What a disappointment.
This trip could be called, "You fell for a sale trip". One morning in October I received an email from Krisflyer stating their new A350 long range flights were on sale. What was normally 88,000 points to the west coast was promoted at 65,000 points. The Newark flight was a little more. I looked at some availability and LA's flight got in too late to fly on to Chicago and Newarks' flight wasn't available for the time I wanted to travel. Then I stumbled upon the inaugural A350 ULR flight to SFO. More digging found Q-Suites to Doha and Q-Suites on the new Qatar A350-1K to Singapore. So with no intention of taking a round the world trip when I awoke that morning, within a couple hours I was booked.
ORD-DOH Qatar Airways B777-300 QSuite Buisness Class - click to view
DOH-SIN Qatar Airways A350-1K Qsuites Business Class - Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge - click to view
SIN-HKG Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class - click to view
HKG-SIN Singapore Airlines A380 New First Class - this report
SIN-SFO Singapore Airlines A350-9 ULR Business Class - to come
SOF-ORD Alaska Airlines A320 First Class - to come
How could anyone be disappointed with that incredible seat on an airplane? Maybe disappointment isn’t the right word. This reaction could have simply resulted from the a long anticipation for the experience and the ensuing letdown. Probably missed opportunity would be a better description of my opinion of Singapore Airlines new Suites class.
But first it’s time to visit SQ’s Hong Kong First Class lounge. Cathay Pacific, you have nothing to worry about. On my way to the lounge… I know Europeans don’t like ice in their drinks but hot?
The Singapore Airlines agent met me at the plane and escorted me to the combined Singapore First and Business class lounge which was across the hall from our arrival gate.
First Class left, Business Class right.
None of the above.
Restrooms.
The First Class bar.
First Class dining.
I saw the sign on the wall, it said First Class.
I know, given the circumstances I’m lucky to even be in Hong Kong. It wasn’t too soon to go to the gate.
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Anticipation time!
Wow, shades of Etihad!
Heading over to my private study.
Unbelievable!
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It’s gorgeous, so what’s the problem rewardflying? Let me offer a 360 degree view of disappointments, err, missed opportunities.
The tour begins with the seat control. You can turn your seat to face the large TV, the bed or the window which you can’t see anything but blue sky because they're too far away.
This is the seat position in take off and landing position. Notice the controls for power and headsets, behind you.
This is looking forward from the takeoff/landing position. Good luck reaching any of this stuff. I don’t know if this suite was broken, but if I wanted to watch the little TV in this view, I had to ask the FA to turn it on, or switch from the large to the small monitor.
So you’re cruising along at 38,000 feet and it’s bumpy requiring the seat belt sign to be on and you want to read a magazine or need the barf bag. Sorry, can’t reach them
The tray table is stored in this colossal waste of space.
Wait, I could put my menu there, but I can’t reach it while buckled in.
This is totally unreachable.
A lamp to? Purpose?
Extra coat hook, I think. Actually I’m not sure what this is. If it is a coat hook what about the 2 coat hangers in the closet across from it?
Well documented is eating with your neighbor. And the FA hadn’t had time to switch my TV monitor.
Privacy with the door closed allowing the FAs to view inside.
Similar to many first class suites like Etihad and Asiana to name a couple, is a full length closet to hang your clothes. There is also a mirror in case you get dressed in the aisle.
A huge monitor is behind you and only on when the FA turned it on (in my case).
Swiveling towards the window I have no clue what this for. Sure there is a support for the bed, but the tray?
Controls for everything, which you have to swivel the seat to get to because you can’t reach them in takeoff/landing position.
Thank you for the champagne and nuts, I wish I didn’t have to swivel around (and not see any monitor) to enjoy these. Or I could reach back with my arm and knock the champagne over with my elbow trying to reach the nuts.
Next to the chair is this 3 compartment storage with a lit mirror in the middle. Not that you can put your head down to that level to see anything. And mine wouldn’t close. As you can see it’s not lined up with the other two compartment lids. In fact the casing was cracked.
Between the seat and the storage compartment is this useless area that presumably could have been for a laptop bag (way too small) but might work for a small purse.
Seat belt sign up in the corner.
Here are the electronics, including a NFC reader.
This is where the electronics are located, behind your elbows when seated facing forward. I had the headphones plugged in and when I swirled the seat the cord came up and wrapped around my neck.
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Granted, the Suite is exquisite, certainly beyond any airplane seats I’ve ever seen. The colors blend beautifully, the wall coverings are classy with meticulous design, the carpet is lush and the chair is very comfortable. But the Suite is so poorly designed and has so much wasted space I can’t image how it got approved. There is a saying, “Form follows Function.” Not so much here.
Yet it’s still Singapore Airlines and it’s still an A380, so let’s move on to some of the highlights from this flight. The grand staircase, that really never gets used on any A380.
And whoever designed the washrooms should have designed the suites because the lavs in First Class are like being at a 5-star resort.
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The new Bang and Olufsen headphones are nice, although I prefer Bose for comfort. No amenity kit in First Class but I received one in Business Class on the way in. Strange…
Champagnes and Wines on this flight.
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All better now, kind of like a pacifier for the cry baby.
The food menus for this short dinner flight. As a note: I wasn’t able to Book the Cook out of Shanghai because BTC isn’t available from PVG, which was surprising to me given PVG is a premium SQ route.
I am not familiar with Shanghainese cuisine. The name has obvious hints to its origin. Not to disparage because of my unfamiliarity, when reading these course descriptions, I just didn’t get a mouth watering feeling from this menu.
The Western Menu for this flight.
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The Haddock and apple salad was nondescript , similar to the garlic bread without much garlic.
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On the other hand, the tomato soup was decadent. A savory, hearty, lick the bowl soup that screamed for a toasted cheese sandwich. But cast the prawn overboard.
