A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER – Photo: Aero Pixels | FlickrCC
In February, 2017, I had the opportunity to fly business class on Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles to Tokyo/Narita. As luck would have it, I was on a Boeing 777 that had recently been retrofitted with Singapore’s new business class product. I took a few photos to share the experience.
In 2014, I flew on Singapore’s previous 777 business class product and wrote a review. The new seats are a big improvement.
The business class product
Check-In & LAX Star Alliance Lounge
Check-in at the Singapore Airlines ticket counter was fast and friendly. Security lines at 6:45 am were short.
After surviving the TSA, I immediately directed my attention to breakfast at the Star Alliance Lounge. Located on the 5th floor, the lounge is quite large. The area is filled with dining tables, couches, and comfortable chairs. A variety of breakfast foods were offered including a cereal bar, quiche, scrambled eggs, danish, bagels, and assorted breakfast meats (with and without pork). A nice selection of fresh fruit and cheese was also available.
Drink selections were numerous. My first stop was the espresso machine, which makes a mean latte. I had two to make sure I was ready for the 11-hour flight. No sleeping with a window seat!
For photos and a full review of the LAX Star Alliance Lounge, see the 2013 AirlineReporter post.
My boarding pass
Time to Board
Forty minutes prior to scheduled departure, boarding was announced in the lounge. I gathered my things and walked to the gate where I was welcomed onto the jetway.
I’m no stranger to large airplanes. I fly a Boeing 767-300 and regularly jumpseat on the MD-11 and 747. But every time I step foot on a 777, I’m taken aback by its size. Singapore’s attention to interior design makes the aircraft pop. The minute you step aboard, you know it’s going to be a fun ride.
Today’s Aircraft
The aircraft was registration 9V-SNB. It’s a young Boeing 777-300ER, delivered new to Singapore Airlines in late 2015. The cabin has a four-class configuration. Four first class seats, 48 business class, 28 premium economy, and 184 standard economy seats.
The New Singapore Business Class Seat
Seat 14A was my small office for the day. The area feels roomy with plenty of storage for laptop, tablet, phone, cables, and all the other odds & ends accumulated during a flight. The real challenge was making sure I had all my stuff before deplaning in Narita!
The lay-flat seat has plenty of legroom. I left my seat either fully upright or slightly reclined for the entire flight. Never did I experience any of the soreness or fatigue that accompanies a bad seat. It was very comfortable.
Seat position, light controls, and call buttons are located below the armrest.
The airbag system
First and Business Class seats on this aircraft are equipped with the AmSafe Seatbelt Airbag System. This was the first time I had used one.
The seat belt felt awkward at first, due to the extra bulk. I’ll admit, it was a little strange knowing I had a small explosive device on my lap. After wearing it for a few minutes, I forgot it was there.
Entertainment
Each business class unit has an 18″ HD display with a removable remote/game controller mounted on the side panel. There are hundreds of movies, television, games, and audio titles to choose from. I was impressed that the movie options included a few features still in theaters.
Phitek Active Noise Cancellation headphones are provide. The headphones are comfortable and do a reasonable job of cancelling ambient aircraft noise. If you have a favorite pair of headphones you would rather use, a 3-prong adapter can be purchased on board for $15 USD.
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- The 18″ display
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- Charging
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- Lighting
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- Seat controls
If you like knowing where you are, where you’re going (and where you’ve been), the navigation display on the entertainment system is great fun. It displays the aircraft’s live position over satellite imagery (similar to Google Earth). The synthetic view out the front of the aircraft includes real-time, heads-up flight parameters pulled from the ship’s flight management computer: attitude, airspeed, ground speed, vertical speed altitude, and heading.
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Connectivity
Keep your stuff connected and charged. Hiding behind a sliding door next next to the seat are a few interesting connection options:
- Universal 110v outlet
- HDMI input. Watch your own media from a personal device that supports HDMI.
- USB charging outlet
- USB thumbdrive outlet (displays images, slideshows from a thumbdrive or camera). I connected my iPhone to this. Although it would charge, it would not recognize any media on the device.
- Round 9-Pin “iPod” connector. I’m not too familiar with this connection. It appears to be a “Dension” style automotive iPod adapter.
- 3-prong, airline-style headphone jack. There’s also a second headphone jack on the seat position control panel below the opposite arm rest.
The amenities
Amenities
Singapore did not provide a take-home amenity kit for business class passengers (I’m not sure about first class). Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendant came by with a pair of fluffy socks, slippers, eye shades, and the Phitek headset. Toothbrush kits, disposable razors, and other personal items are available in amenity drawers in the first/business class lavatories.
Salt and pepper fun!
Airline Food
During the boarding process, first/business passengers were offered an assortment of juices and water. After the aircraft reached cruise altitude, brunch was served.
I started off with sliced fresh fruit. My entree was “Braised Egg Noodle with seafood and black mushrooms.” The dish featured stir fried bok choy, noodles, prawns, and a spicy fish tempura (probably cod). The tempura coating lost some of its crispness but had a very nice flavor.
Dessert was a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream garnished with a dark cherry compote. Yum!
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- The salmon
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- The chicken
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- The cheeses
About three hours before landing in Narita, dinner was served. My appetizer was “smoked salmon with crabmeat salad with tarragon mayonnaise.” This was my favorite dish; it was outstanding. The entree was “salt baked chicken: marinated chicken baked with rock salt, seasonal vegetables and fried rice.” It was garnished with mushrooms and green beans. Very nice.
As we began our descent, the flight attendants brought by coffee and a cart with Brie, Cambozola, and Port Salut cheeses with an assortment of dried fruits and walnuts. It was a perfect finish for the long flight.
Enjoying the flight!
It’s always a pleasure to fly on Singapore Airlines. They do an excellent job and I’m looking forward to my next flight with them!
Ken Hoke has been flying for over 30 years. He’s currently a Boeing 757 & 767 captain flying international routes for a package express airline. In his spare time, he writes AeroSavvy. Follow Ken on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
I was wondering if there was a way to know before you book your flight if its a retrofitted plane vs the old business model?
I will be flying SYD to SIN on SQ in January 2018 and have requested seat 14A on a Boeing 777-300ER. I think it will be the retro-fitted aircraft with the new seats.
Just wondering if there is much noise coming from the galley, and is the seat (14A) near the toilets?