Review: Singapore Airlines New Business Class A380 Singapore To Sydney

Having flown Singapore’s previous generation business class seat, I couldn’t wait to see how their brand new business class seat compared.

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Singapore Airlines 221
Singapore (SIN) – Sydney (SYD)
Thursday, February 1
Depart: 8:40PM
Arrive: 7:40AM (+1 day)
Duration: 8hr
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 19A (Business Class)

I boarded through the forward door of the upper deck, where I was immediately greeted by several crew members, including the chief steward, Dennis. Dennis greeted me by name upon verifying my boarding pass, and escorted me to my seat, 19A. There’s nothing quite like a Singapore Airlines welcome!

The Suites cabin was to the left, while the rest of the upper deck (to the right) had business class seats. Singapore Airlines has a total of 78 business class seats on their new A380, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class cabin

It’s interesting to note that this cabin is actually significantly denser than their previous business class product. With their other A380 configuration, the airline fit 66 business class seats in the same area that they currently have 78 seats.

Singapore Airlines business class cabin A380

My first thought upon entering the cabin was that it was incredibly stylish. Between the mood lighting and sleek finishes, this is one of the most beautiful business class cabins out there. The plane also had the new plane smell, which is always a treat.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class cabin

While other airlines have staggered configurations, in Singapore’s new A380 business class every seat is basically the same. So it’s not that some window seats are better than others (with the exception of bulkheads, as I’ll discuss below).

Before settling into my window seat, I checked out one of the center seats. The great news is that if you’re traveling alone you have privacy in these seats, because there’s a partition that’s in the “up” position

Singapore Airlines new business class seat

Then I checked out the beautiful window seats. The attention to detail when it comes to the finishes and the placement of all the little gadgets is flawless. This is easily one of the prettiest business class seats I’ve ever seen. While the seat doesn’t have a door, it affords excellent privacy thanks to the long partition along the aisle. The downside to this is that it’s really tough to look out the window, since you have to lean way forward.

Singapore Airlines business class seat A380

Singapore Airlines business class seat A380

Singapore Airlines business class seat A380

Lets take a closer look at some of the features. To the left of the seat was a counter which was big enough to store a laptop.

Singapore Airlines business class seat

This is where both the entertainment controller and a mirror were located.

Singapore Airlines business class seat mirror 

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment controls 

Then there was a headphone jack, USB outlet, and the seat controls (a lot of pressure was required to use these, surprisingly).

Singapore Airlines business class seat controls

The tray table folds out from immediately underneath this counter, in a creative way. It’s folded over in half while stored, and then as you take it out you can flip it over to use the whole thing.

Singapore Airlines business class tray table

Above that was the reading light, which had a really cool pattern next to it.

Singapore Airlines business class seat reading light

Then beneath the main console was a pocket with the menu, magazines, and headphones. The area next to this eventually became part of the bed, when the seat was reclined.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class seat storage 

Next to that pocket was a small compartment with a mobile payment device, as well as a power port and USB outlet.

Singapore Airlines business class seat outlet

The seatback in front not only had the TV, but also had a couple of storage areas. There was one that could essentially be used for a glass, or something.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class seat storage 

Then the other one was a storage compartment that could be closed, and was big enough for a pair of glasses or a phone.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class seat storage 

Here’s where I start to not like the seat. One of the things I found annoying about Singapore’s old business class seat is that you had to sleep at an angle, since the footwell was at the very side of the fuselage. So you essentially have to sleep diagonally across the seat when in bed mode. That’s something they haven’t changed. On the plus side, the footwell itself is quite large. The bad news is that you’re limited in terms of the angles you can comfortably sleep at.

Singapore Airlines business class seat footwell 

Many seats like this don’t allow underseat storage for takeoff and landing, but this seat has plenty of room to store your bags, as you can just place them underneath the seat. Note that there are no overhead bins in the center of the cabin, so space for carry-ons is fairly limited, given that the A380 upper deck has smaller bins to begin with.

