Review of Singapore Airlines flight Singapore Melbourne in Business

Airline Singapore Airlines
Flight SQ237
Class Business
Seat 11A
Aircraft Boeing 777-300
Flight time 08:25
Take-off 25 Aug 15, 23:55
Arrival at 26 Aug 15, 10:20
SQ   #3 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 696 reviews
Rewardflying
Published on 1st October 2016
photo sq237 cover

Eleven flights, six international carriers. When planning this trip the opportunity to fly internationally on Singapore Airlines and Swiss were my most anticipated flights.

Imagine going 0-2.

Having checked one piece of luggage through to Auckland my duffle bag was all that remained. But since I was returning to Singapore in a few days I thought it foolish to lug 2 pieces around when I could wheel one. So the duffle was packed with items not needed for a few days. Changi has "Left Baggage" storage counters in all terminals, airside and pre-entry. And it's not expensive. It's nice traveling with nothing to carry.

Changi airport consists of three terminals. Singapore Airlines' main terminal is 3, but many flights arrive and depart from terminal 2. A tram connects all terminals. It's not that far. But like all airports if you arrive at one end and depart from the other end, well… Just so happens we arrived at the far gate in terminal 2, I believe E27. Melbourne departed out of terminal 3 gate A10. Baggage storage was at the opposite end of terminal 3 around gate B8. With my 1 1/4 hour connection time, needless to say I got my exercise.

Changi is an amazing airport. At 11PM at night with all the overnights leaving it was a beehive of activity. If you haven't flown into Changi you can spend a day there. Bring the kids too.

So much for the good news.

photo sq237 boarding area 1

A lot of folks were headed to Melbourne this evening.

photo sq237 boarding area 2

Cabin:
Compared to the A330 cabin the 777 looks dark and bland to me. I had secured a seat in the front mini-cabin, the coveted 11A.

photo sq237 cabin 1a

SeatGuru, as well as blogs such as Flyertalk, claim row 11 is the best seat in the house. More on that later, but there is no doubt the front mini-cabin is quiet and private. If you can get the mini-cabin on 777-300 aircraft, go for it. I guess people don't research much into seats as this was a fairly full flight with one seat open in the mini-cabin, Row 11 Seat K. Maybe they were a no-show. Row 12 is yellow for a misaligned window which you can see in the above photo.

photo sq237 seatguruphoto sq237 seatguru 11a

Standard, rather small, 777 lavatories on these aircraft. Stocked with amenities as no kits are distributed.

photo sq237 cabin lav 1photo sq237 cabin lav 2photo sq237 cabin lav 3

For fun a few photos of First Class. These are the old first class seats.

photo sq237 first cabin 1photo sq237 first cabin 2

This first class seat has less legroom than Row 11 in business class!
photo sq237 seat 2

I have mixed feelings on the seats. Possibly some of this is due to expectations. These are old seats. What sets them apart is their width as 30 inch wide business class seats are simply unheard of except on Singapore Airlines.

Don't they look great in a photo!
photo sq237 seat 1

In the photo above notice the separation between the seat back and the pod back wall. This is where the bedding is stored.

photo sq237 seat 8

Magazine rack.
photo sq237 seat 3

Storage compartment for something.
photo sq237 seat 4

Ottoman to stretch out, it folds up for take-off and landing.
photo sq237 seat 5

Seat controls under the armrest.
photo sq237 seat 6

Coat hook, heavy coat would get in the way of the monitor, but then again who wears a heavy coat in Singapore?
photo sq237 seat acc1

Head phone hook.
photo sq237 seat acc2

Electronics on the seat-back in front of you, or in the case of row 11 the bulkhead wall.
photo sq237 seat acc3

Storage compartment, but no scale to see if it weighs less than 2lbs.
photo sq237 seat acc4

Drink tray. (It should always be in use)
photo sq237 seat acc5

Now, if you like all the items on the bulkhead wall don't get row 11 because you can't reach them sitting down! A flight attendant put my drink on this tray and I couldn't reach it. But when I looked at other seats you can. So yes, tons of extra legroom in row 11.

One would expect being an overnight flight going to sleep on a sizable bed would not be a problem. Well it was for me.

The male flight attendant converted the seat into a bed while I changed into my trusty Lufthansa pajamas. Here is one of my better bed photos, which isn't saying much.

photo sq237 seat bed 1

Mattress pad, two pillows, duvet, what else could you ask for! In my case something more comfortable.

photo sq237 seat bed 2

In bed mode this is where your head goes. You sleep on a Singapore Airlines angle. At 6 feet tall I was not able to fully extend. And in row 11 I had much more room than others!
photo sq237 seat bed 3

I got a couple hours of sleep but simply wasn't comfortable in the bed. While I'm not a great airline sleeper in the first place, so it might be just me, however I thought the bed was extremely hard even with the mattress pad. On the positive side, there was a mattress pad and 2 pillows which is more than some carriers do in business class.

