What Singapore Airlines’ First, Business, And Economy Classes Are Like | Insider Business

Singapore Airlines first-class Suite can cost 23 000 round trip I feel like a James Bond villain it's one of the most expensive plane tickets in the world oh yeah top me off thank you I spent 40 hours flying from New York City to Singapore and back in three different cabins premium economy business and first and then here you've got a little vanity mirror to compare the seats service food and bathrooms come on in I mean literally this is like bigger than my first apartment in New York I even met some YouTube celebrities on the way and we've got some pretty awesome neighbors how's it going hey all to see if the more premium seats are really worth the bigger bucks first up we'll start with premium economy I flew this cabin from Singapore to Frankfurt on the A380 round trip costs about thirty five hundred dollars while One Way comes in around 2000. the airline tells me usually premium economy passengers trade up from regular economy which can be 800 cheaper for a one-way I got to Changi Airport super early to enjoy some of its famous amenities security was really fast because it's right at your gate with my ticket I also got priority boarding over regular economy economy takes up the entire lower level of this Double Decker plane and premium is in the front with two seats on either side and four in the middle I luckily got bumped up to the first row so I got a bit more leg room but I had to put all my stuff in the overhead bin and well it barely fit but the seats were big an inch bigger than in regular economy and with six extra inches of pitch or the distance between the back of your seat and the seat in front of you there was a blanket and pillow waiting for me and thank God some water because I am perpetually dehydrated each tea comes with a 13.3 inch TV with a remote and control on the armrest just like in first in business class you get noise canceling headphones that plug into your seat there are cup holders and a couple of chargers one universal and two USB about an hour into our flight we got served our first meal I chose the spicy fish with blue rice called Nasi karabu I love that this dish came with lots of sides like cheese and crackers but to be honest I didn't like this side the fish was actually really good it felt like a really creative meal compared to anything I'd ever eaten in economy and I'm a sucker for ice cream so when they came around with this little Haagen-Dazs cup I was pumped the service is something I noticed across the cabins the flight attendants were constantly checking in and eager to help even in the cheaper seats but the thing I was most worried about was being able to sleep in economy and while the headrest didn't fully hold my head the foot rest was a game changer it flipped out from the bottom of my seat and there was even a leg rest plus the seat reclined a lot I did however notice there was a pretty big gap between the window seat and the fuselage so it wouldn't have been easy to sleep against the wall either our second meal came about an hour before landing I got the omelet with some sausages I did like that the meal was more breakfasty because we landed in Germany at about 6 a.m so it helped me adjust to the time zone I had a nice experience in premium economy and the 13 hours flew by pretty quickly pun intended I only had one complaint while the bathrooms were big for economy I felt like there was always a long line which I do kind of understand with space constraints you can only have a certain amount of toilets thirty thousand feet in the air next up business class I flew this from New York New Jersey to Singapore so we just went through security and we are about to board a flight to Singapore this is non-stop the second longest flight in the world all right just you're right here thank you you're welcome the flight's just shy of 19 hours and despite the mammoth amount of time I thought this ride was awesome we flew on the a350 900 ulr or Ultra long range because it covers over 9 500 miles a one-way ticket usually costs around fifty five hundred dollars in round trip they can reach over twelve thousand dollars on weekends we were the first group to board because there's no first class on the a350 [Music] right here welcome champagne the seed was huge 28 inch width 60 inch pitch it felt like a Space Capsule I especially loved all the storage because I am incapable of packing light of course you have the overhead bin but there were all these nooks and crannies for the rest of your stuff and then there's some storage down here for your small carry-on this door led to a toiletries cubby with a mirror right next to it your books could go here and there are different lights scattered around the seat and this is your table to see a little power pops out like that buttons on the armrest control your seat recline and lights and call the flight attendant while you're essentially moving in for a day feeling like I was able to unpack a bit strangely made it feel a bit homeier so we just took off about 10 a.m New York Times 11 pm Singapore time and we have just under 18 hours left to go 45 minutes into the flight they came by to take orders for the first of two meals the flight attendants like to stick to the set meal time for everyone so the food is fresh but there is some flexibility say you want to get on flight in service all together and I'll let you down here you get a whole menu booklet then they come around to set the table with Linens real silverware and a butter plate and of course wine this is when it's set in just how fancy this was it served on actual China