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Gotta love the special soup spoon.
The salad was also excellent, the photo reflects the freshness of its ingredients.
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A beef tenderloin is always in best company with a favorite Margaux.
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I passed on cheese and was surprised that dessert was simply ice cream. And I wonder if it came in the cardboard container? I'll never know.
For more ratings on this flight (and a sneak peak at an inaugural flight) click for reward flying
No offence, but waaay too much complaining for a First Class report, on miles none the less :-)
No (offense) taken and thanks for reading. You are missing the point. I'm not complaining, I'm objectively giving my opinion on this new Suite as well as comparisons to other first class lounges.
Fair. it just looks so luxurious and stunning. i wouldn't even notice the things you mention, would just be on cloud 9 just to be there. if you've done it a bunch of times, i guess you start to notice these things.
Thanks for the report Rewardflying!
“How could anyone be disappointed with that incredible seat on an airplane? Maybe disappointment isn’t the right word. This reaction could have simply resulted from the a long anticipation for the experience and the ensuing letdown. Probably missed opportunity would be a better description of my opinion of Singapore Airlines new Suites class.”
-I’ve read similar from some travel bloggers as well. I’ve heard that SQ rushed the introduction of the seat and as a result there were quite a few small details that just weren’t as well thought out.
“This is looking forward from the takeoff/landing position. Good luck reaching any of this stuff. I don’t know if this suite was broken, but if I wanted to watch the little TV in this view, I had to ask the FA to turn it on, or switch from the large to the small monitor.”
-What a letdown for such a new product!
“So you’re cruising along at 38,000 feet and it’s bumpy requiring the seat belt sign to be on and you want to read a magazine or need the barf bag. Sorry, can’t reach them”
-I think this is another example of one of the details that
“The tray table is stored in this colossal waste of space.”
-Could you reach it while seated? Was it at least a useful space to put things on during flight?
“Wait, I could put my menu there, but I can’t reach it while buckled in.”
-That answers my question.
“Similar to many first class suites like Etihad and Asiana to name a couple, is a full length closet to hang your clothes. There is also a mirror in case you get dressed in the aisle.”
-I actually laughed out loud at reading this.
“In fact the casing was cracked.”
-How is it already damaged for such a new product!
“I am not familiar with Shanghainese cuisine. The name has obvious hints to its origin. Not to disparage because of my unfamiliarity, when reading these course descriptions, I just didn’t get a mouth watering feeling from this menu.”
-Being Chinese myself, I’ve always felt Shanghainese cuisine to be very overrated.
Overall the suite looked stunning as expected. The functionality is very dissappointing though and about what I expected given what I had read about it before. It's less of an issue of complaining about the experience and more of an issue that SQ truly had a chance to blow the competition out of the water like they did about a decade ago and fell quite a bit short of the mark.
Thanks again!
Hi YGeorgeY. I think readers probably got the wrong impression of my overview of the flight. It's SQ First Class and not only am I lucky to fly it, SQ FC is consistently one of the best experiences in the sky, as was the case on this flight. I had no complaints about flying SQ in First. The lounge was more of a surprise than a disappointment. Thanks for your comments, and thanks for reading!
“What a disappointment.”
- Welllllll, we’re off to a good start here. Oh well, at least I guess I know going in that I’m not expecting all sunshine and puppies here. Still, it’s a disappointment that such a hyped product apparently has some major deficiencies. Although I also know you’re a pretty tough grader. ?
“I know Europeans don’t like ice in their drinks but hot?”
Welcome to China!
First Class bar looks half-decent. Other than that, the SQ HKG F lounge definitely looks like a significant step down from TPR, to put it mildly.
Glad to see that at least the wow factor is there. At first blush, it looks like a magnificent product.
But then the little complaints and oversights start showing up. The forward-facing positon’s lack of controls definitely seems like a big one someone should have flagged.
“There is also a mirror in case you get dressed in the aisle.”
Ooooo, dinner AND a show!
“There is also a mirror in case you get dressed in the aisle.”
Not a good sign on so new a product.
“But the Suite is so poorly designed and has so much wasted space I can’t image how it got approved. There is a saying, “Form follows Function.” Not so much here.”
What a disappointment indeed. Perhaps SQ’s designers got too caught up in the F suite arms race, and put together the best-looking thing they could as quickly as they could. We’ll figure the rest out with 2.0, as the developers say.
“And whoever designed the washrooms should have designed the suites because the lavs in First Class are like being at a 5-star resort.”
Clearly a different team behind this one. Although both look very good. But it sounds like the lav is functional, too.
“On the other hand, the tomato soup was decadent. A savory, hearty, lick the bowl soup that screamed for a toasted cheese sandwich.”
Soup on a plane. It’s the best, and from your description, this sounds like the best of the best.
The salad also looks surprisingly lovely.
Too bad this left a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, but the criticism seems well-founded. A bit of a swing and a miss, but at least the soft product was mostly the SQ good stuff.
Thanks for sharing, and hoping the next segment generates better feelings.
Hello HometoYYZ!
-Based on the number of likes I'm getting on this report maybe too tough!
-The suite is stunning. Devil in the details.
-I sure hope they address these issues. It would be a shame to install these in all their 380's.
Also, from the perspective of a points enthusiast, SQ reducing the number of seats down to 6 from 12 on this aircraft is disappointing in itself as few seats, fewer award tickets. Then to see they could have easily put in 2, maybe 4 more suites utilizing the space better made this product more disappointing.
Anyway, yes the ULR is up next, spoiler alert, it was a great flight, except for..
Thanks again for your comments!
How dare you? I feel like you just called one of my children dumb. Or worse, unattractive.
HaHa. send your child to a seat in the corner, preferably with a window!