Singapore Airlines business class underseat storage 

Those are the the basic specs of the seat, so let’s look at some more of the details. Waiting at my seat on boarding were a pair of headphones. Singapore’s headphones are quite uncomfortable, and for such a premium airline I don’t get why they haven’t invested in better headphones. Even American offers Bose headphones in business class.

Singapore Airlines business class headphones

Singapore Airlines also doesn’t offer amenity kits in business class. They say this is to prevent waste, because in reality they offer just about all the amenities you’d get in a kit on demand. The only thing they offer proactively are socks and eyeshades.

Singapore Airlines business class socks 

The bedding was waiting at my seat upon boarding in the footwell, and was fantastic. There were two pillows and a lovely duvet.

Singapore Airlines business class bedding

The menu for my flight was also waiting at my seat.

Singapore Airlines business class menu

Singapore Airlines has some of the world’s best crews. Sometimes the service is just good, and sometimes it’s phenomenal. This crew definitely fit in the latter category. What impresses me about an amazing Singapore crew isn’t even that they’re friendly or polished, but rather how seamless they make the entire experience. They serve 78 people, but somehow they make you feel like they’re taking care just of you.

Taking care of my aisle were Dennis, Shaun, and Shawn (not confusing at all), and all three couldn’t have been better.

Just a couple of minutes after settling in I was offered a drink. “Mr. Schlappig, for the welcome aboard beverage can we offer you some champagne, juice, or our signature welcome drink, with apple juice and ginger ale?” I selected the champagne.

Singapore Airlines business class pre-departure champagne

Boarding was efficient despite the full flight, and once most business class passengers had boarded, the crew came through the cabin with warm towels, followed by newspapers and magazines.

Singapore Airlines business class pre-departure warm towel

Singapore Airlines A380 business class cabin

At 8:35PM the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us that our flight time would be 7hr15min. He advised there would be a delay of 10-15 minutes due to a missing passenger, and the need to offload a bag. However, he said we should still be arriving on schedule.

At 8:40PM the main cabin door was closed (only about five business class seats were empty), and a few minutes after that the crew came through the cabin to take drink orders for after takeoff. I love the attention to detail of Singapore crews. Noticing that I had a glass of champagne before takeoff, the flight attendant said “Mr. Schlappig, may I offer you another glass of champagne after takeoff, or may I get you something else?”

Also around this time, chief steward Dennis came around to each business class passenger to welcome them onboard.

Shortly thereafter the safety video was screened.

At 8:55PM we began our pushback, and by 9:10PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 2C. As we climbed out I browsed the entertainment selection. It’s really awesome that you can save your playlists for what you want to watch with your KrisFlyer number or email address, for anyone who may get value out of that.

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment

First I checked out the airshow for our flight.

Airshow to Sydney

The entertainment selection was excellent. KrisWorld is one of the best entertainment systems in the sky. It’s not quite as good as Emirates’ ICE system, but aside from that it’s one of the best out there.

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment selection

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment selection

Not only were there 129 movies, but what I especially love is that they have entire seasons of TV shows — I’m always annoyed when an airline has just one or two episodes of a TV show.

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment selection

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment selection

Singapore Airlines business class entertainment selection

One of the other fantastic improvements with Singapore’s new A380s is that they have a new Wi-Fi system. This is among the fastest inflight internet I’ve had on any airline. Unfortunately they charge based on a combination of time and data consumption, and the pricing is as follows:

• 30 min and up to 30MB of data — 4.99USD
• Three hours and up to 150MB of data — 12.00USD
• Entire flight and up to 500MB of data — 29.99USD (for a promotional period it was only 19.99USD)

Singapore’s new A380 Wi-Fi pricing

This is such a huge improvement over Singapore’s old A380 Wi-Fi, which was ridiculously slow and expensive. I think the new pricing is quite reasonable given the quality.

