- Introduction: A Whirlwind Aeroplan Adventure
- How To Redeem Aeroplan Points Like A Pro
- Review: SAS Lounge Chicago Airport (ORD)
- Review: Austrian Business Class 777 (ORD-VIE)
- Review: Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere
- Review: SKY Lounge Vienna Airport (VIE)
- Review: Austrian Senator Lounge Vienna Airport (VIE)
- Review: Austrian Business Class A320 (VIE-FCO)
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Rome Airport (FCO)
- Review: Gulf Air Business Class A321LR (FCO-BAH)
- Review: Gulf Air Lounge Bahrain Airport (BAH)
- Review: Bahrain Airport Hotel (Priority Pass)
- New Bahrain Airport Terminal: What A Nifty Hub!
- Review: Gulf Air Business Class 787-9 (BAH-SIN)
- Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Lounge T3 (SIN)
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class 787 (SIN-SGN)
- Review: Le Saigonnais Business Lounge Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN)
- Review: Bamboo Airways Business Class A321neo (SGN-HAN)
- Review: VATC Sleep Pods Hanoi Airport (HAN)
- Review: Song Hong Business Lounge Hanoi Airport (HAN)
- Review: Bamboo Airways Business Class 787 (HAN-FRA)
- Review: Sheraton Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Lufthansa Business Lounge Frankfurt (FRA)
- Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Frankfurt (FRA)
- Review: Air Canada Business Class 777 (FRA-YYZ)
- Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto Transborder (YYZ)
- Review: Air Canada Business Class 787 (YYZ-MIA)
For the next portion of my whirlwind Aeroplan adventure, it was time to fly Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 787-10 business class from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City. I was looking forward to this flight, as this plane features Singapore Airlines’ new(ish) regional business class product, which I hadn’t yet flown.
I’m happy to report that the flight didn’t disappoint. As usual, Singapore Airlines delivered in just about every way.
In this post:
How I booked my Singapore Airlines business class ticket
I booked my Singapore Airlines business class ticket using points. Specifically, I redeemed 115,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points to fly from Chicago to Vienna to Rome to Bahrain to Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, all in business class.
For more details on how I booked that, see my post about how to redeem Aeroplan points like a pro. Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. On top of that, there’s the Aeroplan® Credit Card (review) in the United States, which is phenomenal.
Specific to the Singapore Airlines portion of my trip, here’s the flight I took:
1/08 SQ186 Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City departing 5:30PM arriving 6:40PM
Singapore Airlines business class lounge & boarding
In the previous installment I reviewed the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge in Terminal 3, where I spent most of my layover. My flight was departing from gate F58 in Terminal 2, with boarding scheduled for 5PM, 30 minutes ahead of the 5:30PM scheduled departure.
Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 are connected via an easy people mover. I couldn’t help but chuckle at some of the coronavirus messaging on the tram, like this tagline — “let us be gracious and keep Changi spacious.” Lol…
As is standard at Changi (well, except at Terminal 4), security is at each individual gate. I headed over to the gate pretty early, and security opened at 4:20PM, 40 minutes ahead of the scheduled boarding time, and 70 minutes ahead of departure.
Once you go through security, your boarding pass is already scanned, so you’re basically considered to be onboard for all practical purposes, and don’t need to show your passport anymore.
I was excited to feast my eyes on the Boeing 787-10 that would be flying us to Ho Chi Minh City. What a beauty! I was flying on 9V-SCB, one of Singapore Airlines’ oldest 787s, at nearly five years.
Boarding started at exactly 5PM, with business class being invited to board first. Vietnam still has a mask mandate for flights, so everyone was required to put on their mask as they boarded.
Singapore Airlines 787-10 business class cabin & seats
Ah, there’s something so pleasant about boarding a Singapore Airlines flight. I boarded through the forward door, where I was greeted by one of the flight attendants, asked for my boarding pass, addressed by name, and then brought to my seat.
