Review of Singapore Airlines flight Osaka → Singapore in First

Kansai airport could be seen in the distance from my hotel room.




Checked out of the hotel before 9am to catch the 9am free shuttle to Kansai airport. It was only a 10min bus ride to Kansai, and 10min to the experience which all Avgeeks would die for, the Suites experience on Singapore Airlines! For the peak winter schedule, SQ had upgraded one of the twice daily flights (which will go up to both dailies for a month from mid-Dec) to the A380 and with this, Suites Class was offered on the KIX route. In fact, this is the only destination in Japan which offers Suites. And KIX being a premium-light route compared to Tokyo, Suites Savers redemption was widely available (4 seats or more per A380 flight up for Savers redemption) and hence I jumped at the opportunity and upgraded my Business ticket to Suites! Suites was so 'unpopular' that Business Class redemptions were only on waitlist for both Saver and Advantage redemptions, but Suites redemption was immediately available for confirmation.

Arrived at SQ's check-in counters and proceeded straight to the Golden check-in row which had no queue. Comparatively, there were long queues at the Business and Economy counters.




Check-in completed, and got my 1st every Golden ticket! According to the JAL check-in agent, Suites would be 5/12 today.




Suites passengers were provided with the Fast Lane pass (I recalled Business passengers were not provided with this), as well as JAL Sakura lounge or 2000yen meal voucher, similar to Business Class offering.




Heading to the Fast Lane security clearance.




After the efficient security and immigration, we were at the airside. The departure level overlooks the domestic hall.






Instead of heading to the JAL Sakura Lounge, I grabbed a bite at a Japanese restaurant using the voucher credit instead.




After some final duty-free shopping, we took the shuttle train to the far end gates where international flights would depart from. Our magnificent whale was all readied for the flight back to Singapore.




The gate area was crowded with passengers, which means that the flight must be pretty full at the back.




An area towards the boarding gate was reserved for premium passengers.




Ground staff all prepared for boarding.




07 November 2018
Singapore Airlines
SQ 619
Osaka Kansai (KIX) - Singapore (SIN)
A380-800
9V-SKK
Suites Class
Flight Time: 6H05M


After passengers needing assistance were boarded, the ground staff invited Suites passengers which they had identified earlier to board. Into the whale!




Made a left turn at the 1st aerobridge and welcomed by the crew at the door. We were personally escorted to our suites. For this flight, my suite would be at the window 3F. 3A/F offers 3 windows in each suite, compared to the other window suites which only have 2 each.






My private space for the next 6.5hrs!




The Suites crew came around to welcome and introduce themselves. As this would be my 1st time in Suites, the crew also made the effort to do a brief introduction of the seat features. Even though this was the old suites, it was still perfectly comfortable and easy to figure out the nooks and crannies.

IFE handset, seat controls, some storage and a litter bin. The power outlets and more storage are at the other side (which I forgot to take a picture of).




A large sized pillow and a blanket was already placed on the ottoman. The crew came round to remove the blanket wrapper and offered to assist to cover you up if you would like. Hmm, not too used to such personal service haha.




The reading materials. The Silver Kris magazine article title totally described my life now!




Hot towels were offered and welcome beverages offered. Shall go with the Dom Perignon before departure! I am no wine connoisseur but the Dom is definitely easier to drink than the Charles Heidsiek in Business. Nuts and are glass of water were also offered.








I had no chance to finish up the champagne as the crew reappeared to top up my champagne flute whenever the champagne level went low.






The new Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay H9i wired headphones and leather-bounded menu were offered. Selection of newspapers and magazines were also offered.






Across from my suite. It was pretty empty with only 5/12 in Suites.




View from the window.




Safety video played prior to pushback. With so much space and the distance between the seat and tv screen, it certainly does made the screen look small. First world problems…




Pushed back and given the traditional Japanese farewell from the ground crew.






Taxied to the runway while crew cleared the glasses and dishes.






Departed from Rwy06R.








Flying pass Kobe airport.




Flying in great weather.






After having so much liquids since boarding, I rushed to the restroom immediately after seatbelt signs were turned off. There are 2 lavatories for Suites passengers, and they were not too fanciful compared to some of the 'bling bling' airlines. Toiletries were well stocked and Lalique-branded amenities were offered.












View of the Suites cabin and my seat. Still very classic and glamourous after all these years.








More champagne post departure. This time round, I swapped for the Krug.






