Flight: Singapore Airlines SQ 16 from Seoul to San Francisco
Aircraft: Boeing 777 – 300ER (B77W)
Duration: 10 hours 20 minutes
Class: Business
Seat: 11 A
Seat Specification: Fully Flat Beds, Seat Pitch: 51″ , Seat Width: 30″
I was really psyched ever since I booked my ticket for my India trip which had a flight segment on Singapore Airlines Business class from Seoul – San Francisco. Although I have traveled in Singapore business class previously, they were only short-haul flights during last year’s Maldives trip. A long-haul flight on the other hand gives ample time to enjoy and savor their world renowned product and service.
While we are on topic of Singapore Airlines long-haul business class, here is a post where I explained the trick detailing how one can secure such a flight using its airline partner’s miles.
I arrived at the Seoul Incheon Airport around evening from my flight from Bangkok on Thai airways. I decided to check-out the Asiana Airlines Business class lounge first.
After having some light snacks at the lounge, I made my way to the boarding gate. Entering the aircraft, I walked past the First Class cabin and frankly it did not look that much better than the business class. Well maybe if it was the Suites class, I am sure I would feel different :).
Both the First and Business class are in a 1-2-1 configuration. The business class comprises of 2 cabins with the forward cabin only having 2 rows and the remaining rows in the rear business class cabin. Having only 2 rows in the front cabin makes for a more cozy experience.
I had selected the bulkhead seat 11A. The only extra advantage of the bulkhead over the other business class seats was that while sleeping on the flat bed, you didn’t have to lie diagonally (#Firstworldproblems :))
The seat was extremely wide (30″), wider than any business class seat I had ever traveled. The seat was in fact so wide that one end of the seat-belt originated from the middle of the seat.
Plenty of leg room in front of the seat.
Just before takeoff, I realized that the seat-belt would not click. When the FA came by for pre-takeoff check, I mentioned that to her and she said that they would take care of it post-takeoff but for now I needed to go to the rear cabin. She was considerate enough to find me another window seat just in case I had to spend the rest of the flight in there.
I made my way to the rear cabin to seat 17 A.
As you can see from the above picture, the foot-rest is in a diagonal position so in bed mode you would not be sleeping straight.
About 10 minutes after takeoff the FA came by and said that they had fixed the seat and I could go back to my original seat. Back at my seat, dinner service started soon after.
The chicken satay was really good. The sauce was flavorful and even a little spicy.
The scallops were just so-so.
The cod with noodles turned out to be the best airline food I have ever had, even better than the Lobster Thermidor I had on Singapore – Kolkata flight. I am not much of a cod person given the fish inherently lacks flavor compared to other types of fish like salmon or trout, but this fish was prepared just perfect. Or could be the tasty sauce that gave it all the flavor. All in all, this was the highlight of the flight (after the awesome wide bed of course).
The ice-cream was just standard fare, nothing much to write home about.
Pretty soon it was time to go to sleep. The Business Class seats on this aircraft are different compared to others in that the seat did not move forward to bed mode with the press of a button. I was in fact trying out the side buttons and the seat would not move to bed mode. When I mentioned this to the FA, she did it manually while I got out of the seat.
The bed is pretty wide and very comfortable for sleeping.
Since the flight is just around 10 hours, I wanted to make the most of the awesome flatbed in lieu of more food !! 🙂 I let the FA know that I would be skipping the breakfast and to wake me up about 45 minutes before touchdown. Here is the menu anyway.
Bottomline:
Seat: *****
Service: *****
Food: *****
I don’t know if I will get to ever ride on an airline with a seat that could top this one. I have read great reviews about the EVA Airways flat-beds or the new Cathay Pacific seats but for now, this is definitely the best seat I have ever flown on, even better than the Asiana Quadra Smartium seats.
The service was really good on this flight. Right from boarding till disembarking, the FA’s would come to me time and time again to make sure everything was going well. The FA assigned to the forward business cabin was very proactive in getting the seatbelt issue fixed and apologized beforehand assuming that I might be spending the flight in the rear cabin (as if that was a huge downgrade !!). I was really impressed at the sincerity and the efficiency of the crew.
The main entree was the best that i have ever had on an airline. If they keep serving that tasty cod, I would not even think of “Book-The-Cook” on any of the flights !!