Singapore Airlines operates its Boeing 787s as regional aircraft, so they have a different business class product than you’ll find on long haul routes. Specifically, the Boeing 787-10s (and select Airbus A350-900s) have the Stelia Aerospace Symphony business class seat. This is an upgraded version of the Stelia Aerospace Opal business class seat, which you’ll otherwise find on airlines like Air Senegal, Aircalin, Turkish Airlines, Vistara, and Uganda Airlines. The seat is a bit wider and bigger.
Singapore Airlines’ 787s have a total of 36 business class seats, spread across nine rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.
This is a staggered business class product, meaning that the layout varies in every other row. That’s because space is maximized by placing the footwell for seats to the side of the seats in front.
As far as the center seats go, every other row has what are commonly referred to as “honeymoon” seats, which are close to one another, and ideal if you’re traveling with someone. Even if you’re traveling alone you may like these, since there’s a partition in the center that you can raise, and this gives you some distance from the aisle.
Meanwhile in the other rows, the seats in the center section are closer to the aisles.
As far as the seats by the windows go, they alternate between being closer to the aisles and closer to the windows. The seats closer to the aisles don’t give you much separation from the aisle (as you’d expect), though at least this product offers quite a bit of privacy, thanks to the big shield along the aisle-seat of the seat. So you won’t feel overly exposed, and shouldn’t be bumped into by people in the aisle.
Then the best seats on the plane are the “true” window seats, which get you closer to the windows and farther from the aisles. I assigned myself seat 19A, which was the window seat on the left side in the second to last row of the cabin.
This seat not only features a ton of privacy, but really feels like a cocoon, thanks to the shield along the side of the seat. Some might find the seat to be a bit tight or claustrophobic — personally I kind of like that cozy feeling, but others don’t. I do find it a bit strange how even the seats right by the windows have the privacy shield along the fuselage, which may block your view out the window, if anything.
I can appreciate that it’s most efficient to just manufacture all seats in the same way, though arguably it’s not only unnecessary, but counterproductive.
There’s a lot to like about Singapore Airlines’ seat finishes. Along the aisle-side of the seat is a large counter that’s big enough for placing a laptop during the flight. There’s also a large storage compartment, which can be fully closed.
The compartment has enough space for lots of smaller items (headphones, phones, glasses, a wallet, etc.). It also has two USB outlets and an AC power outlet.
There’s also a small mirror that can be extended from the side of the seat, which is a feature many will appreciate.
Underneath the console are the seat and entertainment controls. The seat controls can be tough to figure out at first, since the screen goes totally “black” if it’s not touched. However, as soon as you touch it, the buttons light up, allowing you to adjust your seat, turn on lights, etc.
Then there’s the entertainment controller, which can be extended and used to control the functions on the personal television. However, the TV is also touchscreen, so I didn’t end up having much use for this.
Underneath the seat and entertainment controls is an armrest, which can be lowered to create a wider surface, if you’d like.
The tray table in this configuration folds out from underneath the personal television. When stored, it’s folded over in half, so you can extend it by pushing a button, pulling it out, and then flipping it over.
One challenge with staggered configurations can be that footwells are quite limiting, though I found this to be one of the larger footwells out there, so I was happy about that.
As mentioned above, the privacy shield along the window is a bit odd, but in this case it wasn’t a big deal, since it didn’t block the window by my seat.
This shield also contains several reading lights.
My only real criticism of this product is the lack of individual air nozzles. Why is Singapore Airlines so opposed to air nozzles?!
Anyway, all-in-all this would be a solid long haul business class product, and it’s a spectacular regional business class product. For a 90-minute flight, it doesn’t get much better that. Let me take it a step further — I think I actually prefer this seat to Singapore Airlines’ long haul business class seat.
Singapore Airlines business class amenities
As far as amenities go, there were a pillow and blanket at my seat, which were not only pretty, but very comfortable. The pillow was large and thick, while the blanket was cozy.
There were also a pair of headphones waiting at each seat. Singapore Airlines’ headphones are just fine — they’re not bad, but it’s not an exceptional part of the experience either.
For years Singapore Airlines didn’t have any sort of amenity kits in business class, but that finally changed in late 2020. Now the airline even has small amenities in short haul business class. The kit was from Penhaligon’s, and consisted of hand lotion, lip balm, and facial mist.
