Flight Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class LAX to SIN

Flight Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class

Singapore Airlines is rated by Skytrax as a Five Star airline for the service and quality of product they provide. I have flown their economy product before as well and it is still by all means a spectacular economy product but this is about their premium product. For this trip, I flew round trip to Jakarta from Los Angeles for a surf trip in Indonesia, all in business class for a total of $76 for taxes and fees and 176,000 Chase UR Points (mind you my friends meeting me there paid $850 for their economy flights and even missed their connections). I will be reviewing the first flight on my journey and show you what to expect with Singapore Airlines business class products in general.

How I booked my Award Flight

I searched through multiple award charts with the possibilities I could have using the miles and points I have and ultimately found that Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program gave me the best value for my points and miles to get to my destination and also had the most direct route, with a bonus of allowing me a stop-over in Singapore for a few days.

After searching for flights with Singapore Airlines and finding a viable option, I called them to confirm and had them place my itinerary on hold, and then immediately logged into my Chase UR account and transferred 176,000 UR points to my Singapore Krisflyer account. This can take 1-2 days and is the reason why I placed the Itinerary on hold. Most transfers are immediate with other loyalty programs that Chase Partners with.

As soon as I saw the points had transferred to my account with KrisFlyer, I called the agent and booked my flight. It was that easy.

Flight Details

SQ 37 Business (I) Seat 14k

Flight Times: Depart 00:15 – Arrive 08:15 17Hours

Plane type: A350-900ULR

Check In Process

Arriving at LAX is a journey in itself. Singapore uses the Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX and I walked over to the Singapore Airlines Check-in counter and entered through the business class cue with nobody in line. The ticket agent was friendly and the process quick and easy. I usually never check a bag when I travel and always use a carry-on and travel light, but I had two surfboards with me since I was going on a surf trip in Indonesia. I was allotted 2 free bags up to 70lbs. My Surfboard weighed only 50lbs. I was good to go!

After receiving my boarding passes, I was off to the Star Alliance lounge and since I get access with a premium class ticket and I proceeded through the main terminal security and not the secret Tom Bradley Terminal since the line was very short. I used the premium class lines and got through TSA security right away. I then spent my time in the lounge, about 2 hours to kill.

The Star Alliance lounge has an outside deck with views of runways 24R and 24L for the avgeeks like myself. It also features showers and a wide selection of food, beer, wine and self serve alcohol as well as a full service bar. After a light snack and a couple of self service beers, it was time to get to my gate to board my flight.

Boarding Process

The boarding process had already begun by the time I arrived and I walked right up to the gate agent and passed through after showing proper documents. I entered the gangway for Business Class and was met by the head purser who addressed me by name and ushered me to my seat, 14k. I had plenty of room for my bag in the overhead bin. The seating in the Business section is a 1-2-1 seating, and the rest of the plane is ONLY premium economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. NO economy seating.

After settling into my seat, I was promptly offered a pre-departure beverage of orange juice, water or champagne, I chose champagne. Delicious mind you. The doors closed quickly after and the crew began with their pre-flight briefing. Singapore Airlines has a very calming safety message by the way and before I knew it we were taking off.

Singapore Airlines Business Class Seat

A lot of people that have flown in SQ Business Class have complained that the seat is a bit cramped in the foot well. I would agree, however I had enough room being that I am 5’10” but it was a a bit small. Not bad though. If you can get it, I would recommend seat 11A or seat 11K if your are taller as you are able to stretch out a bit more. Width wise, there is 34 in of room in the seat.

I found the seat itself to be quite comfortable in my opinion. I felt like I was sitting in a large throne as the king of the cabin. *Presses call button* Me- “excuse me, I didn’t get a crown when I walked in?” Flight attendant looking puzzled- “that’s because you’re an idiot Mr. Hill.” And she would correct! 😀

I had two pillows and a blanket. There were a few small storage areas for smaller items and even a mirror on one of the storage doors. I was provided with a water that I quickly drank. Refreshing! The controls were by my left arm and I found it annoying actually because my elbow would continually brush against the controls and move my seat.

You can get a turn down service provided by the Flight Attendant, the seat folds down and you get a sheet placed over the padded folded seat. The accommodations were quite nice in fact. I would say that Singapore has a very decent hard product.

In Flight Entertainment (IFE)

On a 17 hour flight, you better believe an airline had better provide good entertainment, especially when wifi costs an exuberant amount like on Singapore. Singapore does not skimp on this. You can even use your Krisflyer account to log onto the Singapore Airlines app and check out the IFE selection. It’s an exhaustive list with foreign selections as well. You have your own noise canceling headphones provided that do an amazing job, and they come packaged in plastic wrap. I was able to watch a few movies onboard my flight. There were a lot of the newest selections available.

Singapore Airlines Meal Service

Singapore Airlines is known for having great airplane food. I would agree. not everything is always great though. Singapore has a meal service called “Book The Cook.” Book the Cook is a service offered to Business class and First Class passengers where you are able to select meals that you want to be served on your flight up to 24 hours before your flight, personalized to what you want on their menu. You can find a a wide selection of delectable entrees. I chose lobster one of my flights. It was good. The steak was way better. They have a wide array of ethnic food to choose from so it never gets boring.

The meal service promptly begins about 1 hour after take off and it lasts from 1-3 hours into the flight. You have a second meal service 11-13 hours into the flight, this usually happens a few hours before landing. The time in between the meal service, you have your options of a “dine on demand” menu where you can order anything on the menu between that time as well as an array of snacks if you are so inclined. One of the best options offered were the satays.

For my breakfast, I chose a ramen style noodle that was AMAZING! It was premised with a prawn dish that was mouthwatering.

Beverage Selection

I always love to partake in libations that have a nice effect on me during the flight. With that said, I probably drank a bottle’s worth of wine if not more while sampling the different wines Singapore airlines offers. They were all very good, and the FA’s did a wonderful job of recommending a selection for pairing. I also had a night capper of whiskey before heading off on a separate adventure to slumberland. Very satisfied with their selection of tasty libations.

Singapore Airlines Flight Crew

Singapore airlines does not skimp when it comes to service. From start to finish, the flight crews are absolutely on point. They addressed me by “Mr. Hill” the entire time and each one of them servicing the business class cabin that I encountered knew my name. I was very impressed. Most people you meet can’t remember your name. They were attentive and very accommodating the entire flight. They even stopped to have a quick chat with me which I always enjoy. Interesting fact, if you pay close attention, you will notice different colored uniforms for each person which dignifies their position in the cabin.

A350-900ULR

Ok Avgeeks, I have flown on an A350 a hand-full of times, but never for the amount of time I did on this flight. I mean, it is the worlds 5th longest flight currently. The 900 stands for the model of the A350 and the ULR designates this model as Ultra Long Range. They use this model on the Newark to Singapore flight as well and thats and even longer flight at 18 hours covering 10,000 miles. The A350 is a very fuel efficient aircraft and very quiet mind you.

My Final Thought

If you have the opportunity to fly with Singapore Airlines and experience their upper class services on a flight, I highly recommend going for it. Singapore Airlines is a transfer partner with quite a few Credit Cards rewards programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards (which I used) Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One. Although I don’t recommend Capital One as they transfer over at 2:1. Not a great deal at all. Despite a few minor downfalls with the soft product (food wise) and a seat that doesn’t provide the much needed leg room for some, they more than make up for that with the level of service and attention to detail in other areas. I would not hesitate to fly with Singapore again and actually look forward to it.

Until then, keep working those credit cards to earn your rewards and stay tuned here for more tips and tricks to earn them and to find niche award seats for traveling.