Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Premium Economy Review

Singapore Airlines first introduced Premium Economy seating on its long-haul aircraft in 2015. More recently, in 2024, it refreshed the on-board experience for Premium Economy passengers, with improvements such as upgraded dining and new amenity kits.

I recently needed to fly from Auckland to Singapore, and the only cabin available to book using points was Premium Economy. I had never flown Premium Economy on Singapore Airlines before, but I was keen to try it out – so booking this seemed like a no-brainer.

As this Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Premium Economy review details, I was impressed with the overall experience. But there are still a few areas for improvement…

Flight Details

Flight number	SQ286
Origin	Auckland (AKL)
Destination	Singapore (SIN)
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-300ER
Class of travel	Premium Economy
Seat number	32G
On-time performance	We arrived on time
Star rating

The Route

Flight Cost

Singapore Airlines Premium Economy fares from Auckland to Singapore typically start from around AU$1,616 one-way, or around AU$3,300 round-trip. However, I booked my flight using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles.

I was initially planning to book this one-way flight using Virgin Australia Velocity Points. It would have cost me 80,000 Velocity Points + AU$240. Then, I realised that the same award seat was also available as a KrisFlyer redemption for 53,500 KrisFlyer miles + AU$53.

You can convert Velocity Points to KrisFlyer miles at a rate of 1.55:1, so I did just that. Even though I ended up spending 2,925 more Velocity Points this way, I saved AU$187 by avoiding Velocity’s carrier charges. That’s a worthwhile trade-off.

For what it’s worth, Velocity charges 89,500 points to fly Singapore Airlines Business Class on the Auckland-Singapore route. That’s only slightly more than the Premium Economy cost, but for a much better experience. Given the option, I definitely would have used my points to book Business Class – but there were no reward seats available in the higher cabin.

Airport Experience

With Singapore Airlines, the benefits of Premium Economy extend to the ground experience – including a dedicated Premium Economy Class check-in queue.

Premium Economy also gets to board a bit earlier. After calling boarding for First Class, and then for Business Class and PPS Club passengers, the gate agents called Premium Economy, KrisFlyer Gold and Star Alliance Gold members together for the third wave of priority boarding.

Like most airlines, Singapore Airlines doesn’t provide lounge access as a standard Premium Economy inclusion. Nonetheless, the international terminal at Auckland Airport is a reasonably nice place to wait for your flight.

I was able to use the Air New Zealand International Koru Lounge, thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status. I had wanted to try out Air New Zealand’s new Lookout Lounge, but this is closed between 10am and 3.30pm – right when the Singapore Airlines service departs. If you don’t hold Star Alliance Gold status, you could alternatively access the Strata Lounge through Priority Pass or by simply buying a day pass for NZD69 (~AU$58).

The Hard Product

On its Boeing 777-300ER, Singapore Airlines has four rows of Premium Economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. This is the standard Premium Economy layout that you’ll find on pretty much every Boeing 777 with the cabin.

Premium Economy is separated from Business Class in front, and Economy at the back, with bulkhead walls and curtains. There are no toilets within the Premium Economy cabin, so these are shared with Economy.

Singapore Airlines Premium Economy Seats

My aisle seat was reasonably spacious, at 19.5 inches wide and with 38 inches of legroom. Some other airlines offer more seat pitch than this in Premium Economy, but I had enough space to comfortably stretch my legs out underneath the seat in front.

The leather seat has an adjustable headrest, although mine wouldn’t stay up when I tried to raise it. The tray table folds out from inside the armrest, practical drink holders are at the front of the central armrest console, and an adjustable reading light is installed at the side of the seat. You’ll also find USB and universal power outlets at each seat, some small storage pockets between the seats, and a large seat pocket that will comfortably store a few books or laptops.

When I noticed the seat instruction cards on each seat, my first thought was “oh dear, they must have made these seats overly complicated”. But that wasn’t really the case; the card just explains how to recline and to raise the calf rest – the latter being a feature that would have been more useful to someone shorter than me.

There’s also a footrest under the seat in front – which is better than nothing, but I personally would have preferred a foot net which cradles your feet and is more useful for taller people.

This is no lie-flat bed – it’s a reclining seat that’s wider and has more legroom than a regular Economy seat. But that’s exactly how Premium Economy is marketed, and I felt that I received what was advertised. Overall, I found my seat reasonably comfortable for the 10-hour flight.

If you want unlimited legroom, the exit row seats on the Boeing 777-300ER would be the best choice. However, Singapore Airlines charges extra to pre-select these seats.

In-flight Entertainment & Wi-Fi

There’s a large TV screen on the back of the seat in front. Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld entertainment system has plenty of movies, TV shows and music. But this aircraft didn’t offer live TV, and games were only available to play on your own device by connecting to the KrisWorld streaming portal.

Wi-Fi is available for free in Premium Economy… if you’re a KrisFlyer member. Luckily, even though I asked at check-in to add my Turkish Airlines frequent flyer number to this booking, the agent was able to add my KrisFlyer number as well. This meant that both “TK*G” and “KFLY” were printed on my boarding pass, so I was able to use the Wi-Fi for free.

Unfortunately, I found the Wi-Fi quite slow. Singapore Airlines recently announced that it will start installing Starlink Wi-Fi in 2027, which would address this… except that the airline won’t actually add Starlink to its Boeing 777 fleet. That seems like an odd decision to me.

The Soft Product

When I arrived at my seat, I found a pillow, blanket, printed menu and premium over-ear headphones already there.

A flight attendant handed out hot towels before take-off, but there was no pre-departure beverage service of any sort – something that is a standard Premium Economy inclusion on many other airlines.

Once we were in the air, the crew handed out small amenity kits to everyone in Premium Economy. This is something that Singapore Airlines added in its 2024 Premium Economy refresh. While it’s nice to have, it does seem like a bit of a token effort as the only contents were slippers, an eye mask and lip balm.

Premium Economy Meals

At the start of the flight, the crew came through the Premium Economy cabin to offer nuts and a selection of drinks, including chilled champagne.

Much of the Premium Economy drinks list was the same as Economy. Honestly, that’s not a bad thing as SQ’s Economy offering is very comprehensive – including beer, wine and Singapore Sling cocktails. But the addition of proper champagne to the Premium Economy offering is a nice touch – as is the option for hot or iced Milo.

This was the Premium Economy drinks list for this flight:

The only thing I found slightly disappointing was that the champagne was served in a plastic cup! At least it’s not a paper cup, like Cathay Pacific uses in Premium Economy. But surely, if the airline wants to portray this as a premium product worth paying more for, and has gone to the effort of buying proper champagne, it could at least serve this in a real glass?

Lunch was served a short time later. This was the menu:

I originally asked for the beef for lunch, but the crew had run out. No worries, I also enjoy butter chicken and this one tasted good. The meal came on a single tray with lots of sides, in porcelain dishes and with metal cutlery.

I found the portion sizes quite substantial, and the food quality was very good.

The crew offered several more rounds of drinks during and after lunch. Throughout the flight, they also came through the cabin regularly with water and juice – as well as to clear rubbish – and were happy to bring other drinks or snacks on request. You could also help yourself to snacks any time from a basket in the Economy galley.

Around halfway through the flight, the crew came around offering sandwiches from the light bites menu. Since I’d missed out on my first meal choice for lunch, a flight attendant also made a point of asking me in advance which option I’d like for dinner so they could put it aside for me – a thoughtful touch.

This was the snack and dinner menu on this flight:

Dinner came around 2.5 hours before landing. Again, I found this meal really good and ate absolutely everything on the tray. I did not leave this flight feeling hungry!