As is standard on Singapore Airlines, the crew welcomed each passenger, and asked if they had any questions about the seat. Pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of champagne or orange juice. I selected the former.
Singapore Airlines 787-10 departure from Singapore
The flight was packed, though boarding was extremely efficient, and was completed by 5:15PM. There were only three empty seats in business class, while economy class was also quite full.
At 5:20PM, the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 90 minutes. Okay, this is going to sound weird and random, but the crew was in the gate area prior to boarding, and my eyes were drawn to the captain’s flight bag, which had a bunch of Boeing 787 stickers on it. There was something about his vibe that just gave off that he was a huge avgeek. I was already thinking to myself “I like this guy.”
Then there was his welcome aboard announcement, which was perhaps my favorite and most professional announcement I’ve ever heard from a pilot. Often pilots are fumbling and say “ummm, folks, ummm, this is, ummm, your ummm captain speaking.”
I always takes notes on my phone while reviewing flights, so let me just copy and paste what I had written at the time — “captain sounded like most professional robot ever — I’m not convinced he’s human, because it’s that professional and perfect.” He didn’t fumble a single word, and it was so perfect that you’d think he was reading it off a script, yet he said it with such enthusiasm and confidence that I don’t think he did.”
Sorry for that tangent, and thank you captain. If you ever sell an album with your inflight announcements, I’d like to be your first customer. Otherwise, Singapore Airlines really should have this guy make automated announcements that play onboard, in the terminal, etc.
At 5:30PM the main cabin door was closed, at which point the safety video was screened. I enjoy Singapore Airlines’ current safety video, and find it to be calming, much like the carrier’s boarding music.
At 5:35PM we began our pushback, and then at 5:40PM we began our taxi.
We had a roughly 15 minute taxi to runway 2R, and then we had about a five minute wait for takeoff, as we had to wait for AirAsia and Bangkok Airways planes to depart.
By 6PM we were cleared for takeoff, and rocketed down the runway.
The seatbelt sign stayed on for 10 minutes (a bit longer than usual), as we had quite a bit of turbulence on the initial climb out, due to some thick clouds.
The second we cleared the clouds, the seatbelt sign was turned off, and crew sprung into action.
Singapore Airlines 787-10 entertainment & Wi-Fi
Singapore Airlines’ overall entertainment offering is among the best out there, between the huge library of movies and TV shows, live TV, and even complimentary Wi-Fi in business class.
I started by browsing the KrisWorld entertainment system, which had endless options, from movies to TV shows. I particularly appreciated how the library has entire seasons of TV shows, so that you can easily binge watch (I mean, that’s probably more useful on an 18-hour flight than a 90-minute flight, but still…).
There’s also a selection of music, plus several channels of live TV.
At this point I hadn’t yet seen The White Lotus, so I watched that for most of the flight (if you’re one of the seven people who hasn’t seen it, you really should).
I also took a look at the map feature, which was easy to customize depending on the view you wanted.
Just as impressive as the entertainment selection is that Singapore Airlines nowadays offers complimentary Wi-Fi in business class.
I just had to enter my last name, email address, and seat number, and I could then immediately connect. The speeds were excellent, and there were no data caps.
For those curious about the pricing otherwise, Wi-Fi cost anywhere from $3.99 to $15.99, depending on the plan you wanted.
Singapore Airlines business class dinner
There was a dinner service on this short flight to Ho Chi Minh City, and you can find the menu below (which was at my seat upon boarding).
On this flight there was one flight attendant in each aisle with a cart, and they worked their way down the aisles front to back serving dinner. Meal orders weren’t taken in advance, but rather were asked for when the flight attendant got to your seat (unlike on US airlines, I find that Singapore Airlines rarely runs out of options).
Of the three main course options, I selected the Malay style braised beef, sambal prawns, omelette with onions, spiced fish cake, and coconut rice. This was served with an appetizer of marinated smoked salmon with capers, and a dessert of banana cheesecake with butter crumble. There was also a selection of bread, including the always tasty garlic bread. Drinks were offered off the same cart, and I selected a glass of the New Zealand sauvignon blanc.