The seatbelt sign was turned off just five minutes after takeoff. Eight minutes after takeoff I had a glass of champagne, some sparkling water, and some nuts. That has to be some sort of a record for the fastest after-takeoff service.

Singapore Airlines business class dinner — champagne, sparkling water, and mixed nuts

At this point I decided to take a look around the cabin.

Singapore Airlines business class cabin A380

There are two business class cabins — the main one I was seated in, and then the mini-cabin in the rear. Between these two cabins are the four lavatories for business class.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class lavatories

They’re all quite small, though were in spotless condition the entire flight.

Singapore Airlines A380 business class lavatory

The mini-cabin in the rear was more intimate.

Singapore Airlines business class cabin A380

So the thing about Singapore’s business class seats is that the bulkhead seats are significantly better than the non-bulkhead seats. It makes a huge difference. One of these was even open, so why didn’t I select it? Because I wanted to review the seat that a vast majority of people get, rather than the seat that a few lucky people may get.

What makes the bulkhead seats so much better is that they don’t have the same constrained footwell, but rather have a ton of space. If you’re flying Singapore business class, do everything in your power to select a bulkhead seat, as it makes a world of difference in terms of comfort.

Singapore Airlines business class bulkhead seat

Singapore Airlines business class bulkhead seat

Once back at my seat it was time for dinner. The menu read as follows:

The drink list read as follows:

Over the next few minutes I was offered a drink refill, and then 25 minutes after takeoff I was asked what I wanted to have for dinner. Singapore Airlines offers a “Book the Cook” service, where you can select from a more extensive menu prior to your flight. I didn’t order from that, though probably should have.

After the first drink service was complete it took a while for the meal to be served. Tables were set at 10:05PM, about 55 minutes after takeoff. The starter consisted of a salad of colossal crab served with mango and citrus dressing. It was excellent. I was also offered a selection from the breadbasket, and appreciated how varied their selection was. Singapore Airlines has among the best garlic bread in the sky.

Singapore Airlines business class dinner — appetizer & bread

Most of the main course options didn’t particularly appeal to me, so I ordered the Singapore chicken rice. It was just alright, I thought.

Singapore Airlines business class dinner — famous Singapore chicken rice

Next up was dessert, which consisted of a light but tasty blueberry yogurt cake.

Singapore Airlines business class dinner — blueberry yogurt cake

Lastly there was a cheese and fruit course. It’s impressive that they plate the cheese at your individual seat, because usually in business class the cheese already comes pre-sliced.

Singapore Airlines business class cheese cart

The cheese quality was excellent.

Singapore Airlines business class dinner — cheese course

At the conclusion of the meal I was offered a bottle of water.

Singapore Airlines business class bottled water

The meal service was done about 1hr45min take after takeoff, with 5hr30min remaining to Sydney. While the meal delivery was a bit on the slow side for such a short flight, the crew couldn’t have been better. Like some other airlines, Singapore Airlines uses an “assembly line” approach to business class service, but they manage to do so while still making the experience personalized, which most other airlines struggle with. You’re addressed by name, if they notice an empty glass they’ll refill it, etc.

Airshow enroute to Sydney

After the meal I decided to recline my seat into bed mode. With Singapore Airlines’ old business class seat you had to “flip over” the back of the seat to turn it into a bed. That’s one big improvement with this seat, as you can recline directly into bed more. The two pillows and duvet are also great.

Singapore Airlines business class bed

Unfortunately that’s where my compliments of the bed stop. The first and biggest issue with the seat is that it’s really hard in bed mode. Like, really, really hard. There’s a mattress sheet (not a pad), so that doesn’t do much to make the surface any softer. As someone who prefers a soft surface, I find this to be one of the hardest beds out there.

Furthermore, you have to sleep at an odd angle, basically diagonally across the seat, so that your feet can go in the footwell. Sure, I could eventually fall asleep with this arrangement, but you really have to sleep in an unnatural position to get comfortable.

