Singapore Airlines business class review – A350 from London to Singapore

This is our review of business class on a Singapore Airlines A350 from London Gatwick to Singapore.

With four flights per day out of Heathrow, Singapore Airlines has had to look outside the slot-constrained airport to increase services to London. Gatwick was the obvious answer and the airline has launched five weekly flights, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see that increase to seven at some point.

I was lucky enough to be invited on the very first inaugural flight from Gatwick to Singapore. Unfortunately, due to recent events the launch was very low-key, but I was nonetheless excited to experience an airline that so many people rave about.

For now, Singapore Airlines flies to Gatwick five times per week, departing on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

It is a pleasant 10:15 departure from Gatwick, landing at 06:20. The return is a late 23:55 departure from Changi landing back in Gatwick at 06:25.

The Singapore Airlines website is here if you want to find out more.

Singapore Airlines check-in experience

Singapore Airlines operates from Gatwick North, which means you’ll have to hop on the (free) inter-terminal air train if arriving by rail.

Once you arrive in the terminal, head to the far left for counters 122-130. After accidentally forgetting my passport and having to head back for it (don’t ask ….) I arrived just over an hour before departure, at which time virtually all the counters were available:

As this was the first flight there were plenty of staff milling around and familiarising themselves with the airline’s procedures. I quickly dropped my bag and received a printed boarding pass with access to Gatwick’s Fast Track security channel.

Note that, unlike at Heathrow, Singapore Airlines does not operate its own lounge at Gatwick but instead sends eligible passengers to the No1 Lounge in Gatwick North.

Onboard Singapore Airlines’ A350

Singapore Airlines operates three different versions of the A350-900 – an ultra long-haul version without economy, a regional variant without premium economy and the standard long haul version with three cabins – business, premium economy and economy.

On the standard long haul variant there are 42 business class seats and 24 in premium economy, making this a relatively premium-heavy aircraft. Business class is divided into two cabins: a forward cabin of seven rows (note there is no row 13) and a rear cabin of just four rows.

As is common for Asian airlines the first row of business class is not numbered row 1 even though it is the first row in the aircraft: instead, it is numbered row 11, with rows 1-10 reserved for a non-existent first class cabin.

Singapore Airlines flies a few different business class seats, including a lie-flat regional variant. On the A350s, it features a 2013-era lie flat seat in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration, which means that window seats are angled towards the windows rather than aisle.

The reason I mention the seat’s age is that it does feel like a seat from a different age – and not in a bad way. In the last five years or so we’ve seen seat manufacturers and airlines eke out every last possible inch and kg from business class seating in order to increase both layout and weight efficiency to maximise revenues.

The Singapore Airlines seat is different. In 2013, lie-flat all direct-aisle-access was still a premium offering rather than the standard. An airline that introduced a seat such as this wasn’t focussing on maximising revenues but rather the passenger experience, and that resulted in a seat that feels spacious but also solidly built.

In fact, boarding the aircraft I was surprised just how brawny the seats looked as it’s hard to judge the scale from photos. Even the seat itself feels very wide versus the business class standard of today.

The compromise is that it narrows into quite a tight foot coffin. These days, seat manufacturers have been able to engineer increasingly large foot areas but back in 2013 they were still quite compact.

This seat in particular is famous for its slightly odd diagonal foot cubby hole. Rather than having the entire seat angled, only the foot coffin is. The seat is wide enough that you sort of sleep at an angle.

If you want to avoid this, then you can select the bulkhead rows, as I did. Seat selection is free on Singapore Airlines but front rows are blocked for its top status members until 96 hours before departure. At that point, anyone can select them if they are available, as I did during check-in.

These give you a much wider ottoman and feel much more spacious – a big reason to choose them.

Let’s take a look at the other features of the seat. It feels very private despite the lack of a sliding door thanks to the big, cocooning shell.

Seat controls are under the armrest and well positioned so that you don’t accidentally elbow anything.

Next to your shoulder you have some power ports including USB-A and a universal mains socket, as well as a small storage area suitable for the onboard menu and other small items:

What I thought was quite smart is that you can slide down a hatch in front of the power sockets when not in use, which looks much better.

There is another small storage area in the long armrest which pops open and contains a 500ml bottle of water and headphones:

A large, adjustable tray table pops up next to this. It slides side to side as well as back and forward, and it even looks like the height can be adjusted.

Unless you are in a bulkhead row, you also get a little storage unit in front of you plus a mirror behind a sliding shade. My favourite feature, however, was the little cocktail stand!