A few minutes later the cart was rolled down the aisle again, both to collect trays, offer drink refills, and also to serve coffee and tea. I requested a cup of coffee.
The meal was honestly phenomenal, especially for such a short flight. It’s funny how Singapore Airlines marketed this on the menu as a “light dinner.” It was a pretty full dinner, if you ask me.
Singapore Airlines 787-10 business class bed
While there was no time to actually sleep on this flight, I did want to test out the bed, to see how comfortable it is. As a side sleeper, I found it to be especially comfortable to sleep facing the windows, and could easily fold my knees. I also thought the footwell was plenty spacious.
Singapore Airlines 787-10 business class lavatory
There were two lavatories in front of the business class cabin, and then two more behind the cabin. They were immaculately clean, and also had dental kits, as well as products from Penahligon’s.
Singapore Airlines business class service
Singapore Airlines is one of the most consistent airlines in the world when it comes to service, and this crew was no exception. They just perform service with such grace, warmth, and precision. From greeting each passenger upon boarding, to how they address passengers by name during the service, to their attention to detail, I consistently find Singapore Airlines to be great in this regard.
As I wrote about in a separate post, the guy behind me had some serious complaints about the flight, and I was impressed by how professionally the crew handled that situation. It’s nice to see a crew trained in deescalation and customer service, rather than what we all too often see in the United States.
Singapore Airlines 787-10 arrival in Ho Chi Minh City
One hour after takeoff, the captain was back on the PA to inform us that we were at 38,000 feet and would be starting our descent in about 10 minutes, with a landing expected at 6:45PM (Ho Chi Minh City is one hour behind Singapore). Sure enough, we started our descent 10 minutes later, and then at 6:15PM the seatbelt sign was turned on, and the crew was told to prepare the cabin for landing.
It’s always strange to me how service starts so quickly after takeoff on Singapore Airlines, but then service has to end so soon, with the cabin being prepared for arrival so early. As we descended, Singapore Airlines’ traditional landing music was played, which I enjoy even more than the boarding music.
We ended up touching down at Ho Chi Minh City Airport at 6:40PM. From there we had a 10-minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we parked next to a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330. We deplaned through the forward door, where the captain personally said goodbye to each passenger.
I then headed for immigration, where there was an hour-long queue (each of these lines is for a single immigration officer). Ugh, going from Singapore Airlines business class to this line was quite the adjustment.
Perhaps even worse than the long line was that the lady behind me tried to cut me every few minutes. She’d consistently start standing in front of me, I’d stare her down, then she’d move behind me again. And that happened over and over and over. WTF.
After clearing immigration, it was time to head to the domestic terminal for my adventure on Bamboo Airways. I was equal parts exhausted and excited!
Bottom line
Flying with Singapore Airlines is always such a treat. 90-minute flights don’t get much better than this, between the comfortable seats, great amenities, delicious food, free Wi-Fi and endless entertainment, and gracious service.
It sure is hard to go back to the United States and fly with US carriers after experiencing this kind of service.
What do you make of Singapore Airlines’ 787 business class?
@ben - have you considered getting an APEC card? Saves many long lines @ immigration in APEC member nations. Not sure about USA pre-requisites but I’m from NZ and work in Asia, have had it for many years, and it’s an absolute game changer.
Hmm... I read a lot of reviews and I can be rather snarky at times but your work here is well done.
I fly SQ from NY to Bangkok and back yearly and I'm riding them up to Paris in a couple weeks.
I think SQ, like so many other businesses, has used the past couple years panic as an excuse to cut costs and service but they are still my go-to airline. I agree...
Hmm... I read a lot of reviews and I can be rather snarky at times but your work here is well done.
I fly SQ from NY to Bangkok and back yearly and I'm riding them up to Paris in a couple weeks.
I think SQ, like so many other businesses, has used the past couple years panic as an excuse to cut costs and service but they are still my go-to airline. I agree with your point that US based carriers are not even in the same league.