oh garlic bread please thank you everyone got the same first appetizer a salad with smoked trout but you can order vegetarian and Halal options online before your flight and I'm not usually a fan of smoked well anything but it's a barbecue and the smoke crowd is actually really good it just tastes Super Fresh then I ordered the Chinese pork rib noodle soup with wheat noodles and veggies so when you're flying all the noise the air pressure and the altitude tend to make your taste buds not work as well so you just simply can't taste as much and surprisingly this is really flavorful I think the use of these chilies probably helps a lot in pumping up flavor without needing to add extra salt that would float you and then you get to choose a dessert I ordered the honey salted caramel almond ice cream and I was able to snag some cheese scored two desserts I hated but she's growing up because it was just like a punch in the face and this is this is really good and I like to think ice cream is entirely its own food group I love it that much so I like pretty good it's pretty good I mean I'm getting full but not stuffed so I think that they've done a really good job portioning these out and also balancing out the flavors considering you can't taste a lot when you're in a plane after my first meal I settled in to watch a movie the TV is supposed to be 15.4 inches wide and I'm a dork so I measured it it actually looks like it's a little longer than that so kudos to Singapore then the flight attendant came by to turn the seat into my bed for the next eight hours before 2004 business class on this Airline didn't have a live flat bed but now the carrier knows sleep is the number one concern for passengers so the big investment in LifeLock Tech makes sense and follows a trend across the entire industry it's not actually the seat that you're lying on it's the back of it so they flip the seat down and there's this probably two inch mattress pad on the back of the seat I measured the bed later in the flight and it came to about 75 inches and if you're a little taller like me about five nine your feet actually have to go at the diagonal off to the right here so if you want to sleep completely flat you have to put your feet in this little cubby here I definitely wished that I was shorter so I could have stretched out completely there's also a divider here so if you're traveling with someone you can keep it open but if it's time to go to bed and you want to say goodbye you can just close it the TV screen pops out so you can watch it laying down but it doesn't come out very far so these are the provided noise canceling headphones and this off to your right is the remote so you can control everything on the TV pick your movie look at in-flight menus the lights are also designed to help you get on Singapore time by the end of your 18-hour flight There are 16 000 different light settings so when you first take off right now the lights are set is about four hours into the flight the lights changed again gone down so a couple people are watching movies I'm probably just gonna tickle them out see you in a bit I had a good nap and we are now in single digits nine hours I woke up super hungry and I was able to request a light snack and as those lights slowly came back on the smell of food started filling the cabin not too long after they came by to take our order for the second meal and of course this came with some more wine first up the appetizer everyone gets this is the Citrus grilled shrimp salad and it has honey glazed walnuts blackberries croutons mixed greens and balsamic ginger dressing so this time I got a pretzel bun very excited for that um and honestly the greens and the salad look a little wilted and I stood corrected it was yummy although I still think the smoke trout won out thank you so much wow it's so big for my main course I got salmon over couscous and sauteed veggies the Pearl couscous I could do without um and the salmon pretty standard it's kind of nice to have a healthy piece of fish that size on a plane but honestly you could just give me a whole plate of that vegetable goodness and I would have been happy and for dessert I got an apple cake with Berry sauce it's like pretty grainy texture and it's sort of just like disappears in your mouth I definitely think the ice cream was probably double as good as this one is but maybe I can flag down another scoop of ice cream because that was my favorite I did want to show you all the bathroom because it was big and fully stocked [Music] perfume got some hand lotion and a facial Mist toothbrush and a toothpaste so in this compartment we have some air sickness bags better safe than sorry hair brush in a comb some shaving cream and a razor I headed back to my seat and watched a few more movies then before I knew it at all we just arrived in Singapore we're waiting for our bags and honestly all things considered I'm feeling pretty energized so I think everything from the food to the service to the bed and the seed it all made it a really enjoyable flight for how long it was and finally the big ticket item the first class Suite this can be one of the most expensive airline tickets on the planet round trip from New York City to Singapore where the layover can cost over twenty three thousand dollars the airline says most passengers are CEOs or execs and special occasion Travelers for birthdays honeymoons anniversaries I flew only half the journey from Frankfurt to New York City a flight that usually costs about six thousand dollars this nine hour route is what's called a fifth Freedom flight it means an airline from one nation Singapore in this case is allowed