Singapore Airlines New A380 Business Class Review – Singapore to London Heathrow Airport

The wife and I had just reached Changi Airport and we were feeling quite excited about our flight to London. This was because we had managed to book the Singapore Airlines New A380 Business Class (2017), which is the first SQ business class to boast “double beds”. We had tried the Suites Class double bed before, and were curious to see how this new business class version would compare.

After eating some refreshments and taking a quick bath in the SilverKris business class lounge, we made our way to the boarding gate. On a side note, I think the business class lounge has quite a bit of room for improvement. Even though it has comfy lounge chairs and delicious food, it was so packed that we even had difficulty finding seats to eat our food. We went around 10pm on a Saturday. The Private Room definitely fares better, though of course that is a Suites / First Class lounge.

Singapore Airlines New A380 Business Class (2017)

The wife enjoying her seat

This is the latest version (2017) of Singapore Airlines’ luxurious business class seats. It is only available on the A380 Airbus planes.

The previous business class versions are the 2006 and 2013 versions.

This 2017 version stands out from the previous versions because the two seats in the middle can be converted into a double bed. This is a great feature for travelling couples like Raevian and me. However, I wouldn’t say this is a true “double bed” because there is still a separator in the middle, as you can tell from our picture above.

Another standout feature is that unlike the previous business class versions, the seats do not need to be flipped over into a bed, which can be a hassle. Instead, you simply need to push a button to recline the seat.

The business class seat also has a unique winged design, which is supposed to provide better noise isolation.

To check if you’ve gotten this business class version, you just need to check your seat map. If it looks like the one below, then you’ve got it!

Spacious and Plush Leather Seats

Seat 93F

Seat 93D

Seat 93A

All right, now that I’ve given a general overview of the new A380 business class seat, let’s delve into more details.

First, let’s talk about the seats. They are wrapped in a sleek purplish leather and have a rather stylish design. My seat was very comfy, with a good balance of plushness and support.

The seat pitch, which refers to the distance between my seat and the seat in front, is 140cm, and the seat width is 76cm.

This may be significantly smaller than the 205cm pitch and 90cm width in SQ First / Suites Class, but it was definitely more than enough for a small Asian dude like me.

For comparison’s sake, SQ economy class has a seat pitch of 81cm and width of 48cm (which is slightly restrictive, even for a small Asian dude, if I may say so).

Unique Winged Design

Raevian and I were sitting on the two connected seats in the middle, with Raevian taking the left seat and me taking the right.

The winged design of the new business class seat pretty much isolated me from all other passengers.

It was not possible to see anyone else (other than the lower legs of the passenger across the aisle on my right), unless I leaned forward and looked around the wing.

I did this once just to try it out, and luckily I was not spotted by anyone. I can imagine it must be rather weird to see a passenger stretching his neck and body all the way around the wing just to peep around.

In-Flight Entertainment (IFE)

Noise-cancelling headphones

I was impressed by the large 18” IFE monitor, which had great picture quality.

This is also the first SQ business class IFE monitor that is touch sensitive. The 2006 and 2013 versions IFE can only be controlled by the entertainment controller.

(Because my return flight after this flight was on the 2013 business class, I actually went to press on the monitor repeatedly, thinking that it was touchscreen too.)

There were plenty of movies available. Before dozing off on the red-eye, I managed to catch “A Star Is Born”, a wonderful movie that does not conform to the usual cliché storylines. Truly deserving of its many awards and nominations!

And as usual, I was provided with good quality noise-cancelling SQ headphones to watch my movies.

Comfy Footwell

Love the rectangular padded foot rest

The footwell stores the pillow, blanket and mattress pad. Shortly after take-off, I removed these so that I could stretch out my body and tuck my feet inside.

The footwell is quite spacious and well-padded, which made it really comfortable for my feet.

Interestingly, there was also a rectangular padded foot rest which could be extended outwards from the footwell to provide support for my legs (see picture above). This was very comfortable too.

Multiple Stowage Compartments

I have flown both the 2006 and 2013 business classes before, and I really like that they provide plenty of stowage compartments.

Similarly, the new A380 business class (2017) offers plenty of nifty spaces to store my belongings. This is great if you do not want your stuff flying around during take-off or flight turbulence.

I kept my shoes in the lower left compartment and my luggage on the lower right, beneath the seat in front. While sleeping, I kept my spectacles in the small storage nook beside the monitor.

Double Bed!

love the bed

Pillow, Blanket, and Mattress Pad for the bed

couldn’t resist posing for the shot

For me, the highlight of the flight was the famous double bed. Compared to the 2006 and 2013 business class versions, setting up the bed was significantly easier.

I just needed to press the button to recline the bed down to 180 degrees, and then lay the mattress pad. Raevian did the same on her end. And walah! We had our double bed.

It was really nice to be able to sleep beside Raevian on the plane. However, unlike the SQ Suites Class double bed, I could not stretch out my legs fully.

And as mentioned earlier, this is not a true “double bed” since there was still a separator between me and the wife.

