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Reader Report: Singapore Airlines Premium Economy, Airbus A350 SFO-SIN

January 16, 2017

TravelSkills reader Jason Vaudrey reports from a Singapore Air A350 in Premium Economy (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

Late last year we received the following email from TravelSkills reader Jason Vaudrey with a query about submitting a reader report about his upcoming Singapore Airlines Premium Economy flight. He wrote:

My name is Jason Vaudrey and I really enjoy reading TravelSkills each week. I just finished reading about Singapore Airlines’ inaugural flight with their A350 and it made me more excited for my trip to Myanmar and return from Bangkok in December when I’ll fly on the A350. I am fascinated by air travel, commercial aircraft, the hustle and bustle of airports and have been this way since I was a child. I am somewhat envious of your ability to be able to make a career for yourself doing what you love. When I was younger, I flew quite often and used to save my ticket jackets and would often use the Official Airline Guide to plan out my father’s travels that would often take him up to the North Slope of Alaska. Today, I am fortunate to have a career that allows me to travel internationally once or twice a year…I’m more than happy to provide a review of Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy experience in December aboard their A350. I am very excited for the 17-hour flight.

That sounded great, and my reply to Vaudrey was:

Hey Jason! You sound like me! We’d love to consider a trip report from you. Here are some guidelines for you to consider: https://travelskills.com/travelskills-reader-report-guidelines

–Chris

Earlier this year, Jason submitted the following report:

Singapore Airlines flight 31 SFO-SIA on December 20 (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

I love taking a big international trip at least once a year, preferably to a country I have never visited. I usually like to include scuba diving, whitewater rafting or something adventurous as part of my destination. I always believe in my vacation beginning at SFO and look forward to the long haul flight that awaits. I will pay upwards of $400 more for an airline with a better reputation as opposed to defaulting to the least expensive ticket to a destination.

Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 at SFO ready to depart for Singapore (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

To allow myself the freedom to travel, I work as a substitute teacher with San Francisco Unified School District and also do HIV and reproductive health research on short term projects or as an independent contractor. This holiday and during my winter break from school, I chose to go to Yangon (Burma) and to see Bagan and scuba dive the Burma Mergui Archipelago, which involved me starting that portion of my trip in Thailand.

I flew nearly two months after the inauguration of Singapore Airlines’ nonstop SFO to Singapore Changi flight. Our flight flight time was approximately 16 hours and 30 minutes. I sat in seat 33H, the third and last row in Premium Economy on the two seat side. There were approximately 30 seats empty on board the plane, according to the chief steward.

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy has 24 seats in three rows between business class and economy class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are 24 seats in Premium Economy in a 2-4-2 layout and I definitely recommend the last row because your seat is not pulled on when the person behind you often uses the head rest as support to get up from their seat not realizing how jarring it is for the person seated.

See Singapore Airlines A350 seat map on SeatGuru.com

Seat 33 H in premium economy on a Singapore Airlines A350 (Jason Vaudrey)

The seven cabin crew who attended to both the Premium Economy and Economy sections did an amazing job to make sure everyone was seated and comfortable and we had an on time departure and upon boarding handed us a hot towel, a menu and confirmed with those passengers who requested a special meal. The menu for premium economy covers all four meal services for both Flight 31 and Flight 32.

The check-in procedure at SFO has a special lane for Premium Economy, although when I arrived about 2.5 hours ahead of my flight, there were no passengers at the check-in counter and the ticketing agent had indicated that most everyone had checked-in already. On my return trip which originated in Bangkok, I still was able to use the Premium Economy lane and also for boarding the flight which had no Premium Economy section. Although in Bangkok, the ground staff operating the flight from Bangkok to Singapore allowed for Premium Economy passengers to board with their frequent flier mileage tier groups after Business Class boarded.

Premium economy dinner on Singapore Airlines (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

Both flights are designed the same in terms of service and meals offered. You are served a hot breakfast with three options that are the same three options being offered in economy. I chose the braised egg noodles with pork and it was delicious. The other two options were Western breakfast style options. For the second meal service from SFO-SIN, I ordered Korean BBQ ribs from the “Book the Cook” option that is given to premium economy passengers. All special meal order services are delivered first before the cart is pushed down the aisle serving the other passengers. Only drawback for ordering any special meal service is the delay in getting a beverage to go with it. So just request a beverage when your meal is delivered, but sometimes they will ask you to wait until the cart comes down the aisle.

The seat in premium economy is great. The problem with the exterior aisles, is the box that controls the seat back monitors obstructs and prevents you from being able to store a backpack and anything greater than a slim bag or purse. With my short legs, this did not pose a problem, but if you are tall, it might be an obstruction that is not welcome. The recline is nice along with the greater elbow room, because an arm rest is not shared with your seatmate. And there is also seat pitch of 38” and wider seats than in economy.

