The launch of the revamped Singapore Airlines A380 cabins had been much anticipated. Although it was only officially launched at a media event last Thursday, leaked images were already appearing online a couple of days before the event.
As far as aspirational airline products go, the Singapore Airlines ‘double bed’ is up there with the best of them. Nevertheless, the product was starting to show its age, with Etihad’s First Apartments offering particularly stiff competition in recent times.
The new Singapore Airlines A380 layout features just 6 seats in Suites Class (their name for first class on the A380) – this has been cut from the current 12-seat arrangement.
That opened up a whole lot of space to play with and this is the result…..
Each Suite is furnished with a separate full-flat bed with adjustable recline and leather chair, allowing you to lounge in the chair or rest in bed without the need to convert the bed from a sitting position.
For couples travelling together, the beds in the first two Suites of each aisle can be converted to form a double bed like so:
They continue to resist the introduction of an onboard shower ala Emirates and Etihad, but there are two bathrooms (one particularly cavernous one) at the front of the plane.
New business class
It isn’t just first class that’s had a complete makeover either. Business class has got a whole new look too.
And similar to the Qatar Airways QSuite you can even enjoy a double bed in Business Class. I certainly wouldn’t like to be seated in the front pair (shown below) though.
Premium Economy and Economy changes
Their newest Premium Economy product was only released in 2013 so changes to that cabin will be minimal.
As far as Economy is concerned, the cabin will include: in-seat power supply and ergonomically designed footrests with adjustable positions.
In-flight amenities
Per the Singapore Airlines website, the following amenities will be available on the new A380’s:
Suites customers on selected flights will receive an amenity kit or a unisex kit, designed by Lalique.
Customers travelling in Premium Economy Class will receive an amenity kit featuring a special A380 livery to commemorate the launch. The amenity kit consists of a toothbrush, toothpaste and anti-slip socks.
In Economy Class, customers on selected flights will receive an amenity kit which includes a toothbrush, toothpaste and socks. Children’s amenities from Disney will be available in all cabin classes for our young customers.
How to try the new cabins?
All of Singapore Airlines 5 new A380’s are to feature the revamped cabins. A further 14 A380’s will be retrofitted with the new products by 2020. That means we should eventually see the newly launched seats on all A380 routes. Those are currently: Auckland, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Sydney, and Zurich.
The first route to be allocated one of the new A380’s is Singapore-Sydney, with flights commencing on 18th December 2017.
There are strong rumours that London will be the next destination to receive the product but that has yet to be confirmed.
If you were hoping to book the new Suites Class with miles, well, it’s going to be expensive. Singapore Airlines have played games with their award availability in the past when launching new products, it seems that trend is continuing. They offer 2 levels when redeeming miles: Saver and Standard – the latter requiring considerably more miles.
Currently, I can’t find a single seat available at Saver level on the Singapore-Sydney route (and reverse) for the coming months. A Standard level award will set you back 150,000 KrisFlyer miles each way.
UK-based readers can earn KrisFlyer miles by transferring American Express Membership Rewards, HSBC Rewards, Heathrow Rewards or SPG points.
Verdict
This is an impressive statement of intent from Singapore Airlines. They have thrown down the gauntlet and it will be really interesting to see the response from other airlines, starting with the launch of the new Emirates First Class next week.
I’m not entirely convinced they’ve gone all-out with business class but I am definitely looking forward to testing the new Suites product in person!
For more info see this page on the Singapore Airlines website