The seat is also unusual in that it flips over into bed mode, rather than reclines down. This is similar to how Virgin Atlantic’s old Upper Class seat works, albeit that in my experience this version has better recline.

Whilst it does mean you need to get out of your seat to put it into bed mode – annoying when there’s turbulence and the seatbelt sign is on – and the crew will come and make your bed for you.

I found the mattress to be quite firm but comfortable, and without the crevices you’d find on a fully reclining seat. I had no problems sleeping in the bulkhead row but I’m pretty sure that, had I been in a normal row, the undersized foot coffin would have been an issue.

There are three bathrooms for 42 business class passengers – one at the front and two between the two business class cabins. These were regularly cleaned by crew and featured toiletries by Penhaligons.

In-flight entertainment and wifi

In front of you is an 18-inch screen with decent resolution and brightness. Oddly this does not appear to be touch screen and you need to use the touch screen remote control device instead.

There was a decent amount of content loaded, including new releases such as Dune Part Two and old classics such as Apollo 13. They were helpfully divided into various categories and you could save favourites to a ‘playlist’ to browse from later.

It’s also possible to pair your Krisflyer account with the IFE, which apparently resurfaces your Playlist and watch history, so in theory you can easily start a film on one flight and continue on the next.

The provided headphones were surprisingly good for an airline branded pair: they were comfortable and featured active noise cancellation, to the extent that I didn’t bother getting my own out at all.

The inflight wifi was less useful. Although it is free for anyone travelling in Suites, First and business class, as well as Krisflyer members in economy and premium economy, it wasn’t reliable and dropped out for large portions over central Asia, including India, Turkey and Iran – supposedly for regulatory reasons. It even struggled to load photos on social media apps.

Singapore Airlines amenities

Singapore Airlines takes a slightly different approach to amenity kits and onboard amenity kits. Arguably, it’s the future.

Rather than provide all passengers with an amenity kit stuffed with items they may never use, Singapore Airlines operates a ‘take what you need’ approach. Only some amenities are provided to all passengers including slippers, socks and an eye mask:

The slippers were very good although the socks were just the usual disposable airline socks. The eye mask had a sort of textured finish that I didn’t love, personally.

Actual amenity bag, provided in collaboration with Penhaligon’s, are on request only and contain hand lotion, facial mist and lip balm from the brand’s Luna range.

In addition, you’ll find dental kits, razors and combs free to take in the business class bathrooms.

As you can see, it’s a slightly different approach but means you only take what you need, reducing on-board waste. That said, Singapore Airlines could do even better by removing the single use plastic wrap around everything it provides.

Also at the seat were two pillows, including one to sleep, a nice duvet and mattress cover, again for to sleep on.

Book The Cook on Singapore Airlines

One of Singapore Airlines’ unique selling points is its ‘Book The Cook’ service, which allows you to pre-order your main course meal from a vast array of options up to 24 hours before departure. Starters and desserts are offered from a choice on board.

This is a service that many airlines now copy, although Singapore Airlines is unique in the number of options it gives: over 30 when departing Singapore, and an impressive 10 from London. From the UK, options range from slow braised short ribs to grilled angus beef fillet, grilled monkfish or Singapore chicken rice. You can see all the options from London here.

These options are in addition to those on the on-board menu, so in total you have a choice of around 13-14 main courses. You can also pre-order from the in-flight menu to guarantee your first choice when on board.

The pre-ordering system is a little finicky in that you have to toggle between the Book The Cook, onboard options and special meals. Photos are not available so you have to use your imagination when reading the descriptions. By far the bigger issue is that with so many options it’s actually quite hard to choose!

On my particular flight we were being served lunch followed by breakfast. I was able to choose from any of the 10 different Book the Cook options for lunch whilst for breakfast only one option was available, in addition to those on board.

For whatever reason, the service on our flight was abbreviated. I’m not sure whether this was due to forecast poor weather in Eastern Europe, which had delayed our flight by an hour, and Singapore Airlines’ current cautious approach to meal service during turbulence.

Singapore Airlines usually provides a pre-departure drink but this time we had to request it:

Hot towels and menus were also provided.

The lunch service started shortly after takeoff with a glass of champagne, although I’m sure other options were available if you preferred.

This was followed by the excellent signature satay service, which acts as a sort of amuse bouche although the size of the portions mean it is basically a starter in its own right. During normal service, this would be when crew take your first drinks order as well.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the satay on Malaysia Airlines, and Singapore Airlines is just as delicious. However it’s been a couple of years since I’ve had the Malaysia Airlines version so I’m afraid I can’t give a definitive answer to whose is better. Perhaps I need to fly both airlines in a single trip to compare!

