Singapore Airlines has been pushing the boundaries in terms of passenger experience for a long time now. They were the first airline to offer a double bed on a commercial plane, with the introduction of their A380 Suites Class.
Even the business class product they introduced nearly a decade ago is still cutting edge, and almost better than many of the first class products out there.
Despite their already up-to-date products, Singapore is always one-upping themselves. In 2013 Singapore Airlines announced that they would refresh the cabins on their Boeing 777-300ERs.
Singapore Airlines refreshed first class 777-300ER
Singapore Airlines refreshed business class 777-300ER
While they weren’t immediately retrofitting existing aircraft, the new 777-300ERs in their fleet are being delivered with new premium cabin products.
It looks like a nice aesthetic improvement, though ultimately both the old products are still excellent.
Interestingly, up until now no announcements have been made about the possibility of refreshing the A380s. Not that they’re in need of a refresh, but we’re talking about Singapore Airlines here, and they like to be one step ahead.
Well, via AusBT, it looks like a Singapore Airlines A380 cabin refresh project is in the works. Apparently Singapore is planning on introducing refreshed cabins on the next batch of A380s they begin taking delivery of, in 2017. Here’s the vision:
“We are working hard on a new ground-up first suite and business class product that will be unveiled when we put into service the next batch of A380s which are coming in 2017” said Singapore Airlines Executive Vice President Commercial, Mak Swee Wah.
“We have to do what is sensible and what the customers want, and come out with product which fits the market segment who wants exclusivity, privacy and comfort, and not just the suite but the whole package.”
“Certainly we won’t change just for the sake of change, but it will be superior to what we have now” Mak said of the new A380 business class. “Product development is an ongoing process.”
It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with. My guess is that they change very little in business class, since they just introduced the refreshed product, and it still looks excellent.
Suites Class will be the more interesting one. Singapore Airlines recently refreshed A380 Suites Class, though that just consisted of them reupholstering the seats with black leather.
Singapore Airlines’ refreshed A380 Suites Class
Singapore Airlines’ “old” A380 Suites Class
Personally I don’t think we’ll see many changes. I would guess it’ll be a similar “refresh” to what we’ve seen in the past, whereby they’ll just change the finishes.
What would I most like to see on Singapore’s A380? Affordable and usable Wi-Fi and more onboard amenities, like a bar, lounge, etc.
What kind of a refresh are you expecting with Singapore Airlines’ A380s in 2017? What would you like to see?
Hi Lucky,
I'm planning my 30th birthday getaway to New York and most likely use Bangkok or Singapore as my starting point. I am considering to fly either Singapore Airlines Suites or EY First Apartment. Could you please tell me the pros and cons? Last I was on SQ Suites was July '14 to SIN - LAX- SIN which was the pre refreshed cabin.
I want to get the most bang out of my birthday trip!
Wonder what the changes in business class would be. Hope they will still have the amazingly wide seats in J.
It will be a total refresh, according to Business Traveller:
While little is known about the new seating, Nicholas Ionides, SIA's vice president of public affairs, confirmed that the next generation suites will be "an entirely new design from the ground up".
http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/101680/sia-a380-to-feature-new-first-and-business-prod
Marc- Etihad has applied for a patent for their design, although it can take a while for a grant to be issued and it is not certain their patent claims will be granted. Their application can be viewed here:
http://www.google.com/patents/EP2783983A1?cl=en
I really want to see a seat which becomes a bed without you having to get up off the seat. It's just ridiculous that you need to get help if you want the seat to be a bed or s chair to lounge in
This is very interesting... I'd expect them to, at least, put in a bar for J & F passengers. That seems like a very popular feature.
P.S. Not all of their A380s have been refreshed yet with new design. Just last month flew in one that had an older upholstery.
This all is really fantastic, but it makes me wonder--what is the point of offering both business and first when they have such similar and high quality products? Ben, maybe you could elaborate on some hard/soft product differences? They just look nearly identical in the photos, at least on the 777-300.
Does Singapore tend to restrict premium cabin reward seat availability during/after a refresh like this? If so, then this is bad news!
@ snic -- When they first introduced the new first & business class almost a decade ago, they did restrict saver awards in the product for quite a while. That being said, with the latest "refresh" on the 777 they didn't restrict seats. So if it's just a refresh I wouldn't expect them to restrict space. If it's a totally new product they very well may. Only time will tell!
Is there a problem with singapore's website? Not finding nonstop NRT-LAX flights after April 2016.
@ pw -- The schedule just isn't open much further out than that.
Interestingly, when I asked SQ's Mak about showers for the new A380 first suites he didn't seem at all committed to them...
http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-airline-new-a380-first-class-suites-business-class-in-2017
We've also got a close-up look at SQ's new Premium Economy seat at http://www.ausbt.com.au/review-singapore-airlines-premium-economy-seats
If they're saying "exclusivity, privacy and comfort, and not just the suite but the whole package", then benchmarked against LH, EY & to a certain extent, AF, they'll need to invest in ground services for F. SQ's F & J hard products are very tough to beat but their treatment of F pax on ground, departure & arrival, is quite far behind competition.
So, whole package must encompass door-to-door experience, which include car service, very...
If they're saying "exclusivity, privacy and comfort, and not just the suite but the whole package", then benchmarked against LH, EY & to a certain extent, AF, they'll need to invest in ground services for F. SQ's F & J hard products are very tough to beat but their treatment of F pax on ground, departure & arrival, is quite far behind competition.
So, whole package must encompass door-to-door experience, which include car service, very substantial improvements in lounge cuisine & facilities, end-to-end escorts (even GA has them!), tarmac/golf cart transfers; where possible at key destinations - e.g. LHR, LAX, JFK, SYD, NRT, etc.
And of course, on-board showers & bar - nobody gets tired of these :)
Does Etihad have a patent (or something like that) that prevents other airlines from developping a one aisle widebody product? Or will we see something like that coming to other airlines in the near future?
@ Marc -- They might have a patent on that exact design, though I doubt they can patent a single aisle concept as such.
I also stumbled upon a more detailed look at Singapore's new PE offering. Thought you might be interested. http://thedesignair.net/2015/05/21/singapore-airlines-new-premium-economy-product-is-strongest-in-the-details/
i am guessing this will be a huge suite redesign. they have to keep up with Etihad (as does Emirates).