I do believe fair criticism will pressure a company to improve it's service and I do hope SQ pays attention to the points people make. After all, if customers don't make their displeasure known the companies will assume they can get away with lesser quality.
Thumbs up to your review here and thank you for the effort.
It's definitely a first world problem, but considering how much you pay for a business class seat you still can't get away from the footwell behind you shaking or jiggling your seat. It's not common but you only need someone behind you that moves their feet around a lot for it to be somewhat annoying. Seat manufacturers need to have a look at solving this.
I really have a problem with the "wings" on the 787-10. I don't have particularly broad shoulders but the wings cramp my upper body so that after 4 hours it is very painful. I think the same seats are on the A350-1000. Ugh.
Everything else is, of course, SQ super.
Ben, did you check out “Jewel” while at SIN? Truly one of the coolest airport experiences ever…
SQ is without equal. Even in pandemic times they managed to maintain a level of service that was unequalled. Keep the ME3, it’s always SQ for me (SQ now send me free stuff - few nights at The Fullerton? Yes?)
Being staunch advocates of Emirates, after all the hype of Singapore Airlines we decided to try them when we travelled to NZ a couple of years back. The sectors they covered were CDG-SIN return in Business. Have nothing to comment except that we were disappointed basically in every aspect. Our loyalty remains with Emirates until bettered.
SQ has better seats in business.
Great review and what a great carrier - we fly SQ a lot and they are consistently good with always nice crew and very good food and wine
This is a very detailed and good flight report.
That looks like Beef Rendang and the sambal prawns looks more like fish than prawns. What a meal though, looks so delicious.
Do you always get to board first so you can take your pics. Is this something you have to ask at the gate so they give you some time in advance to take your pics.
I flew BangKok-Singapore-Manchester in J last November and I liked the seat in the first flight much more. In fact I didn’t like the long haul product at all (I may even prefer BA old product…), especially having to ask the cabin crew to put the seat in bed mode each time I wanted to lay down. However, I didn’t receive an amenity kit in neither of the two flights. I asked the cabin crew...
I flew BangKok-Singapore-Manchester in J last November and I liked the seat in the first flight much more. In fact I didn’t like the long haul product at all (I may even prefer BA old product…), especially having to ask the cabin crew to put the seat in bed mode each time I wanted to lay down. However, I didn’t receive an amenity kit in neither of the two flights. I asked the cabin crew during the second flight and they told me that I could find toothbrush in the toilet…
I would that that meal over any UA Polaris meal of any flight/length I have ever had or seen.
Interesting. Jan 11-14, 2023, I flew SIN-SGN and back in business with SQ (26.5K UA miles each way) and the metal used in both directions was an A350-900, and not a B787.
As a general rule, I do not travel to a country that requires a visa without having obtained a visa ahead of time, so I did not have to deal with the line for getting a visa on arrival at SGN...
Another great review Ben. Completely agree with you that this seat is actually better than the long haul product. Flew recently on the A350 with this seat and found it to be fantastic. Have flown on all versions of their seats on B777 and A380 and this was definitely the favourite
As always Singapore service was flawless
Impressive seat! For a 90 minute flight you can’t do better.
I'm sure a lot of readers would agree, but we really hope you treated yourself to some amazing Vietnamese cuisine while you were in Vietnam. Because if you didn't, my goodness you really missed out on some amazing food! Anyway, congratulations on 15 years and counting. Huge fan and the blog has certainly helped on my travels from time to time. Keep up the good work. Love you man.
"It sure is hard to go back to the United States and fly with US carriers after experiencing this kind of service."
Truer words have never been spoken. Great review, Ben.
@Ben, I hope the version of White Lotus Season 1 you saw wasn't edited out for the naughty parts, especially the scene with the private parts and then the "licking" scene.
Surely that was in Season 2?
They really should do a season featuring the "White Lotus" private jet ;-)
https://onemileatatime.com/four-seasons-private-jet/
Is Singapore J/F the best use of *A miles out there Ben? The only thing I can think of as better is ANA first and maybe Swiss F (if comparing to Singapore J only).
