Review of Singapore Airlines flight Cebu → Singapore in Business

We live in Iceland and we went to Australia for the end of the year holidays to see relatives who live there – we hadn’t been there for five years. And as Australia is quite far from Iceland – the distance between Keflavík and Melbourne would be 16,960 kms if there was a direct flight – I went to a few places in Asia before and after Australia.

I booked the following flights:
Keflavík to London, Icelandair, business class, B737
London to Abu Dhabi, Etihad, business class, A380
Abu Dhabi to Jakarta, Etihad by Wamos, business class, A330
Yogyakarta to Kuala Lumpur, Air Asia, economy, A320
Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippine Airlines, business class, A321
Manilla to Sydney, Philippine Airlines, business class, A330
Canberra to Melbourne, Qantas, economy, B717
Melbourne to Hobart, Virgin Australia, economy, B737
Hobart to Melbourne, Jetstar, economy, A320
Melbourne to Manilla, Philippine Airlines, business class, A330
Manilla to Kuala Lumpur, Philippine Airlines, business class, A320
Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, Malaysia Airlines, business class, B737,
Bangkok to Hongkong, Emirates, first class, A380
Hongkong to Manila, Air Asia Philippines, economy, A320
Manila to Panglao, Cebu Pacific, economy, A321
Cebu to Singapore, Singapore Airlines, business class, A350
Singapore to London, Singapore Airlines, business class, A380
London to Keflavík, British Airways, business class, A320

I spent a few days in the Philippines.

Manila’s historical district is called Intramuros. The Cathedral looks like it’s in Central America, not in Asia.

I flew from Manila to Panglao Airport (IATA Code: TAG) with Cebu Pacific, a Philippine low-cost airline with a fleet of 67 aircraft. Panglao Airport also has international flights: there’s an average of four direct flights a day from South Korea as the area is very popular with Korean tourists.

Panglao is all about mass tourism. The beach looks great on this photo but it’s only well maintained in some places.

Touring Bohol Island was nevertheless fantastic. I especially enjoyed the local market at Tagbilaran City.

The highlight of my stay in the Philippines was the short cruise on the Loboc River.

The so-called Chocolate Hills offer stunning views.

A visit to another market on Bohol Island.

I took a ferry from Bohol to Cebu. Cebu has some nice buildings but most of the city is rundown and I spent over half of the sightseeing tour sitting in traffic jams.

Jeepneys are part of the public transportation in the Philippines.

People are very friendly all over the country. It must be noted that the Philippines offer great value for travellers. Hotels – including top luxury hotels – are very affordable and so are meals, tours, domestic flights and just about everything else.

I booked a one-way ticket from Cebu to London with Singapore Airlines. It was good value: the price of the Cebu to Singapore to London flight was only 36% of what the direct Singapore to London flight would have cost.

I was dropped off at Cebu Airport, located on Mactan Island, located about 13 kms from downtown Cebu. The airport is nice and modern. 

Terminal 1 is for domestic flights and terminal 2 is for international flights.

There are direct flights to most major airports in Asia.

Business class check-in was available. There was only one person in front of me. I was checked in quickly although I had to show my onward ticket from London.

There was zero waiting time both at immigration and security.

On my way to the lounge.

Singapore Airlines use Plaza Premium Lounge at Cebu Airport. The lounge is open to everybody for only PHP 2,200 (36 €).

The lounge has nice views.

A variety of seating areas.

There’s a lunch buffet.

I had a Filipino pork dish.

There’s a children’s corner at the lounge.

Singapore Airline’s A350-900, registration number 9V-SMA, built in 2016.

This flight was scheduled to be on a narrowbody but demand was high in economy (not so much in business) so the plane was switched to a widebody.

Priority boarding was available.

I was called by my name both by the gate agent and the cabin crew during boarding.

This plane has two business class cabins. The first has six rows on the two sides and seven rows in the middle. The second cabin has four rows. Both of them are in a 1-2-1 configuration so there’s a total of 42 seats in business class. The second business class cabin was completely empty.

Middle seats.

My seat was 15A.

Legroom is huge.

The seat is massive. It’s spacious and well-designed.

Seat controls.

A small mirror on the side.

Charging ports.

Water and headphones.

There are three different lights for each seat and all three have two levels of brightness. 

Apple, orange and tomato juice were offered as welcome drink, followed by a hot towel. I was addressed by my last name at every interaction.

There's no amenity kit but some items are available on request.

An expected flight time of three hours and five minutes was announced.

Push-back was at 14.11 for a scheduled departure time of 14.20. We took off at 14.27 from runway 04.

Some nice views after take-off:

The screen is large and high resolution.

Flight information shortly after take-off:

Multiple settings are available for the flight information: 12/24 hours, metric / imperial / nautical, menu position right / left layers and so on.

Let’s have a look at the menu.

Lunch menu: a choice of four main courses for a flight of three hours.

Champagne and wine.

Cocktails and aperitif.

Spirits, liqueurs and beers.

Non-alcoholic beverages.

Coffee.

I was asked if I wanted anything to drink 15 minutes after take-off. I ordered a Singapore Sling.

Meal service started another 15 minutes later.

The appetizer: Cold Cut Platter. I had a glass of 2014 Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage champagne with it.

Stir Fried Garlic Ginger Beef with a glass of 2020 Catena Appellation Paraje Altamira Malbec red wine from Mendoza, Argentina. 

Selection of Sliced Fresh Fruits

The meal was excellent. The red wine I had with the main course was also very good.

I had a glass of Morris Classic Liqueur Muscat fortified wine from Rutherglen, Australia to finish my meal. It was absolutely delicious.

I had a rest after my meal. The seat can be transformed into a lie-flat but not a full-flat bed. It was OK but not as comfortable as some other business class seats.

As this was a relatively short flight I didn’t use the in-flight entertainment. Not that the choice was too small: there is a total of 399 movies.

Typical views before landing in Singapore.

We landed in Singapore at 17.54 and were at the gate at 17.59 for a scheduled arrival time of 18.15.