery of 49 of these planes.
What’s interesting is how Singapore Airlines will be using them. The 787-10 has a range of over 7,000 miles (which is shorter than the range of the 787-8 and 787-9, but still quite long), though Singapore Airlines won’t be using these planes to their maximum range. Instead the 787-10s will be used exclusively for regional flying, in the Asia Pacific region. “Regional” doesn’t just mean very short flights, given how big the region is — the first two destinations for the 787-10 will be Osaka and Perth, so in some cases these flights are as long as transatlantic flights from the US.
We’ve known that Singapore Airlines will introduce a new business class product on their 787-10, and we’ve known what model that seat would be based on. Now that Singapore Airlines has taken delivery of their first 787-10, they’ve formally revealed details of the seat. This is the second new business class product that they’ve announced in months, since they just recently revealed their new A380 business class.
Singapore Airlines’ new 787-10s are equipped with 337 seats, including 36 business class seats and 301 economy seats. The plane features inflight entertainment at every seat and Wi-Fi, though I think that’s a given for an airline like Singapore Airlines.
Business class seats will be fully flat and feature direct aisle access, which is a huge improvement over Singapore Airlines’ old regional business class, which was in a 2-2-2 configuration and featured angled seats.
The seats are manufactured by Stelia Aerospace, and are arranged in a forward facing 1-2-1 configuration. Each seat reclines into a 76″ fully flat bed, and features an 18″ high definition touchscreen monitor, powered by Panasonic’s eX3 system.
Each seat measures up to 26″ in width with armrests that can retracted to add more width when sleeping. There are also adjustable dividers in the center section, which are useful whether you’re traveling with someone or traveling alone (though note that the center seats don’t turn into a double bed).
Here are some pictures of Singapore Airlines’ new business class:
And here’s a short ad, which is more artsy than informational:
I’ll have to try the seats soon myself, though I’ll still share my impressions based on the pictures. This new product looks like a quantum leap for Singapore Airlines’ regional business class. That’s not saying much, though, given that currently they have angled seats and don’t have direct aisle access from every seat. Going to a staggered configuration like this is a huge improvement.
However, the seats also look narrow in pictures. I appreciate the privacy they have, but I feel like that might almost make them feel claustrophobic. I know they say that the seats can become 26″ wide, but the pictures just don’t look like that’s the case. Maybe the pictures are just bad, or something. Still, introducing a new business class product this good exclusively for regional flying is impressive.
What I find interesting is how many types of business class seats Singapore Airlines has at the moment. They have at least three types of business class seats on longhaul flights, and have at least three types of business class seats on short-haul flights. I understand how this happened, but for an airline that’s laser focused on delivering a consistent experience, that’s a bit surprising. I guess that’s what it takes to always stay on the cutting edge, since you can’t reconfigure all planes overnight.
All things considered, Singapore’s new regional business class looks spectacular, given that it’s a purpose built regional product. While previously Singapore Airlines operated longhaul configured aircraft on some regional flights, it’s awesome that they’re dedicated to offering flat beds even on shorter flights.
What do you make of Singapore Airlines’ new 787-10 regional business class?
I find it amusing that "Robert Hanson" seems to have become the favored 'nom de plume' on this blog. Not to mention that I totally agree with the post the "other" Robert Hanson wrote before this one.
As for: "off-color, generally ignorant, and frequently vitriolic comments on here", no one can compete with Debit. No one has come even close. ;)
I am spoiled with the great big C seats when flying SQ regionally..so I am curios if my angst over tight width will be confirmed or not..but honestly just look at their regional rivals..only when these rivals use their long haul fleet, they offer full flat bed..yes, SQ has done it again..showing their rivals where the benchmark is heading...short trips in a individual seat with lots of privacy and full bed comparing to the usual...
I am spoiled with the great big C seats when flying SQ regionally..so I am curios if my angst over tight width will be confirmed or not..but honestly just look at their regional rivals..only when these rivals use their long haul fleet, they offer full flat bed..yes, SQ has done it again..showing their rivals where the benchmark is heading...short trips in a individual seat with lots of privacy and full bed comparing to the usual open seater with no privacy at all..which the majority of the Asian carriers have...Just thought about the European C class products...these Eco seats are not only a joke but actually fooling premium European pax..
And now Cathay Pacific is in a serious disadvantage with their less competitive regional business class product which now looks more like premium economy. And they don't have plans to introduce a new one. Only Cathay Dragon's A321neos will get the new seats.