I'd say ANA J is on par with Singapore's J product. Well, ok, maybe not the IFE, but in just about every other way.
I can't put my finger on it, but I always enjoy SQ just that little bit more. ANA crew are amazing too, but perhaps a tad more 'robotic'? Asian me says that is due to Japanese culture (manners and 'proper' etiquette rather than unfriendliness), whereas Singapore prefers the warm and friendly politeness.
As for Ben's comment on the 'light' meal: I believe the 'everyday' Singaporean customer has VERY high expectations, and anything served on...
I can't put my finger on it, but I always enjoy SQ just that little bit more. ANA crew are amazing too, but perhaps a tad more 'robotic'? Asian me says that is due to Japanese culture (manners and 'proper' etiquette rather than unfriendliness), whereas Singapore prefers the warm and friendly politeness.
As for Ben's comment on the 'light' meal: I believe the 'everyday' Singaporean customer has VERY high expectations, and anything served on one tray needs to sound much worse than it is, or they'd complain.
Great review Ben...you captured the spirit and essence of your SQ 787-10 flight for all of us! Interesting that I recently flew KUL- SIN J class on their A350 which had their long range biz class hard product. Wi-Fi was not complimentary nor was there an amenity kit offered...but I would not expect one on a flight of that short duration (about 50mins air time). Pleasantly surprised they offered one to SGN. And I agree...
Great review Ben...you captured the spirit and essence of your SQ 787-10 flight for all of us! Interesting that I recently flew KUL- SIN J class on their A350 which had their long range biz class hard product. Wi-Fi was not complimentary nor was there an amenity kit offered...but I would not expect one on a flight of that short duration (about 50mins air time). Pleasantly surprised they offered one to SGN. And I agree that the 787 seat is more comfortable (for me) vs their long range biz product. To each his own I suppose. I have flown into SGN multiple-times pre-CV and have never noticed the lines that long. I have the APEC card which usually has a dedicated lane but even with the card, I will sometimes spring for the fast-track, (per Ryan's suggestion), as it can still be worth the time *not* spent in line. Recently did this at BKK and it was very well worth the investment. Safe travels!
Flew on an A350 with these seats from BKK to SIN last week, was a very pleasant trip.
Ben, your writing is less and less relevant. You need to re-invent.
@ Tim H -- Interesting comment, especially in light of your commenting history. You've commented a total of three times since 2015, and your previous comments were also to inform me that my content isn't good.
I think it says more about you than me that you've been reading my not-good content for eight years, no?
These posts are the highlight of my day. (I'd like to say, after a hard day in court, but since I know it irritates John, I'll keep quiet about it,) :) Thanks Ben!
Man, if only you had actually voice-recorded that captain’s announcement — I would have paid to hear it, not that you would charge anything though! Cabin crew and pilots who go above and beyond are what I like most about your reviews. And thanks for writing the plane registration!
You can pay a relatively small fee for visa fast track in Vietnam. The only time I’ve been there I had the foresight to do that and when I landed and saw the lines I was happy I did. I wouldn’t ever fly there without paying for that service
Nice tip. Is it your understanding these long lines are somewhat typical in Vietnamese airports (versus a pandemic hangover thing)?
@ Ryan -- In retrospect I should have done that, good to know, thanks!
This is a great tip but I can't figure out where to go online. Is there a particular service you use for this? Just googling it I see many websites that say they help with a VIP Fastrack. Does anyone have the best website so not to get scammed?
Went back to my emails and found this is service I used https://www.vietnam-evisa.org/services/view/airport-concierge-and-fast-track-service.html
Only did it once, was positioning as part of that epic CX JFK F mistake fare but would use again.
I believe this service was ended sometime during the pandemic and has not been reintroduced yet.
Thanks for posting these flight reviews. I recently booked an SQ 787-10 flight DPS-SIN. This looks very comfortable for a 2h45m jaunt. I just might hold off eating at the lounge to make room for a "light" onboard meal.