- Singapore Airlines newest Business Class seat designs are beautiful but firm after 13 hours of flying.
- Minor seat glitchy controls on one of our seats resulted in a $200 SGD KrisFlyer voucher.
- Taxi past the historic British Airways Concorde at London Heathrow airport.
The fit-out on this 13 hour long-haul London Heathrow (LHR) to Singapore (SIN) aboard the Singapore Airlines A380 was very new, very recent and made the flight an amazing experience.
Many of the passengers that fly from London to Singapore are doing so for pleasure, not business. Singapore is a wonderful stopover destination on the map for people en route to Australia or a convenient connection point for onward flights within Asia.
If you are flying with kids then the whole experience will be made as comfortable as possible.
How to book Singapore Airlines on points
Basically, in Australia get yourself an Amex and transfer a bunch of your Amex Membership Rewards points across into KrisFlyer Miles to then redeem for seats.
Usually, when I travel I book my seats with a few weeks notice, sometimes only a few days out.
Travelling with family is different because we needed certainty for three seats, so on this trip I booked six months ahead of travel and spent 92,000 KrisFlyer Miles plus $400 taxes for each seat on this London to Singapore leg of our journey to Europe.
If you miss out out on the "Saver" tickets then you'll pay 120,000 KrisFlyer Miles on the Advantage tier for the exact same seat on the same flight.
Compare that to $6,500 cash price instead of KrisFlyer miles.
That's about 7 cents per Krisflyer mile redeemed.
Something like 60% of all frequent flyer points and miles come from credit card spending so you'll want to research and choose wisely before burning them.
I usually fly on my own for business so finding availability is A-OK. However, on this flight, I managed to book three seats all on Krisflyer Miles for two adults and one child, with one infant flying on my lap!
Receive up to 120,000 bonus Qantas Points!
Receive up to 120,000 bonus Qantas Points (20,000 points per month for the first 6 months) when you spend at least $1,500 each month.
Reduced annual fee of $199 p.a. in the first year ($299 p.a. thereafter).
Enjoy 6 months interest-free on your first purchase of selected Qantas products and services.
2 complimentary Qantas Club lounge invitations per year.
Citigroup Pty Limited ABN 88 004 325 080 AFSL No. 238 098 Australian credit licence 238098, is the Credit Provider and Issuer of the Qantas Premier credit cards on behalf of Qantas Airways Limited ABN 16 009 661 901.
This credit card offer is subject to change and may not be directly related to the content of this article.
Starting the journey at London Heathrow
We used the complimentary fast track passes for Singapore Airlines Business Class travellers to skip the queues building up. Look for the express lane. And after a short stop in the Singapore Airlines business lounge, which is compact and rather well worn, we went straight to the gate for boarding.
Booking seats for kids and infants on SIA
You're totally allowed to fly with kids on Singapore Airlines and booking "points seats" for families with kids can be done and it's not as hard as you think.
In case you think you won't need the extra space, the lie-flat seat, and the better cabin crew service, then remember this blog post around the fourth hour of this 13-hour flight.
Because of the funny way you have to book an infant onto a Singapore Airlines flight when using points we had a bit of a scare.
So, as any diligent frequent flyer would do, I wanted to check the night before the morning flight that everything was ready to go. I had a bit of a 'Home Alone' panic moment when I couldn't see my two year old child on the online booking. Surely I hadn't forgotten to book my youngest child on the flight?
I called up Krisflyer and after 10 mins of waiting on hold, I had my fears relieved. My two year old infant was booked on the flight. Her ticket was "not associated" with our main family booking yet - something Singapore Airlines do just before the flight leaves. A bit of an oddity.
The new Business Class seats on Singapore A380
We sat in row 97 on the top deck all the way at the back of the plane occupying the two middle seats plus one window seat.
Singapore Airlines new Business Class seats on the A380 give passengers lots of storage all around the seat, with a massive screen for watching entertainment and ample amounts of foot space.
Every seat has an amenity kit, noise-cancelling headphones, a pillow, seat topper and a blanket.
The controls were a little clunky to use on all three of our seats. Either we needed to press the controls very firmly or just the lightest touch would do. I must have accidentally bumped the "call cabin crew" button about four times during the flight. Oops!
Even new seat designs can have problems. My wife's seat only laid flat or returned to fully upfront with a lot of finicking by cabin crew. To some people, this seat trouble could be a really big deal.
For us, it was a very minor inconvenience that was solved relatively quickly. And completely unprompted and unexpectedly we were given a $200 SGD voucher to spend at the KrisFlyer Shop for our troubles. Customer service that goes above and beyond is a hallmark of Singapore Airlines.
I actually prefer the slightly older brown leather Business Class seats that you'll find on the B777-300ER aircraft on some long haul routes such as Sydney to Singapore SQ212. The seat padding on our newer style Singapore Airlines A380's was not as padded or comfortable.
Food in Singapore Airlines Business Class
The food was fresh and delicious. On this 11am flight out of London Heathrow lunch, dinner, breakfast and no shortage of snacks were served throughout the flight including yogurt, fresh fruit, biscuits, and ice cream.
Unless you book ahead using the "Cook the book" service don't expect chicken nuggets and chips for toddlers and little kids, so bring some extra snacks if they're not ready for satay sticks, curry or frittata's.
Was it worth it?
This was another excellent flight with Singapore Airlines.
It has to be one of the best airlines in the skies for Business Class.
