Singapore Airlines Economy Class A380 & B777 Reviewed

On a recent trip, I was booked into Economy class with preferred seats ($100 upgrade each way) on Singapore Airlines. They still rank in the top 5 best airlines for Economy class. Their excellent hospitality and quality product set them apart from the others.

LAX-NRT-SIN SQ11 Economy Class (Preferred Seat) on A380: After a quick stop in the KAL lounge in TBIT @ LAX, I could see my flight was boarding from the gate below the lounge so I headed over. I boarded on the lower level of the A380 and found my seat at 55H. During checkin I was forced to reshuffle some items to reduce the weight of my carryon before the agent would hand me my tickets but during the boarding process they didn’t check again. My seat had a ton of leg room as it was an exit row but the armrests weren’t moveable so even though nobody sat in the middle seat it didn’t really help much. We were served dinner on the 1st leg to Tokyo. I opted for the international selection. The steak was excellent for Economy class. Very filling meal and it was topped of with Haagen Dazs ice cream. Prior to landing into Tokyo for our refueling stop we were served a light lunch which I opted for the roast chicken. It was OK. The steak was a much better meal. When we landed in Tokyo, we had to take everything off the plane with us and re-clear security. While they were refueling the A380 jumbo jet, I visited the KAL lounge to grab some water and snacks. We boarded the A380 for our final leg to Singapore. They served a dinner and  off to bed I went. For dinner, I opted for the Japanese selection as it was a Wagyu Doteni as the main course. We landed into Singapore around 3AM. Off to the lounge as I had a 4 hour layover.

 

SATS Premier Lounge SIN: The last time I was in Singapore I didn’t have access to this lounge with Priorty Pass so I decided to give it a try. Just outside the lounge there were a ton a people sleeping on the floor. I entered the lounge and asked to use the shower. There was only 2 other people in the lounge at that time so there wasn’t a wait for the shower. The shower room was very nice. It was a very clean and modern shower which featured a rain shower head. After having a hot shower, I relaxed in the massage chair and caught up on email. My 4 hour layover flew by and then I embarked on my 25 minute walk to my connecting flight to Jakarta.

 

SIN-CGK SQ950 Economy Class on B777: I opted for a window seat (33A) on this flight since it was only 90 minutes and it was my first time flying into Jakarta. We were served breakfast which turned out to be very good for such a short flight. It was an uneventful flight and we landed in Jakarta with no delays. Flying a 777 wide-body plane is very normal in Asia whereas in the US we still fly narrow-body planes for short hauls such as SFO-SAN using an A320. It’s nice to have 2 aisles for a faster boarding and deplaning process. Make sure you have $35 USD cash when arriving into Indonesia for their Visa on Arrival.

 

CGK-SIN SQ951 Economy Class on B777: This has to be the earliest flight I’ve woken up for in 2015. The flight departed at 5:25AM. Nothing was really open in the Jakarta airport that early so it was very quiet. Upon boarding, I noticed Singapore Airlines decorated this plane for the holidays. They has bows above some of the windows. Nice touch! I slept on this flight so I’m not sure if they offered a meal. We landed in Singapore and I had to use a bus transfer to get me to my next flight. With only a 1hr layover there was just enough time to buy a neck pillow and board.

 

SIN-NRT-LAX SQ12 Economy Class on A380: After flying this route just a week prior I knew what I was in for so I made it more comfortable with the Evolution Pillow. I boarded on the lower level of the A380 and found my seat at 48D. This seat was nice as the armrest was moveable and there was no seat in front of me. The row ended up filling up so the armrest benefit was eliminated and throughout the boarding process people would stand where seat 47D would have been placed. Overall, I enjoyed this seat more than 55H. We were offered lunch and I opted for the Japanese selection as the international selection was salmon. The lunch was very good. I watched some movies and then we landed into Tokyo to refuel. Same process as the flight coming out with re-clearing security. During this layover, I went shopping instead to get some Japanese gifts for the holidays. I was hoping my seat mate wasn’t continuing on to LAX but sure enough she boarded and was going all the way to LAX. The dinner was the worst meal out of all of them on this trip but I ate it and went to bed. I didn’t sleep well but before landing we were served pancakes for breakfast which turned out to be pretty good. We landed at LAX on time and I could see my future seat in sight while landing. Suite class was visible during landing when they pulled back the curtains. I can’t wait!