I am not impressed with the width!! Give me the huge wide seats back!! Don't care how modern and good looking the seats are, you should be comfortable while seating and relaxing, instead of banging yourself on the sides! Remember myself to avoid this on my Asian regional routes
@Robert Hanson:
I think @Cheque was being tongue-in-cheek. Me, not so much. And while you may not be a member of NRA, your record of off-color, generally ignorant, and frequently vitriolic comments on here don't paint you in a great light. Plus, your knowledge of politics, either current or historical, is lacking. To wit: your poor use of ad hominem attacks comparing people to dissimilar political parties. Your pathetic polemics aside, your comment just reminds...
@Robert Hanson:
I think @Cheque was being tongue-in-cheek. Me, not so much. And while you may not be a member of NRA, your record of off-color, generally ignorant, and frequently vitriolic comments on here don't paint you in a great light. Plus, your knowledge of politics, either current or historical, is lacking. To wit: your poor use of ad hominem attacks comparing people to dissimilar political parties. Your pathetic polemics aside, your comment just reminds the reader of that old adage about being silent and being a fool then speaking and removing doubt. I'm sure you know it. If not, Google is your friend. But keep up the good fight, my friend!
@Cheque and AdamR That's the reason NRA members (note: I am not a member) feel the need for a gun. To protect themselves from brutal Fascists like you. ;)
@Red: May 3
The two oldest Singapore Airlines Business Class products have recently been retired... the angled (long haul) Spacebeds were retired late last year while the 1997 Ultimo (Regional) J seats were retired just last month. So it is now down to 3 types of long haul J and 2 types of regional J (including the newest one).
Are those real pictures or renderings? The people look fake because they have no wrinkles in the clothing.
I just checked out TPG's First Look on his website, and the seats actually look comfortable. Certainly much more comfortable looking than SQ's own pics ;)
I would pick these seats any day over their insanely uncomfortable old or new business class product ( non bulkhead) on 380 or 350. Will not Travel that monstrosity - even BA is better than that in club ( hard pdt only and if you get the last row window or even the last row middle rear facing) and no comparison to the Cathay reverse H. Of course this is if sleeping is your priority...
I would pick these seats any day over their insanely uncomfortable old or new business class product ( non bulkhead) on 380 or 350. Will not Travel that monstrosity - even BA is better than that in club ( hard pdt only and if you get the last row window or even the last row middle rear facing) and no comparison to the Cathay reverse H. Of course this is if sleeping is your priority ( which is for most business travelers) over book the cook etc frivoulus stuff. Give me a decent amentiry kit that I can use in flight, pajamas and a straight out flat seat and call it a day for long haul.
This looks worlds better than their longhaul business class seats, those ridiculously wide ones that force you to sleep at a bizarre angle. They also look very long in lie-flat mode. See TPG first look article, he is 6’7 and can stretch out in the seat in bed mode.
20” wide is not massive but in line with many modern reverse herringbone and staggered seats.
20 inches (up to 26 inches with armrests retracted) is at least equivalent to (and in the case of 26 inches way more than) many long haul offerings out there...
@The nice Paul - I agree. The guy looks like a small man. Can’t wait for Lucky’s review.
Does this seat still require sleeping at an angle due to the footwell?
They're re-styled variants of the same seat you see on EK, OZ, TG, and a number of other airlines - and yeah, they're not particularly wide and can feel coffin-esque. I think they look pretty snazzy and I rather enjoy this seating configuration. Not as much as reverse herringbone, of course, if I'm travelling with someone, but having one of the "true" window seats when I'm flying solo is always a treat. SQ always does...
They're re-styled variants of the same seat you see on EK, OZ, TG, and a number of other airlines - and yeah, they're not particularly wide and can feel coffin-esque. I think they look pretty snazzy and I rather enjoy this seating configuration. Not as much as reverse herringbone, of course, if I'm travelling with someone, but having one of the "true" window seats when I'm flying solo is always a treat. SQ always does a great job with finishes, so I wish I had more intra-Asia flying to do so I could try them out.
Also: I 100% agree with @Cheque. Literally.
Lucky you should review SQ's new business class 787-10 to Perth and then go to London nonstop on QF
Who knew SQ would go for a staggered seatplan...
And still no trip report for the new SQ first class lol
Looks like a major improvement. The old regional BC is quite horrible. Its bad on the 777 and even worse on the A330 as they are even narrower; although the A330 is more comfy than the noisy 777. Anyway this new seat looks like a massive improvement.
They have been flying the old angled ones as far a Sydney, Istanbul and Dubai.