Krug was very good too, very smooth to the palate. Can't decide which is better, Dom or Krug. It appeared that I was the only passenger drinking Krug (or champagne for the matter) and the crew cheekily commented that I could have the whole bottle if I wanted. Nope, that is too much alcohol for me! Guess some of you must be thinking "how can there be too much of Krug!"




Crew also came round to offer amenities, starting with the Lalique slippers, which the crew removed from the packaging and placed on the floor.




As our scheduled flight time was 7h10m, we were eligible for pyjamas and amenity kits as well (offered on day flights of over 7hrs), and a full set was brought to me, along with socks and eyeshades.






Contents of the male kit, which included lip balm, lotion, bar soap (?) and a candle (???). Accompanied with the SQ Dreamliner teddies!




For the female kit, there were lip balm, lotions and a perfume.




Satay was served and it was very good as usual.






Bliss in the sky is drinking Krug with a movie.






Checking out the signature A380 stairways to the 'lowly' Business cabin haha. Heaven is definitely not up there.




As the pair of middle seats at 3C/D remained empty, I checked if the crew could covert it into my 'bedroom' while 3F remained as the seating/dining area. No problem, and in no time, they were converting the 2 middle suites into a double bed suite.




Double bed made up, with fluffy pillows and soft, comfortable duvets.






The bed was very comfortable too, much better than any of the SQ Business Class flat beds.




I had requested for lunch to be served 2hrs after takeoff, and when it was ready for lunch, I went back to my dining suite.






A view of the menu for the flight.










Champagne, wines and other alcohols.








The non-alcohols, coffees and teas.








Even though I had pre-booked the Kyo Kaiseki meal prior to the flight, I requested if I could have the caviar from the international menu to start. No problem, and Chilled Malossol Caviar was presented as the starter before the Kyo Kaiseki starter was brought out. Crew also offered a chilled vodka with the caviar, but I declined.






Trying to appreciate the salty fish eggs. I certainly do not have an expensive tongue.




Starting with the appetisers (Sakizuke and Mukuozuke). It was paired with a very good sake. Refer to the menu posted earlier for the items as I was also figuring out what I was eating from the menu. Some of the items sounded weird but all were actually quite tasty.












Next was the oshinogi, or noodles course. Cold udon with soba sauce, mackerel sushi and side vegetables. Very good too.




Next is the Futamono course, which consisted of Braised Kurobuta pork belly. This was delicious, with melt-in-the-mouth and flavourful proteins! The beetroot puree added a different dimension to the meat as well.










The inflight manager came round to recommend a red wine to go with the pork. It was a very smooth wine indeed and paired well. "More wine?" after I had finished my glass. Apparently no one else was drinking wines in the Suites cabin and the crew were keen to sell the excellent wines.




The rest of the hot courses arrived. Yakimono, Gohan, Kounomono and Tome-***. These were good and light after the heavier meat course.










And finally the dessert course. Requested for both the International and Japanese desserts (yes, I have a very sweet tooth), which the crew gladly prepared. The whole meal service was very well-paced according to individual passenger, allowing sufficient time to savour the food.


The international dessert was the Warm orange financier cake with chocolate ice-cream. It was sinful but great.




In contrast, the Japanese selection of Yuzu cake with yuzu sorbet was a lighter option and could serve as a palate cleanser. Also had a genmai tea with the dessert.






To end the meal service, the crew offered cheeses and fruits. I declined the cheeses and just had a melon. Pralines were also offered and I ordered a Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee to finish.










After the awesome meal, I hopped over back to the double bed suite, where a bottle of evian was already placed beside the bed.




As the bed was so comfortable and the cabin temperature was cool enough to snuggle under the duvet, I was soon fell asleep for more than an hour.




When I woke up, we were just 40min away from landing. Requested for another Blue Mountain prior to descend, and luckily it was delivered just before the seatbelt signs came on and things started to get a bit bumpy.






Descending into Singapore. My 'Suite' life was about to end soon.










Without any hold, we descended rapidly, approached and landed on Rwy20R almost 30min ahead of schedule. This could be one of the rare times when I wished my flight would not land early.
















Video of the landing.




Just a short taxi to the gate at T3.






Last look at the luxurious and grand suite.






Disembarked. Just a small nit-pick here. The first few economy passengers had disembarked from Door 2 prior to the Suites passengers from Door 1. Another first world problem haha.




Thanks for reading and your comments are welcomed!