Review of Singapore Airlines flight Singapore → London 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 went to Singapore many times in the 2000s. I had never flown Singapore Airlines back then but I always heard it was the best airline in the world. I had high expectations when I could finally try it.

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 took a taxi to the airport. The taxi driver asked me if I was travelling in economy or business and dropped me off here at Terminal 3 at 7 am:

Changi Airport won the Skytrax’s World’s Best Airport award in 2023 and also many times before. I can only agree.

This is modern and useful:

There was no waiting time at business class check-in.

I proceeded to departures.

Some of the shops in the terminal are definitely upmarket but I have zero interest in this particular shop:

This one is more interesting.

This shop is also quite nice.

Let’s go to the lounge.

The entrance of Singapore Airline’s SilverKris Lounge.

A nice digital display by the entrance.

The lounge is huge. There were quite a few passengers but the lounge was not overcrowded. Some of the seating areas:

The rest area:

There was a huge choice of food for breakfast including Asian and Western options. 

Laksa, a typical spicy Singaporean soup was available.

There is a good choice of wine.

Some liquors:

Piper-Heidsieck champagne. 

It was too early for me to have wine, liquor or champagne so I just had a barista made cappuccino. Note the Singapore Airlines logo.

Morning departures.

Priority boarding was available for first class and business class passengers and also for PPS Club members. 

A Singapore Airlines plane at next gate.

Our plane today was 9V-SKT, an Airbus A380-800, delivered in 2012. It has six first class suites on the upper deck in a 1-1 configuration; 78 business class seats also in the upper deck in a 1-2-1 configuration; 44 premium economy seats on the lower deck in a 2-4-2 configuration; and 343 economy seats, also on the lower deck, in a 3-4-3 configuration. The total number of seats is 471.

I selected seat 12A. Business class on this plane is divided into three cabins: the first has 13 rows, the second 5 rows and the third only 2 rows. My seat was in the second row of the first cabin.

The seat is very spacious.

Legroom is more than enough.

There’s a vanity mirror.

Seat controls.

Good quality headphones.

No amenity kit is offered but various items are available on request.

A welcome drink was served: orange or apple juice.

A hot towel was offered afterwards.

Breakfast orders were taken before take-off.

An expected flight time of 14 hours and 10 minutes was announced.

Push-back was at 09.05 for a scheduled departure time of 09.00.

The safety video was shown during taxi followed by a presentation of the business class seat.

We took off at 09.22.

Let’s have a look at the menu.

There’s no reason to be modest.

The breakfast menu.

Breakfast service started 25 minutes after take-off.

The chilled fruit was excellent. 

Assorted dim sum. They were also very good.

The screen is large and of excellent resolution.

There are around 1900 media options: movies, TV shows, music albums and so on. It would be enough to fly around the Globe several times.

I watched my first movie after breakfast and I had some excellent packed popcorn.

We were over the Bay of Bengal by the time I finished the movie.

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

I went to sleep after the movie.

The seat can be changed into a fully horizontal bed. A pillow, a sheet and a duvet are provided. The problem is that your upper body is closer to the aisle but your legs and feet are closer to the windows in this seat-turned-bed. You can sleep straight on your back but it's not a comfortable position for everybody. You can also sleep on your left side with your knees slightly pulled up but it's not possible to turn to your right side in the same position. To avoid this problem some airlines have a staggered layout where every other seat is closer to the windows.

Nevertheless i slept quite well.

Lunch (marked as dinner) started at 15.30 Singapore time, six and a half hours after departure.

Here is the menu:

Singapore Airlines won the “Best Business Class Wine Cellar” award.

There’s an excellent choice of cocktails.

Spirits, liquors and beer.

Non-alcoholic beverages.

The coffee selection is quite impressive.

The tea selection is also quite good.

We were not far from Karachi around this time.

A hot towel was offered.

Singapore Airlines’ signature Singapore Chicken Satay. It was delicious. 

Appetizer: Marinated Smoked Salmon with Capers. It was very good.

Some of the wine that was offered with the meal:

I had a glass of 2021 Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuissé Burgundy white wine. It was very good.

My main course was Roasted Stuffed Chicken with Forest Mushroom. It was excellent.

Selection of Sliced Fresh Fruits.

We were flying over Iran by the time I finished my meal. It was about 17.00 Singapore time.

I started my second movie after my lunch/dinner. We were over Turkey by the time I finished it.

It was time for a third movie. We were over Austria when I finished it.

I was getting hungry again – I had been flying now for around 13 hours. Let’s have a look at the light bites and snacks on offer.

I had some excellent Fish Ball Noodles with Vermicelli and a glass of the same white wine I had earlier with my main meal.

I started a fourth movie but I couldn’t finish it.

We landed at London Heathrow airport at 15.23 local time and were at the gate at 15.30 for a scheduled arrival time of 15.20.