Singapore Airlines business class bed

Singapore Airlines business class bed

One of the unique things about Singapore Airlines’ new business class is that the center seats can turn into double beds. I really lucked out because I had two empty business class seats across from me, even though the cabin was otherwise packed. I asked the crew if they’d be willing to make me a double bed in the center section, and they obliged. First they lowered the partition between seats.

Singapore Airlines business class center seats

Then they reclined both seats, and then they lowered the partition all the way down.

Singapore Airlines business class double bed

I was impressed by the double bed. The crew put an additional duvet over the lowered partition to make sure it wasn’t hard at all, and after doing that I found the bed to be extremely comfortable.

Singapore Airlines business class double bed

The one thing to be aware of with this double bed is that you won’t really be able to cuddle, or anything. The footwells are on the opposite ends of the seats, so in reality you’ll both be sleeping diagonally with your heads in the center, and your feet at the far ends of both seats.

Singapore Airlines business class double bed

Because of the awkward position of the footwell, I found the most comfortable way to sleep in these seats to just place myself straight across the seats from one end to the other.

Singapore Airlines business class double bed

I ended up falling asleep with about four hours remaining to Sydney, and then woke up about 90 minutes before arrival.

Airshow enroute to Sydney

At that point the breakfast service began. The menu read as follows:

This is a short flight, and dinner had just wrapped up four hours prior to breakfast, so I wasn’t hungry, but I took one for the team. Singapore Airlines serves a really “continental” breakfast on this flight, to the point that I almost wonder why they bother, because it doesn’t seem worth sacrificing an hour of sleep over.

Breakfast consisted of a tiny fruit plate as well as a selection from the breadbasket. That’s it. I get the struggle here from Singapore Airlines’ perspective — on one hand, people aren’t going to be super hungry for breakfast after such a short flight. At the same time, it’s definitely not worth being woken up 90 minutes before arrival for the below. I almost feel like they should just give everyone a plastic container with some fruit and a croissant as the descent starts.

Singapore Airlines business class breakfast — fruit and croissant

After the meal I ordered a cappuccino, which was the best part of the breakfast.

Singapore Airlines business class breakfast — cappuccino 

40 minutes before our arrival, the captain advised that we were at 39,000 feet and would be landing in Sydney at 7:25AM.

Airshow approaching Sydney

Airshow approaching Sydney

As we initiated our descent the crew distributed fast track landing cards for Sydney.

Sydney Airport fast track card

The views on our descent were incredible.

View approaching Sydney

View approaching Sydney

We had a smooth touchdown in Sydney at 7:30AM.

Final approach to Sydney Airport

Taxiing Sydney Airport

From there we had a short taxi to our arrival stand, where we pulled in next to a Korean Air A380.

Korean Air A380 Sydney Airport

I don’t know what it is about the jet bridges at Sydney Airport, but it’s consistently possible to get great plane views from them, so I appreciate that.

Singapore Airlines A380 Sydney Airport

Singapore A380 business class bottom line

There’s a lot to love about Singapore Airlines’ new A380 business class, and also some areas where I feel they dropped the ball. Let’s start with the positives.

The service was exceptional. Singapore Airlines pretty consistently has great service, but this crew was especially good. Furthermore, despite the cabin being denser than the old one, I think it’s an improvement. The seats are more private and you don’t have to get up to turn your seat into bed mode. The ability to also form double beds in the center of the cabin is great. The Wi-Fi is a huge improvement over the old system.

There are some downsides to the product as well, though. I feel like Singapore Airlines didn’t fundamentally redesign their previous version of seats to address the flaws. You still have to sleep at a weird angle. The seats are hard. There are no individual air vents. While this isn’t specific to the new A380, I wasn’t terribly impressed by the meal service. My main course was pretty lackluster, and I thought the breakfast service 90 minutes out wasn’t worth getting up for.

So I’d say Singapore’s new A380 business class is an improvement, though this isn’t a radical change, and the seat only ranks as number eight on my list of the world’s top nine business class seats.