Review of Singapore Airlines flight from Jakarta to Singapore in First

intro

Grab the popcorn, it's a Christmas Day review! Where to even begin? Even with a brutally early departure from Jakarta, this was an unbelievable flight. Some aspects could have been improved but overall, this is the best short-haul flight I have ever taken in my (short) life of 22 years. 

I left the hotel at around 2:30 am for my 5:20 departure. Even though it was Christmas Day, my Toyota Alphard was waiting outside! 

The lobby was empty at this time of morning ?, some might call me crazy, but I can't think of a better way to start Christmas Day!

The drive to the airport this morning was record-breaking, clocking in at 23 minutes. My previous record was 26 minutes. 

how i booked this ticket

Quite frankly, this is single-handedly the best redemption opportunity through Singapore Airlines. I booked an itinerary including two legs, both in First Class for a total of 58K points and 34$. The first leg consisted of this hop, Jakarta to Singapore, while the second leg was 6 hours in Suites to Delhi from Singapore. Yes, you heard that right, over 8 hours in Singapore First Class for 58K points, including 8 hours in the private room!

This is without doubt the most value for your points within the Singapore Airlines rewards system for First Class. With the Singapore-Delhi costing the same amount of points, I practically got this leg for free.

check in

Upon arrival at Jakarta airport, I made my way inside Terminal 3, which is where Singapore Airlines operates its flights.

Check-in was easy to find and I made my way to the First Class counter. There was no line for First Class, seeing as I was quite early. I presented my visa for India and received my two red boarding passes which would later be turned into gold. No, not a magic trick, I would have my second boarding pass turned into the golden ticket!

A nice surprise was that someone escorted me through to security, but only to security. It would have been nice to have an escort through immigration if I was flying at a different hour but thankfully, this wasn't needed as it was empty.

After no wait in security and immigration, I made my way to the First Class section of the Plaza Premium Lounge. 

lounge

Once I was through security, I was informed to make my way to the Plaza Premium lounge and show my boarding pass to the "First Class Counter". 

The Plaza Premium Lounge is located near gate 5 in the Terminal 3 departures area. It's quite simple to find. Once you pass immigration, head down the escalator, do a 180, keep walking, and it will be on your left-hand side.

When I walked in I showed my boarding pass and they saw I was in First Class for today. The entry requirements are strict, the only way you are eligible to enter the "First Class" section is with a Singapore Airlines First Class ticket to Singapore. Even when I had a same-day Thai First Class ticket I was not allowed to enter. Today, I had the red boarding pass! 

They checked my boarding pass and began to escort me! Why do I not have the golden ticket? good question, find out later. 

While I visited the business class section when I flew on ANA, I didn't know there was a Singapore Airlines exclusive lounge… I first had to walk through the non-Singapore Airlines lounge with the escort. Surprisingly empty at this time of the morning. 

There were a few cute Christmas decorations scattered around.

However, I finally arrived at the Singapore Airlines part of the lounge. 

But…. I then had to be escorted through the business class lounge of Singapore Airlines…

This picture was taken on the way out, when I walked in there must have been 2 passengers. 

Until I finally arrived at the exclusive First Class section! 

The staff swiped their keycard and the door magically opened to reveal…

Well, I don't know what to think. Considering the Singapore planes feature 4 seats in First Class, this is awfully large.

I took a seat in the back corner of the main room and was presented with a menu for breakfast.

I almost think the First Class lounge is bigger than the business class lounge..

There was a small coffee table off to the right-hand side.

As I mentioned earlier, when I originally sat down I was offered an a la carte menu featuring about 10 items. There was also a small snack station but that didn't look too appetising. 

Service started with my choice of coffee. I opted for a cappuccino. 

After about 15 minutes, the pancakes that I ordered arrived. ? I know I said I am not a fan of breakfast. However, pancakes are the exception. I was also presented with a fruit plate and pastry basket which I did not ask for, but I'm not complaining!

In all honesty, the pancakes were phenomenal. The pastries were alright and the fruit well, I didn't eat. It's Christmas Day, I am not being healthy!

This is all the food I had as I wanted to be hungry for the private room in Singapore!

Regarding the lavatories, I didn't see any showers offered in the First Class section. However, firstly, I don't think a shower is needed for such a short flight. Secondly, in the business class section of the lounge showers are offered. 

The service here was decent at best. While I was escorted into the lounge I didn't see much of the staff during my time. I was checked in once every 30 minutes but other than that the only server would leave the First Class section.

The food came out at a standard pace as well as my coffee.

However, the one aspect that shined out to me was when the Singapore Airlines staff member who checked me in walked over to replace my boarding pass from red to gold for my suites leg to Delhi. However, that is more with the airline and not the lounge staff.

I left the lounge about 15 minutes before boarding (as SQ is notorious for boarding early) and headed to the gate. Don't fret, I did it by myself. See I can be independent ?.

boarding

Boarding was originally supposed to commence at 4:55 am. However, I headed to gate 8 around 4:45, just so I could be first on the plane, excitement filling my mind.

First Class customers board through door 1L, which I did. I was greeted by the flight attendant and pointed to my seat. 1A is not hard to find, it is the first row on the plane, portside. My first thought was, this is one giant seat for a small man like me! 

I settled into my seat and was offered a pre-departure beverage. During this festive holiday season, Singapore Airlines serves rose krug which is a fantastic champagne (Alexandra might be better). It retails at around 280$ a bottle. While I awaited my 5am champagne, I stored my bags underneath the ottoman. 

Enter text here…The only storage for these seats is underneath the ottoman, there are no overhead bins. As someone who only uses carry-ons, I'm not sure if I would like this on a longer flight like Frankfurt. However, for a flight just over an hour, it was completely okay. It also allows the cabin to feel more spacious as there are no overhead bins.