to move passengers between two other countries the U.S and Germany there aren't a lot of these routes because they require approval from three countries instead of two but they're a cool way to fly some of the world's best Airlines without having to go all the way to their home country and like my premium economy flight this was also on the massive two-level a380. most first-class passengers board on the second level with a whole separate jetway but I wanted to see the famous A380 stairs so I boarded on the first level thank you so much and I found my seat in 3A the suite was huge it legitimately did not feel like I was on a plane it was more like a mini hotel room like many other Asian and Middle Eastern Airlines Singapore has really ramped up its luxury offerings in the last decade with a focus on Design This Suite is 50 square feet and can be fully enclosed on one side of the suite sits the large lounge chair 35 inches wide with a whopping 81 inches of pitch the chair swivels around to three positions first is for takeoff the second chair position like if I want to go towards the TV or that's really good for eating and the table pops out from the compartment on the wall and then this one is so I can utilize the workstation and look out the window and honestly I think this might be my favorite part this little shade it's so cute night night you can also put this chair in a deep recline so this is your remote control for the seat window plane TV positions and this is your remote control for the TV the 32 inch TV flips out so I could watch it from my seat I controlled the TV from the remote in the armrest actually turning on the TV toggling through your movies it's for gaming there's lots of loaded games on the TV and then this is the the search function all those controls are also on this tablet and this dock here there's also another one on the other side of the room in this control panel pretty similar you've got your attending call button do not disturb moving the seats and moving the TV and right next to your seat to the left you have all of your plugs and your headphones can go in here while you're sleeping or right here on the armrest while you're watching TV in the scene if I thought business class had a bunch of storage this one blew me away there was an actual closet like it's a pretty deep closet the craziest part don't even come at me that my first apartment even have a closet there are compartments inside the desk with this beautiful quilting so you can put some eyeglasses in here and they won't get scratched even if there's a little turbulence and then here you've got a little vanity mirror that pops out so this countertop here is obviously not real marble because that would be really heavy for a plane but it's the same coldness that real Stone would give you and they created that effect because they used resin and real Stone and then you have this extra storage down here which I'm utilized for other stuff the VP of in-flight Services told me she designed this space for a Birkin bag which clearly I do not have but that's what it can be for the suite came with an amenities kit as well room spray soap body lotion and lip balm a little nicer than the Burt's Bees I'm used to there was some noise canceling headphones just like in business and premium economy but these ones were fancier don't at me for my fingernails nervous habit our first meal service happened about a half hour after takeoff just like in business class I got a menu of dishes to choose from and the drinks and courses just kept coming [Music] oh yeah top me off thank you first up the signature chicken satay with peanut sauce one thing I do want to note about this table is a lot of first class and business class tables they fold out in panels and this one is one giant slab of probably fake wood but nonetheless giant slab and I think that's really cool that it centers on the chair as opposed to being off to one side okay well let's dig in so it's not as quite as crispy as some other chicken satays I've had but I'm gonna give them some slack because we are 40 000 feet in the air and this was probably made yesterday [Music] um maybe some wine yeah I'll leave it up to you what you suggest next up caviar I mean could we get any more fancy cheers then I got some scallops for an appetizer [Music] I mean I love scallops the question is what utensils do I use for this can you tell I'm excited the scallops were divine next up the beef cheek but first some more wine which one do you recommend I would recommend to start off this is a grave of 100 Pinot Noir oh it's so tender wow that is some super tender meat like melt in your mouth kind of tender that is so impressive like we're literally eating this on an airplane and because somehow there was still more food to come dessert oh and you thought I was done eating [Music] okay you have high expectations for how much food I can eat it's reported that food for first class can be 20 times more expensive than economy so is the Hefty price tag for food amenities and building out this fancy Suite worth it to the airline Singapore says unequivocally yes and across the industry Airlines tend to see higher yields the more premium the cabin after my first meal it was time to change into my pajamas that is big I love an oversized sleeper then I checked out the bigger of the two first-class bathrooms probably one of the most expensive bathrooms in the world and the largest airplane bathroom I've ever seen come on in I mean literally this is like bigger than my first apartment in New York this bathroom alone one thing I was curious about was why Singapore Airlines hadn't invested in a