By the time the satay was served the flight had run out of champagne, which was unfortunate. This was about an hour into flight which clearly shouldn’t happen, and I don’t think I’ve ever been on a flight where it’s run out so quickly. I can only imagine that the inaugural flight on the outbound was particularly thirsty but clearly the airline should be stocking more than a handful of bottles per flight.

After the satay came the starter. You don’t get a choice, unlike the main course, and on this particular flight from Gatwick it was Iberico ham with pesto marinated bocconcini, cherry tomatoes and red pepper. Obviously, if you have pre-ordered a special meal or have a dietary requirement you are served something else.

Unlike other airlines, Singapore Airlines offers a tray-less service with each course individually plated. The tray table is laid properly with a large table cloth and cutlery, salt and pepper, and a glass for water. This is clearly a lot more effort for the crew but feels much closer to restaurant-style service.

For my main course I ummed and erred for ages, and even changed my mind a few times. Even though Singapore Airlines offers a pre-order selection, the onboard choices are still really strong and included:

• Roasted chicken breast Burgundy style with carrots, green peas, crushed potatoes and red wine sauce
• Stir fried scallops and prawns in XO sauce with asian vegetables and egg fried rice
• Braised beef short rib with natural jus and cauliflower puree and spinach
• Karahi gosht keema, gajar gobi sabzi, dhingri mutter masala, yakni pulao (stir friend spiced minced lamb, sauteed carrot cauliflower, mushroom peas and flavoured rice)

The iconic Singapore Airlines ‘Book The Cook’ options such as Lobster Thermidor are not available in business class from London, so I went with the Thai Red Curry instead:

So many of the dishes sounded delicious that I think I would have been happy even if I hadn’t booked, but I wanted to try something different and Thai curries are not often available.

For dessert these options were on offer:

• Tartufo limoncello
• Chocolate and hazelnut millefeuille
• Gourmet cheese
• Sliced fresh fruit

The crew show you each option, which I like as it gives you a better sense of what to expect.

I was on the fence about having dessert but after seeing the millefeuille I decided to go for it and it was just the right thing to finish on:

After the meal service the lights were dimmed and we were encouraged to sleep, as the flight arrives in the early morning. I managed to get a good five hours of sleep until I woke up naturally.

Normally if you’re hungry at this point you could order from a fairly extensive range of snacks and light meals which are available on demand and include:

• Egg noodle soup
• Chicken tikka and serrano ham cheese sandwich
• Buns, muffins, chocolate bars, crisps, cookies and other snacky things

However, at this point (about four to five hours before arrival) the crew were actually serving breakfast due to forecast bad weather for the last several hours of the flight.

Due to the recent in-flight turbulence incident Singapore Airlines is taking a very cautious approach to turbulence and suspends all crew service whenever the seatbelt sign is on.

Whilst I can understand why the airline is doing this, it is (in my opinion) a little excessive and I think we’ll see them loosen up again once memory of the incident – which is very rare – fades. For now, however, you can expect in-flight service to be affected by the weather forecast.

Just like lunch, the breakfast service consists of several courses that are served individually. First up is a fruit bowl served with your choice of yoghurt, granola and bread / pastries:

For the main breakfast course I had pre-ordered the poached eggs and shakshuka, but choices on board included omelette stuffed with duxelle mushroom, apple griddle cakes or egg noodle with char siew and dumpling. The shakshuka was fantastic and the egg was still runny on the inside:

Service throughout was very good, with an attentive crew who even offered to bring me a second blanket because I looked cold (I usually travel with a jumper for the colder airplane environment but as I was heading to Singapore I thought I’d go without ….)

Conclusion

Whilst there were some service oddities on my particular flight, including a shortened meal service and the champagne running out within an hour, I still enjoyed my flight. If this is Singapore Airlines on a bad day then I can’t wait to see them on a good day.

The seat, despite its age, feels very spacious and surprisingly private. The only major compromise is the footwell which is why I recommend you try to book the bulkhead rows – either in row 11 or row 19, both of which feature much larger ottomans.

Food, which Singapore Airlines is famous for, was also excellent despite outstation catering – I can only imagine it is even better from Singapore. I liked that the meal service was individually plated and delivered plate-by-plate, rather than on trays.

If are looking for a good Star Alliance frequent flyer programme to credit with your flight, we discuss options here. If you are looking for ways of earning Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards, we look at your options here.

You can find out more, and book, on the Singapore Airlines website here.

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