Amazing: Singapore Airlines’ Shortest First Class Flight

Amazing: Singapore Airlines’ Shortest First Class Flight

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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.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 first class cabin
Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 first class seat
Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 first class seat

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…

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 first class cabin

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. 😉

Singapore Airlines first class champagne

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.

Singapore Airlines first class champagne

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.

Singapore Airlines first class meal
Singapore Airlines first class bread basket

Then before landing, I ordered a cappuccino…

Singapore Airlines first class breakfast

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?

Conversations (23)
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  1. Prem Adheesh Lekhi Guest

    Well not all who fly have this experience

  2. Walter Wong Guest

    The name thing always baffles me (in a good way) - how does the crew remember everyone's name in a full biz cabin?? It's amazing.

  3. Jared Guest

    Love the comment regarding referring to their passengers by last name. Had a similar experience flying biz for the first time SFO-SIN this past summer. When deplaning in SIN the cabin crew at the exits were bidding all 60+ biz passengers goodbye *by name*... love the little touches like this.

  4. Jake Guest

    Wait, there's no cash co-pay on SQ redemption? "30,500 KrisFlyer miles."

    Or are you being sloppy?

  5. Abidjan Gold

    SQ never fails to deliver a top-notch product.

  6. Vault13Hero New Member

    I flew this same route in 2013, albeit in plain old economy class. In was absolutely shocked that for a full economy class of over 200, they gave a full meal service plus a beverage service in under an hour. Contrasting that with the US domestic airlines, not only would you not get a meal, but they'd probably skip the beverage service and just hand out water on a flight that short.

    SA in-flight service is truly remarkable.

    1. atll0707 New Member

      I’m curious as to how this compares to J class on SG. Is it significantly better or almost the same?

  7. Willem Guest

    I flew the early morning First flight from Jakarta to Singapore, was the only passenger, and finished the whole bottle of Krug by myself in 45 minutes LOL

    1. Monday Guest

      Siri, what is an example of alcoholism?

    2. James Guest

      What a pig, thinking this is a brag rather than showing what an alco ( and no doubt grotesquely obese like most alcos ) you are.

    3. Mike L Guest

      What's the point of this James? Why attack someone for clearly making a joke? While Willem might be "a pig" according to you, at least he is not an ass, like you seem to be.

    4. George Guest

      Macubus (author of 8 bottles of Dom) would be proud of you!

  8. Smokie Guest

    30,500 miles is just a bit less than what Delta is charging ATL-MIA in main cabin right now.
    Similar distance and that's where the similarity ends.

    On a positive note, with Delta you get Tim Dunn blowing you the whole flight, or was it blowing Ed?

    1. Vector Guest

      Pure Gold! I'm nominating this post for OMAAT post of the year.

    2. John Guest

      Thanks Ben. Lovely review. You have validated all of us feeling guilty about that pre-breakfast champers!

  9. Francessca Tan Guest

    The reason why there is so much space after the first row is that SIA on their 77w had 2 rows of FCL seats until they pulled the plug on the configuration and made it into a single row.

  10. Gerard Member

    I actually think it is more professional, in this context, to use seat numbers rather than names. This is to respect flyers’ privacy, which is especially important in first class. That said, it is impressive that they would know all of the customers’ names.

  11. Tim Dunn Jr Guest

    What a biased review. Delta is much better.

    1. Samo Guest

      What a biased comment. Air Koryo is even better.

    2. Ben H Guest

      @Samo you misspelled based

    3. Philip Guest

      Delta doesnt even have first class.And what do they serve on a 90mins flight in their Delta One?

    4. hbilbao Guest

      They serve nothing because "due to customer feedback" that's exactly what customers want. LMAO

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Smokie Guest

30,500 miles is just a bit less than what Delta is charging ATL-MIA in main cabin right now. Similar distance and that's where the similarity ends. On a positive note, with Delta you get Tim Dunn blowing you the whole flight, or was it blowing Ed?

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Tim Dunn Jr Guest

What a biased review. Delta is much better.

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Vault13Hero New Member

I flew this same route in 2013, albeit in plain old economy class. In was absolutely shocked that for a full economy class of over 200, they gave a full meal service plus a beverage service in under an hour. Contrasting that with the US domestic airlines, not only would you not get a meal, but they'd probably skip the beverage service and just hand out water on a flight that short. SA in-flight service is truly remarkable.

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