Amazing: Singapore Airlines’ Shortest First Class Flight

Hello from Jakarta (stay tuned for the next installment, because we have some drama coming)! I’m in the middle of my wild review trip, and just flew Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER first class on the 546-mile flight from Singapore.

My motivation for taking this flight was simple — I wanted to review The Private Room (and its voyeuristic nap rooms), which is Singapore Airlines’ lounge for first class passengers.

So I set out to book the cheapest flight that would get me access to that. That also happened to be Singapore Airlines’ shortest flight featuring first class, to Jakarta, which I booked for just 30,500 KrisFlyer miles.

This flight was simply incredible, as there aren’t many 80-minute flights where you get this kind of an experience. The consistent level of service that Singapore Airlines provides in first class is unparalleled, in my opinion. In this post I wanted to share my initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full review.

Singapore Airlines’ 777 first class seats are… strange?

Singapore Airlines has an intimate first class cabin on its Boeing 777s, consisting of just four seats, in a single row with a 1-2-1 configuration. Of course for a short flight like this, these seats are incredible. That being said, if you’re on a much longer flight, I’d definitely try to book A380 Suites Class, which is a far superior product.

The reason I say these seats are strange is because there’s a huge walkway at the back of the cabin. It’s really nice that the airline installed this so that crew can presumably easily move between aisles, but you’d think that the airline would have used all the space, and created an industry-leading first class product. Imagine how epic this seat would have been if it were three feet longer…

Like I said, it’s an amazing product for a flight of this length, but for a 14+ plus flight, I’d definitely prefer A380 Suites, given the option.

Singapore Airlines’ amazing first class food & drinks

Singapore Airlines is known for preparing its cabin for arrival well in advance, so really the crew has significantly under an hour to perform the entire service. Despite that, they do so with grace, and offer an impressive experience.

As is the case on long haul flights, Singapore Airlines offers three kinds of champagne in first class. Look, folks, I’m dedicated to providing y’all with the most thorough reviews possible. So even though this was a 6:50AM flight, and even though I’m connecting to Saudi Arabia, I felt the need to take one for the team and try as much as I could.

Before takeoff, I ordered a glass of the delicious 2012 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. This is Singapore Airlines, though, so while I ordered one glass, that’s not how many I ended up having. 😉

After takeoff, I figured I had to switch it up a bit, and I transitioned over to the 2007 Blanc des Millenaires, which was recently added to the rotation. It was also excellent.

Please don’t hold it against me too much, but I couldn’t quite make it to the third champagne.

As far as food goes, in addition to the inflight menu, Singapore Airlines has “Book the Cook,” where you can choose from dozens of options, including the famous lobster thermidor dish. However, I decided to have one of the Indonesian options on the menu, which was nasi uduk, ikan goreng, and sambal udang. This came with a side of fresh fruit, fruit yogurt, and a selection from the bread basket.

Then before landing, I ordered a cappuccino…

Singapore Airlines’ service is flawless

There’s not an airline in the world that provides the consistent service level that Singapore Airlines does. It’s not just that Singapore Airlines flight attendants are professional, and have service down to both an art and science. That’s easy enough to do (well, sort of).

Rather, it’s everything else — they show such genuine and heartfelt care that you don’t find consistently on any other airline, in my experience. And they provide that with such a level of elegance and in such an effortless way.

Cabin manager Stephanie, and first class flight attendants Cheryl and Keith, were just spectacular. You know what actually stuck out to me most, though? When I went to the bathroom, I overheard them speaking in the galley. When they were talking about passengers (not gossiping, just to coordinate service), they referred to passengers by their last name amongst themselves.

It wasn’t “1A wants XYZ,” it was “Mr. XYZ asked for XYZ.” I don’t think I’ve overheard flight attendants referring to passengers by their last name amongst themselves, even among world class airlines.

While there are a lot of amazing airlines in the world, Singapore Airlines is in my opinion in a league of its own when it comes to exceptional cabin crew.

Bottom line

What a treat it was to fly Singapore Airlines first class on the short flight from Singapore to Jakarta. Despite this flight being just over an hour, the service was out-of-this-world, with an amazing meal, a choice of three types of champagne, and warm, perfect service, which you’ll only find this consistently on Singapore Airlines.

I’ve long been curious about Singapore Airlines’ shortest flight with first class, so I’m happy I finally had the chance to experience it.

Anyone else love Singapore Airlines first class service as much as I do?