The only drawback is the engineering design of the calf rest. My seat mate on the return from Singapore to San Francisco brought this to my attention when he said that the calf rest doesn’t raise enough for you to at the same time rest your feet on the foot bar. And, even the passenger across the aisle from me pointed it out to a flight attendant after we took off and she tried to yank on the calf rest to get it to raise more, and I leaned over and told them, I think it’s a design flaw. My seat mate, cleverly, took his pillow and placed it under his legs, raising them, to allow his feet to reach the bar. I ended up not using the calf rest and prefer just resting my feet on the bar.

Map of flight from SIN to SFO as seen on seatback entertainment system (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

The return flight was fantastic and shorter. The second meal service was still approximately five hours after the first meal service. A change I noticed with this flight is the lead flight attendant approached all 24 passengers (premium economy was full) and asked them what they wanted for the three main course choices offered.

Premium economy meal onboard Singapore Airlines A350 SIN-SFO (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

The flight attendants delivered premium economy meals without serving directly from the cart. The cart still was brought up the aisle to offer beverages, but I thought her asking those who did not already have a special meal request, was just another perk to sitting up in premium economy that I did not see, but also did not mind, when flying to Singapore from SF.

Here’s how they are celebrating the new nonstops between SFO and Singapore at Changi Airport (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

I bought my ticket in July 2016 and the price was approximately $1750, about $100 more than economy at the time. I found even the business class, priced at $3,200 roundtrip in July to be very reasonable, considering the distance. And, this would have also included my flight to Yangon from Singapore and my return from Bangkok to Singapore. By the end of August, the price for economy still hovered around $1650, but premium economy was priced at $2,400. I find it definitely to be worth it, because it is quite the long flight and the seat itself is worth the increase in price between economy and premium economy.

[Roundtrip, premium economy fares between SFO and Yangon on SIA are currently about $2,900 according to Google Flights]

My trip to Myanmar consisted of flying to Bagan to see the pagodas and take a hot air balloon at sunrise on Christmas Eve morning. From there, I took AirKBZ to Yangon, spent the night at a nice budget hotel by the airport, called the High Five Hotel. In the morning I flew to Ranong, Thailand, via Bangkok on AirAsia to Bangkok. From Bangkok to Ranong, Thailand, I flew on NokAir (nok in Thai means bird). Ranong, Thailand lies on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. From there, I boarded a 7-day liveaboard scuba dive boat with 17 other individuals and crossed back into Myanmar waters to scuba dive for 7 days in the Myanmar (Burma) Mergui Archipelago. I was the only American on board, but had a great adventure and befriended many on board.

-Jason Vaudrey

Nice work, Jason! Thanks!

Jason scuba diving in off the coast of Myanmar

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Trip Report: The long flight home SIN-SFO

October 27, 2016

Photo of the inflight map of the northerly course of our SIN-SFO flight on Singapore Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

(INFLIGHT SIN>SFO) Well, that was a quick trip! If you’ve been following TravelSkills this week, you know that I jumped on Singapore Airlines’ new nonstop A350 flight from San Francisco to Singapore on Sunday. (Read part 1: Southbound SFO>SIN post)

Here it is on Thursday morning, and I’m northbound,somewhere out over the big dark Pacific Ocean, on the return flight (SQ 32). Our flight started out over the South China Sea, then passed between the Philippines and Taiwan, continuing up along the east coast of Japan. Then it was out over the Northern Pacific, where we skirted past the Aleutian Trench on course to arriving at SFO.

I love a good exotic flight board and the one a Singapore Changi does not disappoint! (Chris McGinnis)

We departed Singapore at 9:25 am on Thursday, and we’ll arrive in San Francisco at 8:40 am on the same day– after flying for about 14 hours. Crazy to think that we’ll arrive before we left. Tailwinds have been kind to our flight, cutting about two hours off our flight time. The southbound journey on Sunday-Monday took 16 hours and 11 minutes, departing noon Sunday, and arriving at around 7 pm on Monday evening.

On this return flight, I was able to watch one movie– Captain Fantastic– highly recommended, a tear jerker but I’m always easily brought to tears on planes for some reason. You? I was also able to get some work done on the laptop, sleep for about four hours, enjoy two gorgeously presented meals (see below) and write this post.

Inflight wi-fi from Panasonic has been extremely fast and reliable on this flight (less so on the way down)– I’m amazed that I can upload photos and post this from the plane. Crazy! I purchased a 24-hour in-flight wi-fi pass for $22— very much worth it to me.

Hainanese pork chop with fried rice (Photo Chris McGinnis)

As usual, for meals, I tried to go native and order Asian/Singaporean dishes. For dinner, I chose the Hainanese pork chop with fried rice. It was good, but a little tough. Breakfast was far better- I opted for the oriental dim sum and loved every bite.

Four choices for breakfast in Singapore Airlines business class- I went native! (Chris McGinnis)

Breakfast onboard Singapore Airlines SQ32 somewhere over the northern Pacific (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This has been a quick trip– just two quick days in Singapore and three very bumpy nights of not-enough-sleep. I’m surprised I have the will and wherewithal to write this! Hope you’ve enjoyed my reports.

I’ll close with one more unusual photo from this trip: A word of warning about some monkey business going on outside my window at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort on Singapore’s southern coastline.