shower like Emirates in its first-class bathroom and the answer wait all the shower water weighs a lot which would require the airplane to carry more fuel so instead this bathroom has three stations the toilet section the vanity and then the hand washing section but this room also comes with a ton of amenities aggressive so you got some bathroom perfume facial mist and some body lotion and then you got another tiny little amenity drawer here with the hairbrush and a comb a toothbrush and I do think that there is toothpaste already in here um shaving cream and a razor so you never have to touch the trash can you have this little flap here you can push down on to open the waste bin and I've already laid out all of my nice amenities like the moisturizing kit and my pajamas so I'm gonna get changed well if I didn't feel like an international assassin already now I got the fits match I stowed my stuff and grabbed some of the sleeping amenities provided in the closet like these little socks some slippers I'm like high-end spa and I think this is an eye cover oh my God it's like velvet then it was time for the thing I was most excited about the bed but unlike in business class your bed is not your seat there's an entire separate panel that flips down from the wall into a twin mattress and if you buy two Suites you can lower the divider push the two beds together and enjoy a double bed in the sky while the mattress was obviously thinner than a hotel one it somehow was still comfy and the fact that I could lie completely flat as a five foot nine human felt surreal plus after days of traveling at this point the fluffy pillows and sheets felt luxurious because I got to bed so late I only had a little over one hour to sleep before the flight attendants woke me up for the next meal luxury doesn't offer enough sleep back to the fancy bathroom I went to get changed into my first set of real pants in like two days then I was getting a little lonely so I went to make some friends so there are six first-class Suites on this light and we've got some pretty awesome neighbors how's it going hey did you have fun in the suite yeah it was great although I slept the whole time it leaves are great or sweet no YouTuber Mr Beast and his crew happen to be on our flight hey Carl I love this James Bond moment oh hello there businesses how did you like the fight it was great I slept most of them me and my friend Nolan we just pulled out they're like queen size beds but then we all ended up using like half of it because we just cuddled new funnels the Bromance is strong okay so I heard that you guys have been traveling and a bunch of people this is ridiculous the food was amazing the size was awesome there's like 15 TVs right here and I just get to B for the ride I didn't even pay for this isn't that awesome see you later Business Insider I'm business hour cider who knew so many Giggles could happen in first class just open the barriers and you have no idea what's on the other side finally it was time for our last meal service this one wasn't quite as extensive a simple shrimp and rice soup because I still was feeling really full the flight attendant put the bed back up and set my chair and take off position and before I knew it we were landing in JFK thank you for buying Singapore Airlines a member Star Alliance so after 40 hours in the sky with Singapore Airlines was it worth the hype actually yeah the service in the food were the biggest standouts even in premium economy it's not easy making food taste good from Tiny reheating kitchens at thirty thousand feet but the flight attendants were truly my favorite part no matter the cabin they made the experience feel classy shout out to Ruby they were sweet attentive and brilliant bilingual English and Malay then depending on where your ethnic group is do that in Chinese which leads us to the big question were the cabin's worth the dough look of course first class was unmatched but to be honest my favorite of the three flights was business class I get that a huge point of first class is privacy but I'm personally way too extroverted to be in a box alone for nine hours that's why I had to make some friends so for me business class was where it was at it had the best of both worlds enough space to stretch out while still feeling fancy all in all it felt like the most bang for your buck and I'm not alone in thinking that more and more us-based carriers like American Airlines are pulling first class captains in favor investing in more luxurious business classes so I say if you have the means first classes of fun once in a lifetime experience and if you're from the US and you want to try it I suggest booking it quickly in May 2023 Singapore Airlines is set to pull its a380s with these first class Suites from the U.S market the airline is moving these planes to the Australian Market to address the post-covered demand surge there but don't worry us-based Travelers can still fly the smaller Singapore Airlines first-class seats on the triple sevens so if you have to do a super long-haul flight business class would be your best bet but even if you land in premium economy you won't be disappointed what's the best joke that you told this whole fight I said this takes layovers to the next level and if you guys don't see that in the video wasn't that funny oh

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 3,259,735

Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, Singapore, First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy, Airplane, Flying, Singapore Airlines

Id: NM5DLbtxE-4

Length: 26min 30sec (1590 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 05 2023