Don't forget that SQ send these 'regional' planes on flights to IST, which has an allocated flight time of 11 hours from SIN.
@ Justin, I meant...
@ Justim - true, wires from headphones would be unsightly, and I guess people aren't meant to look that closely at these pictures.
On a more serious note, that seat looks a tight squeeze. The guy in the picture looks very slim, but still doesn't seem to have a lot of room.
@ Justin
She's also only 4 feet tall, chosen to make the seat look bigger.
@John: Lots of potential explanations for why she is not wearing headphones. Note that the screen shows closed captioning, so she could just be watching the show without audio and reading the captions. She could be doing this because she is deaf or out of personal preference or because she prefers to listen to her personal music collection which she is listening to via wireless earbuds. Or she could be listening with earbuds but only...
@John: Lots of potential explanations for why she is not wearing headphones. Note that the screen shows closed captioning, so she could just be watching the show without audio and reading the captions. She could be doing this because she is deaf or out of personal preference or because she prefers to listen to her personal music collection which she is listening to via wireless earbuds. Or she could be listening with earbuds but only out of her right ear, so we can't see the earbuds. Or perhaps the new seat will have bluetooth connectivity to the entertainment system and she's listening to it with wireless earbuds?
I take your point though... the real reason is probably that it doesn't look as good to show an attractive model wearing noise cancelling ear phones and the vast majority of people don't care or notice this kind of detail
Does anyone else think the woman who's in the picture sitting in 20K is missing a pair of headphones? When I'm flying I tend to watch TV with headphones (airshow excepted, but she's not watching that.)
The last time I flew the old business product (angled seats) it was from SIN to MEL and where some of the best flights I had. On both trips I talked and laughed the entire flight with the guy beside me. Reminded me how with the new products you basically never talk to anybody.
People all demand al aisle access but complain if the seat is too narrow. Nobody is willing to pay what it actually costs for all the space they’re demanding. Typical. Nobody understands there are trade offs.
Hey lucky...
When will SIA start to operate the 787-10...
I’m flying to Osaka from NYC on SIA
This sounds like a great update. I did SQ regional J-class a few times from SIN to Japan including on routes to Fukuoka, Tokyo and Osaka. The angled seat wasn't ideal considering these were 7-8 hour flights and often over-night. For equivalent timed transatlantic routes in North America/Europe these are considered "long-haul" not "regional"!
Breaking News Alert: US Mainline carriers, seeking to offer premium cabin travelers a compelling travel experience, will offer something remotely similar....
Oh wait, that'll never happen.
The finsihes on this seat look much better then on their new A380 seats, I personally find it a bit strange that they went with different finishes. But this change does bring their long haul and regional products more inline which will benefit me on flights to Australia which I would technically class as long haul (ish).
It's clear now that they're mainly using the A350-900 to replace their 777-200, and 787-10 will replace the A330-300. Airbus for Boeing, and then Boeing for Airbus. In any case, both the 78J and 359 have much improved products over their predecessors. Surely this will last SQ for quite some time until they need to innovate their J product some more.
I agree it looks a bit tight from the photos but at the same time I recall people saying the older SQ business class seats on the A380s and 777s were too wide so I guess one can't please everybody. In business class, I always prefer a wider seat than a narrower seat but perhaps that's just me.
The lady in the picture seems way too close to the screen,she gonna destroy her vision like that pretty soon. :D
AusBT was on the delivery flight and did a detailed review of the seat: https://www.ausbt.com.au/review-singapore-airlines-boeing-787-10-regional-business-class?utm_source=hero
In short: it's a long but very narrow seat but given it won't be used on longhaul flights then that's ok.
TPG person and Sam Chui flew this plane yesterday. You can look how the real seat in their Instagram. It look not bad, and great for under 6 hours. Note that TPG man is very tall right.
Glad I’m not the only one who did a photo double take. That seat looks narrow AF!! That guy can’t be more than 130lbs and he’s shoulder to shoulder wedged in there.
The guy in the 2nd picture down looks really squeezed in, and he anyway looks like a really skinny guy.
Decades ago I was at university with this *very* short guy who wanted to be an actor. One of his first jobs was a tv advert for the smallest car in the Morris range (a Metro, I think?). They used him because he made the interior of the car look huge.
Either SIA doesn’t understand that old advertising trick. Or they do, and that seat is ridiculously tight.
Let me start the discussion on Singapore Airlines new business class seat by saying that the second amendment should be repealed and all the guns should be confiscated from gun owners, if necessary, by killing them, and NRA executives should be executed. I think it is a great hard product, by the way.