Overall these seats were cutting edge business class seats in their day. But they've aged and are in need of replacement. While I've sat in the new version, I didn't sleep on on it. But the length (pitch) seemed shorter than these older seats. Singapore Airlines has committed to the standard seat alignment with angled sleep positioning versus herringbone or reverse herringbone configurations. Verdict is still out, but for me, herringbone is leading in the polls.

As mentioned most toiletries are stocked in the lavatory and Singapore doesn't ever have business class amenity kits.

Many people like amenity kits for a keepsake to remember the flight. In that regard kits weren't needed today.

This is what was passed out. What you can't tell is the slippers are a size small, I'm 6 feet tall.

photo sq237 amenity 1photo sq237 ife 2

Not as an extensive menu on this "supper" flight. Champagne was not offered upon boarding, but it was midnight so that's certainly understandable.


For "sleeper service"
photo sq237 menu 1

Once airborne the female flight attendant asked for beverage and food selections. I asked for a glass of wine. Then she asked if I'd like to eat now or prior to arrival. I asked if you could do both, she responded that I could eat now or before arrival. Maybe there was a language barrier here but the menu clearly states:
photo sq237 menu 1a

I didn't argue and accepted my wine and 8 nuts.
photo sq237 amuse

With 2 hours to go sure enough, cabin lights on and breakfast is served. Why 2 hours? Sure I understand the necessity of being prepared for landing, but half the cabin already ate and was sleeping. Plus it only took me a minute (literally) to finish my meal.

Have to love the salt and pepper shakers.
photo sq237 food 1

Being an American the attendant assumed I wanted the American Breakfast and she was right, but I was wrong. I should have ordered something else as this breakfast was not up to par on US domestic flights. I passed on consumption.
photo sq237 food 3

As with the seats the IFE system is old and difficult to use. The monitor is small and in the case of row 11, far away. The only redeeming factor for me, is the current content happened to have a 12 episode program that I'd wanted to watch. And I was able to get all 12 episodes in on this flight and my return. As they say, YMMV.
photo sq237 ife 1

Controller drove me crazy when stopping and starting a program.
photo sq237 ife 3

Zoomed view with the window open.
photo sq237 ife 4

There was no wi-fi on this plane.

The cabin crew was a mixed bag. While the male attendant assigned to the front mini-cabin was cordial and nice, offering and then preparing my bed, the female attendant was not great. Her service was extremely rushed, she didn't say much except turn me down for 2 meals (not that I needed 2). Maybe it was to get the first service over so folks could sleep, but it surely wasn't the premium experience I was expecting.

photo sq237 plane 2

9V-SWI was delivered to Singapore Airlines in March 2007. It is one of three 777s painted in the white Star Alliance livery. While the plane appeared to be well maintained, the interior is getting worn, especially the seat pods. A refresh can't come soon enough.

photo sq237 flight path

See how SQ rates against the others at rewardflying.com
See more

Verdict

Singapore Airlines

3.9/10
Cabin5.0
Cabin crew5.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Meal/catering2.5

Singapore - SIN

9.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Melbourne - MEL

6.5/10
Efficiency7.0
Access5.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0

Conclusion

Overall due to my expectations I was disappointed, mostly by the food. It was below standards from a premium class point of view. The flight attendant was an isolated incident. Out of the 11 flights on this trip and all the attendants, this particular one came in last, but someone had to. The seats used to be great and they will be great again when replaced. So would I fly Singapore business class again, absolutely. In fact I had to on my return. Fingers crossed for better. Stay tuned as Air New Zealand 777 and 787 coming next!

Information on the route Singapore (SIN) Melbourne (MEL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 13 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Singapore (SIN) → Melbourne (MEL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Singapore Airlines avec 8.7/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 7 heures et 23 minutes.

  More information

2 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 368859 by
    indianocean SILVER 7572 Comments
    I notice that you and I are not the only ones to "like" the infamous Singapore Airlines "Sleeper Service"

    Funny thing, 9V-SWJ has new cabin featuring 4 New First class seats while 9V-SWI is still configured with old seats.

    I second that breakfast is awfully appalling.

    One should better fly on day flights and rest once in Australia.

    Thank you for sharing.
    • Comment 368864 by
      Rewardflying AUTHOR 493 Comments
      Thanks for reading! I'm thinking maybe these longer flights were available with Star Alliance reward partners because these are the older cabins. The return back was the same. A few random searches lately only return a handful of 330 regional 2x2x2 business cabin on the SYD route. Might be a seasonal thing too. Thanks again.

Login to post a comment.