For us the prospect of finally doing this review was very exciting. It’s probably our most anticipated new product this year (albeit released in late 2017). We attended and covered the launch event and were awed when we first saw, touched and experienced this newly designed Suite. We loved the 2006 Suites product installed on the first Singapore A380s, it was groundbreaking, but the world has moved on.
Background
Jacques Pierrejean was responsible for the design and Zodiac Aerospace for the realisation. Combine that with Singapore Airlines’ award-winning service – it seemed like a sure-fire recipe for success.
We described our booking process in our Round-the-world in First Class article. As we mentioned there, it wasn’t exactly ‘smooth sailing’. Still we were happy to be finally able to sample the full ‘double bed’ 2017 Suites experience.
Flight details
- Flight: SQ856 Singapore Changi T3 to Hong Kong T1
- Class: Suites
- Seats: 1A & 2A
- Aircraft Type: Airbus A380-800
- Aircraft Registration: 9V-SKU
- Aircraft Age: 1.3 years
- Date: July 2018
- Departure / Arrival: 09:55 / 13:55
- Flight Time: 4h 00m
- Cost: 70,000* KrisFlyer miles + S$34.00 per person
* Note this is the ‘Advantage’ redemption rate for this route. If you can secure a ‘Saver’ rate the cost is 37,500 KrisFlyer miles per person.
Check-in
Singapore Airlines First Class and Suites Class passengers are invited to check-in at a dedicated First Class annexe of Changi Terminal 3. As you pull up to the red-carpeted entranceway, porters assist with your luggage and you are whisked through to take a seat at a private check-in desk. The whole process is very speedy – so fast, in fact, it doesn’t really justify the large general seating area, cold towels, soft drinks and abundance of staff, but it’s a quiet private area with a welcoming and cosy ambience.
After the brief check-in formalities are completed, you are presented with ‘The Private Room’ invitations, handwritten in gold pen and directed to the private immigration and security channel. Unsurprisingly there was no queue and we were through to the departures area in less than 10 minutes.
Lounge and boarding
The Singapore Airlines Terminal 3 lounges are located up an adjacent escalator from the exit of the private immigration channel. On arrival, the hosts quickly spot ‘The Private Room’ invitation and you are again whisked past part of the Business Class section, through the First Class section and into ‘The Private Room’ itself.
We will be writing full reviews of both the SilverKris T3 First Class lounge and The Private Room, as we in fact had over 12 hours to enjoy these facilities having checked in for our flight the previous afternoon so that we could stay overnight and review the Aerotel Transit hotel. The lounge reviews are coming up soon.
Boarding was via one of the large satellite stands in Terminal 3. Personally, we dislike these gates as multiple flights can be boarding at the same time leading to long security lines and a lack of seating. In our experience, gate security here is usually a free-for-all, however this time there was a separate First and Business Class security lane which is either new or we’d never spotted it before.
Sadly the queue was just as long as the others!
Boarding was via a separate Suites channel. The Suites and Business Class passengers board onto the upper deck forward door, though this is behind the Suites cabin itself. That means walking through the galley to get to the Suites cabin, which feels a little odd. A shame really when the lower forward cabin door leads to one of the A380s ‘party tricks’ – the stunning double width staircase which we think would be a far grander entrance to the Suites cabin.
The seat
First impressions are no less awesome than the first time we saw the mockup. The space is extraordinary. Frankly, no amount of wide angle photos will do it justice – it’s certainly a unique experience.
The space is incredible even when compared with the older 2006 Suites. It’s rather like a mini hotel room in the sky. Even bigger still is the suite in front – 1A.
As you first take a seat in the chair, you realise it’s a lot more comfortable than it looks. The leather is plush and the padding is luxurious. It’s instantly a private and comfortable place to be.
That is until a fellow passenger joins their suite across the aisle and you make somewhat uncomfortable eye contact. The element of privacy is gone. If you’d drifted off imagining you were on a private jet, you are brought back to earth with a bump. You are definitely not on a private jet.
If you were travelling alone, you definitely wouldn’t find it ‘small’ by First Class airline seat standards but when you see the double suite in entirety it’s a truly huge amount of space, totalling 97 ft2.
At the individual suite level, row 1 offers the largest floor area (54 ft2) followed by row 2 (43 ft2) and finally row 3 (35 ft2) has the smallest pair of suites.
‘New’ A380 Suites Floorspace |
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| 1A | 54 ft2 | 54 ft2 | 1F | |
| 2A | 43 ft2 | 43 ft2 | 2F | |
| 3A | 35 ft2 | 35 ft2 | 3F | |
For those who prefer metric measurements – you’re looking at around 5 m2 for the 1A/1F suites, 4 m2 for the 2A/2F suites and 3.3 m2 for the 3A/3F suites.
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites certainly stand up well in size terms to the competition. As a point of comparison the Etihad Apartments (their version of First Class enclosed suites on the A380) each measure 39 ft2 (3.6 m2), while the brand new Emirates First Class fully enclosed suites on the 777-300ER measure “up to” 40 ft2 (3.7 m2).
We took a few minutes to experience the individual suites before asking the crew to retract the privacy screen revealing the full extent of the coveted ‘double suite’.
The double suite offers a floor area of roughly 97 ft2 (9 m2). As a little perspective, Etihad’s ultra-private ‘The Residence’, of which there is only one on each A380 also including a double bed, measures 125 ft2 (11.6 m2).
You are invited to leave your hand luggage in a large wardrobe at the entrance to your suite. Contained within are a blanket, slippers and socks plus a vanity mirror and hangers for jackets, coats and shirts.
The colour palette of the Suites cabin is very understated, mainly beiges and dark browns, offset slightly by a subtle wall pattern and the orange of the seat cushion. There’s certainly no ‘bling’ here like you find on the Middle East airlines, though it’s a bit on the boring side for our tastes and personally something closer to the Etihad apartments colour scheme seems more classy and elegant.
Each suite is elevated slightly from the aisle floor level and fitted with thick, plush carpet.
Behind the suites cabin is the galley serving this section, the same one you walk through to reach your seat as mentioned above. Some passengers in row 3, the last row in this cabin, have reported some noise / light disturbance due to their proximity to this galley.
A missing aspect of these suites is individual air vents. A couple of these would be ideal, near the seat and the bed perhaps, however Singapore Airlines chose not to install any in this cabin.
One thing we did notice about the seat was that it ‘wobbles’ slightly from side to side as though in a small detent. Our flight was smooth but others have reported this feels a little odd during turbulence.
Settling in
Both of Singapore Airlines’ First Class champagnes were offered on the ground – Krug 2004 and Dom Perignon. Both are excellent. We happen to prefer the Krug, especially the 2004 vintage.
A hot towel, choice of reading material and the leather-bound dining menu is then presented.
Storage options
Other than the huge wardrobe at the entrance to the suite, there is a leather padded storage area under the credenza where smaller bags, laptops, iPads etc can be stowed for easy access. There is a detachable leather securing strap and a cou