Ok I think I am beginning to sound like a snob. I mean come on, I was sleeping ON A BED for my flight! Who cares if it was not a full-length bed or that there was a narrow divider in between?

For someone who has flown long-haul economy class before, this bed (double or not) was a godsend!

In addition, the bed was quite comfortable. The mattress padding was soft, though I felt it could have been thicker. The pillow was plush but with good support. The blanket kept me warm and snug. On the whole, I had a wonderful sleep on the flight!

Washroom

The washroom was average. It was quite small, probably just a little larger than the ones in economy class. It certainly didn’t feel luxurious. There was a range of complimentary toiletries though.

Other Thoughtful Touches

The seat controls were quite intuitive and worked perfectly. Feel free to switch on “Do Not Disturb” if you want to get a good rest (or if you are an anti-social person like me).

We were given the usual slippers, eye mask and socks.

There is a small arm rest by the side of the seat, which I thought was a cute feature. I didn’t use it much though.

The seat had an overhead reading light on the right side. I could swivel the light around, and also adjust its brightness by turning it.

This was a very useful feature as it provided me with some light when the entire cabin was darkened. I also used it to provide light when I was taking photos of my food.

The side table provided me with ample space to place my stuff, which was great.

The tray table came out easily after I pressed a button (helpfully labelled as “PUSH FOR TABLE”).

On the side, just below the reading light, there is a small mirror. I used this to check my appearance (hair, food in teeth, etc), especially after I had just woken up. In case you can’t see clearly you can direct the reading light towards your face.

There were a few USB charging ports as well as a power point. As you can tell from the picture above, there is even a mobile payment reader.

There is a small coat hook beside the monitor. I used it to hang my blazer.

Before landing, we were given a pink card which granted us access to the Fast Track Arrivals Lane. This helped us pass through the London Heathrow Airport customs a lot faster.

Book The Cook

We selected our flight meals using the “Book The Cook” service as usual. This is a SQ service that lets you order dishes that are not available on the standard in-flight menu. You have to select the meals at least 24 hours before the flight.

Nonya Assam Fish

For my first meal, which was supper, I went with the Nonya Assam Fish. This savoury dish comprised tasty fish doused in tangy assam curry and served with rice and vegetables.

The fish meat was tender but with a nice bouncy texture. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that the assam curry tasted very fresh, despite it being prepared on the plane. It had a tangy and slightly feisty flavour that went perfectly with the rice.

Grilled Angus Beef Burger

For breakfast, I had the sumptuous Grilled Angus Beef Burger. The beef was really tender and fresh with a great savoury flavour. Together with the buttery bun and caramelized onions, this was one satisfying breakfast!

Bak Chor Mee Soup

For her supper, Raevian chose the Bak Chor Mee Soup, which was pretty good. All the ingredients were quite fresh and the soup had a nice savoury flavour.

Nasi Lemak

It’s hard to go wrong with Nasi Lemak, and luckily Singapore Airlines did not disappoint with this popular local delicacy. The rice had the distinctive coconut fragrance, and Raevian was nice enough to share the tantalizing drumstick with me.

Appetizers and Desserts

Other than the main courses, I also got to enjoy various appetizers and desserts, such as breads with olive oil or balsamic vinegar, cold tuna salad, ice-cream chendol, and fresh fruits. I was impressed by the high quality of some of these dishes. Well done SQ!

In-Flight Menu

And if you still feel hungry after eating all these food, you can choose to order more food and drinks from the in-flight menu.

The business class menu offers a great selection of appetizers, main courses, pastries, alcohol, beverages, and desserts. You can rest assured that you will never go hungry on the SQ business class flight.

All meals are served on a white tablecloth draped over the tray table.

Good Service by Singapore Airlines!

Unlike the SQ economy class where service can be inconsistent sometimes, we enjoyed good service throughout our flight.

As usual, we were given welcome drinks at the start of the flight. I went with champagne while Raevian had TWG tea. We were also given hot towels* to freshen up.

Unlike some passengers, we do not use these towels to clean our seats. This is for hygiene reasons. It’s not very reassuring to know that the towels might have been used before to wipe the seats, touchscreen monitors, etc, when you are using it to clean your skin.

Before our flight, I had called SQ to inform them that it was Raevian’s birthday on the day of our flight.

I was expecting a simple birthday cake but was pleasantly surprised when a crew of four SQ staff pushed out a tray laid with the birthday cake, birthday card, champagne, cup of dry ice, and other thoughtful SQ presents.

They then started singing a birthday song for Raevian, which culminated in the entire cabin of crew and passengers clapping and cheering.

It was a special way to celebrate Raevian’s birthday for sure. Thank you Singapore Airlines for the nice gesture!

Conclusion

If I had to choose my favourite version of the three Singapore Airlines business classes (2006, 2013, 2017), I would have to say that the new A380 SQ business class (2017) edges out. This is because by nature of it being the latest business class, it generally feels newer and cleaner. There is also the touchscreen monitor which makes it slightly easier to control the IFE. And of course, there is the “double bed” which will definitely be favoured by travelling couples like Raevian and me. But at the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with flying any of these three luxurious Singapore Airlines business classes!