By economy class standards, flying economy class on Singapore Airlines is one of the best flying experiences you can get.
flight
Flight SQ322, Singapore to London; Airbus A380-800 economy class, seat 56D (aisle). Planned flight time was 13 hours and 25 minutes, despite a 45 minute delay to departure and headwinds meant an hour late arrival. Singapore has four daily flights on this route.
loyalty program
Singapore Airlines has its own loyalty program – KrisFlyer. But it’s part of the Star Alliance, and flight credits can be credited to other programs within the group. On top of that, there’s a partnership with Virgin Australia so Australians can earn Velocity Points on Singapore Airlines flights.
carbon emission
Environmentally conscious passengers can offset their flights through a partnership with the Tasman Environmental Market (carbonoffset.singaporeair.com.sg). According to the airline’s online calculator, CO2 emissions per passenger were 841.14kg, with an offsetting cost of S$10.93 (US$12.12).
check in
As this flight was the second leg from Australia, there was a rather long queue at check-in in Adelaide. Annoyingly, online check-in is pointless as the queues for internet check-in are just as severe as normal economy boarding queues. A simple bag drop can and should be better. However, a layover at Singapore Changi Airport is spot on. No security checks when disembarking from Adelaide – straight off the plane and checks for all connecting flights to London take place at the gate.
this seat; special seat; seat
The A380 Big Bird economy class has a total of 343 seats, with a seat pitch of 32 inches (81 cm) and a seat width of 19 inches (48 cm). Even fans of aisle seating should consider opting for a window seat—the space between the armrest and the window is surprisingly generous. 3-4-3 formation, the advantage of 56D being close to the toilet is that no one wants to sit on 56E. There is an empty seat next to it.
Seats are cleverly designed with individual screens, USB ports and cupholders separate from the tray table.
luggage
The exact baggage allowance depends on the ticket booked. Standard tickets allow 30kg of checked luggage, while premium fares allow 25kg of checked luggage. Star Alliance gold card members check in an additional 20 kg, and the official carry-on baggage allowance is 7 kg, but it is basically not enforced.
entertainment
It’s hard to argue with the sprawling TV — 30 full seasons and more one-off episodes — and movie selection. The categories are usually special — “calm and healthy,” “featuring Chris Hemsworth” and “antihero movie” are among the choices. It’s touchscreen only, though, which means you’ll need your own device to play the games offered in the entertainment system. There is free Wi-Fi in theory, but it only works with the messaging app, and no one seems to be able to get it to work.
Serve
Service is what Singapore Airlines is famous for and deservedly so. The staff went out of their way to ease the pain of a passenger recovering from recent hip surgery. They have perfectly mastered the amalgam of polite assertiveness needed to get everyone to put their seats back at mealtime. Trays were also cleared very quickly, no mean feat on an A380.
food
Dinner options are fish and potatoes or chicken and noodles. The texture and taste of the noodles was good but the springiness of the chicken was disappointing. The smooth and rich chocolate ice cream somewhat made up for it, though. Breakfast was better – omelette with sausage is the kind of food that sucks on other airlines but was more enjoyable in this case. The wines—cheap Chilean Chardonnay and French Cabernet Merlot—are an unnecessarily disappointing weak link.
there’s one more thing
Bring your jumpers – Singapore Airlines doesn’t do things halfway when it comes to turning on the air-conditioning.
verdict
There are obviously some areas for incremental improvement, but overall, Singapore Airlines still offers one of the best long-haul economy experiences in the air.
Our rating (out of five)
★★★★
The author flies as a guest of Singapore Airlines (Singapore Airlines), Tourism Northern Territory and Tourism South Australia.