A warning about monkeys at the lovely beachside Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa resort (Chris McGinnis)

(Read part 1: Southbound SFO>SIN post)

–Chris McGinnis

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10 things about Singapore Airlines A380 at SFO (Photos)

February 8, 2013

Here’s a slideshow of the TravelSkills’s private tour of a Singapore Airlines A380 parked at SFO. Enjoy!

[pb_slideshow group=”3″]

While the double-decker Airbus A380 has been plying the skies around the world for five years now, it’s still a sight to see it take off or land at SFO. While you may have seen one of these big birds from the outside…only a few have been able to see what they look like on the inside.

Last week, lucky BAT contest winner David Zippin got one of those prized close-up looks when he took a private tour of a Singapore Airlines’ A380 parked at SFO. TravelSkills chose Zippin randomly from the hundreds of readers who helped us attract nearly 300 new subscribers in a word-of-mouth contest late last year.

BAT contest winner David Zippin on a private tour of Singapore Airlines’ A380

Thanks to all of you who helped turn your friends and colleagues on to TravelSkills! As a result, we are growing like gangbusters! And thanks to Singapore Air and other BAT sponsors– their support keeps TravelSkills free (and in this case, very interesting) for readers.

Now, back to that tour… BAT editor Chris McGinnis accompanied Singapore Airlines VP Paul Ng along with Zippin and three of his friends to see the plane. Here are nine interesting things we learned about Singapore’s A380 service at SFO along the way:

1-SEXY: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has a super-sexy flight number on its SFO>HKG>SIN run: SQ1, which departs SFO at 10:50 pm for Hong Kong and Singapore. SQ2 arrives back in SFO at around 8:30 pm. Ng told us that the SFO flights bear those numbers because San Francisco was Singapore Air’s first US destination 33 years ago.

2-BEST BUSINESS CLASS: There are 60 business class seats on the A380—and they are so wide (34 inches) that SIA has added a pillow and a cushion to cozy the expanse up a bit. Upstairs window seats have special storage bins. (See slideshow above.) The business class cabin in split into two sections– the section closest to the front is smaller, more intimate and likely more quiet. Business class fares on Singapore for mid-March flights run from $4,000 to $6,000.

3-BEST COACH SEATS: There are 88 coach seats at the rear of the upper deck (which are considered the best coach seats—windows in this section have the same special seat-side bins as in business class.) Upstairs, coach is configured 2-4-2 vs 3-4-3 on main deck. Due to the curvature of the fuselage, coach seats downstairs on the main deck don’t have the bins. Round trip coach fares on Singapore Air currently run around $1,200.

4-FIRST CLASS SUITES: Downstairs, there are 12 “Suites” in the first class section at the front, and then 311 coach seats in the back. Each plush, rich leather, first class seat is enclosed in a private shell, with a sliding door to the aisle. Sleeping mattresses are 4″ thick. A seat in a first class suite to Hong Kong or Singapore runs about $12,000-$14,000 round trip. Ng said that the two pairs of adjoining suites (non-window) with collapsible walls between them are usually the first seats to sell out. (Think about that, all you Valentines Day romantics!)

5-MURPHY BEDS. Unlike other airlines, Singapore seats in both business and first class fold over, and then down, so you sleep on a separate mattress thick mattress, a different surface that what you sit on. See the slide show above for a demonstration. (On most other airlines, first and business seats recline to a flat bed-like surface for sleeping.)

6-THREE LEVELS. There’s a basement on this bird! Behind a combination-locked door in the middle of the main deck, there’s a steep staircase down to a crew rest area. The space consists of 12 bunks—with entertainment systems, mirrors and noise deadening privacy curtains. It’s a bit claustrophobic down there, but those nice flat beds look cozier than the first class suites upstairs. (Several shots of this in the slideshow above)

7-BIG BIRD. The top of the tail of the A380 stands eight stories off the ground. According to Ng, one wing could keep a group of 2,000 people dry in the rain. We were skeptical about that claim until we peered out the window at the massive wing.

8-TWO VERSIONS: Singapore Airlines flies two different configurations of the A380. Version 1 is configured with both business and coach seats on the upper deck. Version 2 is all-business-all-the-time (86 seats) upstairs; first and coach are on the main deck. Both versions have a grand wide staircase in the front, and a smaller curves staircase in the back.

9-SINGAPORE GIRLS. A small army of 22 flight attendants (Singapore girls and boys) staffs the flight, which takes about 13 hours to reach Hong Kong… then 3-4 hours more to Singapore. The flight departs SFO at 10:50 pm, crosses the International Date Line and then arrives in Singapore at noon—two days later. (So if you leave on a Sunday night, you get there in time for lunch on Tuesday.)

10-SAD TO SEE IT GO. Singapore Airlines’ A380 is currently scheduled for what the carrier is calling “popup” service at SFO—it started on Dec 28 and will revert back to a Boeing 777 service on March 24. But there’s hope: Ng says that the airline is always evaluating where to deploy its fleet of A380s, and it could come back.