Spacious cabin. 

After a few minutes, my Krug Rose was delivered to my seat. Interestingly, there were only two 375ml bottles stocked for this flight. I was also asked what I wanted to eat. I responded with two bottles of Krug, please! 

At around 5:20, boarding was complete and the cabin doors were shut.

The captain came on to announce our departure shortly and our flight time over to Singapore of 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

departure

After polishing off my second glass of Rose Krug we pushed back at approximately 5:32 am from Gate 8. 

The legroom was over the top for a flight of this length…

Pushback was approved and we were on our way to the runway, an extremely short taxi.

We don't want the planes to get sick, thankfully this A330 was wearing a mask. Do you think it has the booster as well? 

The mornings are so beautiful.

We trudged along to the runway. 

Where we lined up on 25R bound for Singapore Changi departing southwest.

The climb-out was smooth and I was treated to some gorgeous views this morning, much like with some other flights I have been on recently. 

When people ask if I get bored of flying, I send them pictures like this.

the seat/cabin

Singapore Airlines First Class on the 777-300ER consists of four seats across a single row. This makes for a very intimate cabin as at most, there are three other passengers. Even though there are no doors, there is a privacy divider around the seats so even when leaning forward I couldn't see any other passengers. 

If you are riding solo like Jason Derulo, I recommend 1A or 1F. However, if you are flying with someone else I recommend the middle seats of 1C and 1D.

As you can see above there is an ottoman that is large enough to accommodate any shoe size (looking at you Shaq). Similarly to the business class cabin, someone has to make the bed for you. However, I chose just to lounge on this flight so I put the seat into that mode.

You can sort of see the age of this seat here as you have to flip a partition 180 degrees to not have a gap. It's a small detail which I don't mind too much, but could be bothersome for some.

To the right of you lies the headphone jack, as well as the reading lights.

Following that I found the seat controls as well as the TV remote. I loved the fact that you were able to close the hatch covering the remote. That light can bother me since I sleep better in complete darkness.

The Do Not Disturb sign could be a helpful addition on a long-haul flight.

I also found a place to store headphones, with a sign! 

This seat is like an easter egg hunt, trying to find all of the features.

Next to the ottoman lay a cubby. 

To the left of the seat, I found the charging ports which are the best-located charging ports I have found on an aircraft.

How many times have you been on planes and your big Macbook charger doesn't fit? I love that I had no issues with these ports. 

Continuing on I found a side table to the left, or what I like to call my champoffee table. Get it? Champagne+coffee table. Okay, I'll stop with the dad jokes.

Finally, a little more to the left lay a place to store some bits and bobs. 

In front of you lies the ottoman which I spoke about earlier. It could definitely fit two pairs of feet. Almost think that this seat was designed for two people.

amenities/ife

Amenities-wise, this flight was stocked with all the bells and whistles for such a short flight. Upon arrival, I found a bottle of Evian and headphones in that push cabinet on the right-hand side. 

As well as a comfy blanket that awaited me. The business class blanket is nice, but the first class one was even cozier!

A chic little pillow that matched the undertones of the cabin as well. 

While I chose not to sleep, I know that some people on this route do ask for turndown service and Singapore Airlines does stock most of the bedding. I could never see the point in why someone would have SQ set up the bed since you would be lying down for about 30 minutes…


The IFE was practically the same as my business class experience which you can read in the previous report, I didn't watch anything so nothing to report. The WIFI was free for KF members.

meal service

Before my flight (about 30 days prior), I took a look at the book and the cook menu. There were a few options offered but all breakfast related ?. I ended up not choosing anything for this segment. However, I did snap some shots of the menu that awaited at my seat. 

You can swipe through for the full menu. Exteremely impressive for a flight of this length. 

However, I chose to go with a champacino. Cappuccinos and champagne would be the only meal this morning after some hearty pancakes in the lounge.

My coffee and Rose Krug came out 15 minutes after takeoff. 

As well as round 2 a little bit later.

The coffee was excellent for a plane. Some of the best coffee I've had at 35000 feet.

For review sakes, I had to make sure the second bottle of Krug was as good as the first ?.

Considering I had a long layover at the Private Room, I believe I made the right decision with not eating. The menu seemed great, for those who like breakfast, but the standout was the Rose Krug.

The washrooms were almost identical to what I found the day before flying the business class product on the same plane. So if you want to read about it, feel free to check my business class review. 

overall service

The service was right up there with SQ standards. While I didn't find the staff over the top like on the previous flight, they were friendly and flew with smiles. I do have to note that I was looked at a little weirdly when I showed up in Christmas PJs but then when I changed into my white outfit for pictures I wasn't looked at like I was insane anymore ?.

I asked them to take a couple of pictures since I need that iconic 1A picture ?.

Other than that, the drinks service came out quickly which I appreciated on this short flight.

The crew seemed fun towards the end of the flight, offering to let me finish the bottle since no one else was drinking champagne at this ungodly hour.

There were no notable interactions like I found the day before or I would find later on SQ suites but still, the overall service was good

arrival into changi

Shortly before arrival the captain came on and anticipated a slightly early arrival into Changi this morning. The view upon descent into Changi was lovely this time of morning.

We landed ahead of schedule in Terminal 3. 

The crew bid me farewell on my next flight to Suites and I proceeded off the plane first to locate the Private Room.

I love see-through jetbridges, can we have these in the USA?

I managed to locate the private room after a long transit around Changi, more on that with the next trip report. If I can find a way to fit it in ugh.

As always, if you are interested in about reading more of my adventures such as the four seasons hotel in Jakarta, feel free to check it out at 

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