First ever Singapore Flights - 1st Class

[coyote25]

So I’ve booked my first ever SQ flights using velocity transferred points.

The flight are;
SQ25 20.55 JFK-FRA-SIN 06.50 A380
15 hour transit
SQ227 22.00 SIN-MEL 07.25 B777-300

Looks like the ‘old’ first class suites / seats.

From looking into this it appears I get access to Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in JFK, the Lufthansa Senator Lounge in Frankfurt, and the Private Room in Singapore.

These flights are returning home after a trip that concludes with attending the 2019 US Open.

I’m interested in any insights AFFers can provide in the SQ experience and these lounges.

Never flown SQ having mostly been a OW traveller so this will be definitely different.

Only real F international experience was on Emirates A380 & B777. SQ doesn’t look as good but I’m told their service is great.

Anyway any tips or suggestions to get the most out of the flight experience is appreciated (eg best F seat for single pax, good meal/drink options, anything special about lounges etc).

Thanks in advance

 

[taurus]

So I’ve booked my first ever SQ flights using velocity transferred points.

The flight are;
SQ25 20.55 JFK-FRA-SIN 06.50 A380
15 hour transit
SQ227 22.00 SIN-MEL 07.25 B777-300

Looks like the ‘old’ first class suites / seats.

From looking into this it appears I get access to Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in JFK, the Lufthansa Senator Lounge in Frankfurt, and the Private Room in Singapore.

These flights are returning home after a trip that concludes with attending the 2019 US Open.

I’m interested in any insights AFFers can provide in the SQ experience and these lounges.

Never flown SQ having mostly been a OW traveller so this will be definitely different.

Only real F international experience was on Emirates A380 & B777. SQ doesn’t look as good but I’m told their service is great.

Anyway any tips or suggestions to get the most out of the flight experience is appreciated (eg best F seat for single pax, good meal/drink options, anything special about lounges etc).

Thanks in advance

I can only speak for the F experience on SQ. The Private Room is ok. A bit dark and needs an upgrade of decor and furniture. The food, however, is great. The laksa is excellent. Service is great too. On one (old) suites trip I chose 1A but was politely advised when I boarded that 3A would be better for me (something about people being able to see down the stairs??). It was an empty F cabin besides me so I could've had any seat I guess. They made up another suite for me to sleep in, which I moved to after the caviar service. I did 3 F flights last year on SQ and found the food and service excellent. Very generous with the drinks so watch out lol.

 

[blacksultan]

Don`t forget to book the cook!

 

[NoName]

So I’ve booked my first ever SQ flights using velocity transferred points.

The flight are;
SQ25 20.55 JFK-FRA-SIN 06.50 A380
15 hour transit
SQ227 22.00 SIN-MEL 07.25 B777-300

Looks like the ‘old’ first class suites / seats.

From looking into this it appears I get access to Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in JFK, the Lufthansa Senator Lounge in Frankfurt, and the Private Room in Singapore.

These flights are returning home after a trip that concludes with attending the 2019 US Open.

I’m interested in any insights AFFers can provide in the SQ experience and these lounges.

Never flown SQ having mostly been a OW traveller so this will be definitely different.

Only real F international experience was on Emirates A380 & B777. SQ doesn’t look as good but I’m told their service is great.

Anyway any tips or suggestions to get the most out of the flight experience is appreciated (eg best F seat for single pax, good meal/drink options, anything special about lounges etc).

Thanks in advance

I took almost the same trip a couple of weeks ago after attending the 2018 US Open Only different was I took SQ221 to try the new suites.

Virgin Clubhouse at JFK was great. Kind of modern/hip feel to it which I liked. Plenty of space to sit down and relax. A la carte dining options that you can take either at the sit down restaurant style section or just at one of the regular couches. I had some chicken wings & some bbq por ribs. Both were an idea snack size prior to SQ25. There were plenty of options for bigger meals too. The lounge also has a pool table in the middle of that’s your thing.

Tip: you will probably have one of the US Open signature coughtails - the honey deuce - at the tennis. They taste great, really refreshing etc but pricey. The Virgin lounge serves them during the US Open so you can have them there too where they will be complimentary but also contain significantly more alcohol.


Lufthansa senators lounge - I didn’t do much here other than a shower and rest before the flight to SIN so can’t really comment extensively. It was a nice open lounge though. Plenty of room. I think you also can access the Air Canada lounge but I didn’t visit.

I will do a proper trip report which will include the flights in the next couple of weeks so won’t comment on the flight experience here. I only have minimal experience anyway so there will definitely be others who can offer a far more detailed opinion. Only thing I will say is the flights were great, you won’t regret it for sure. Only negative was the cabin was too hot when sleeping. I ended up taking the blanket completely off.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The Air Canadia lounge is supposed to be the pick of the bunch at FRA. Not sure how easy it is to access given the transit time.

For solo go for 3A or F with three windows each. The others have two.

Hmmm - EK vs SQ. Hard to say. SQ wins on food, style and 'class'. EK is fun through with the bar and the snack basket (which I normally don't touch but got really stuck in to on a flight a few months ago when I just happened to crave something sweet). The shower is nice (not for the novelty factor, but nice to actually shower if you wake up a bit hot or groggy). Oh, and they win on the beverage list! And the chauffeur cars.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

For solo go for 3A or D with three windows each. The others have two..

Close but missed by ( ) that much MEL - D Suites/Seats in SQ R/F cabins are the RH Suit /Seat of middle pair C/D - RH side window Suite/Seat is F.

Hmmm - EK vs SQ - EK win on the beverage list! And the chauffeur cars.

Debateable on drinks - SQ have KRUG - king of Champagnes - reds yes maybe - CD yes a + that SQ have never offered. Service? Nope SQ gets all of ‘em without doubt.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Close but missed by ( ) that much MEL - D Suites/Seats in SQ R/F cabins are the RH Suit /Seat of middle pair C/D - RH side window Suite/Seat is F.

Thanks. Edited my post. I can barely stop calling the right-hand 'K' let alone remember 'F'

 

[boomy]

Did exactly same flights couple of years ago.

VS lounge in JFK is great! Nice decor, service attentive and friendly, good coughtails. There is spa inside with open views, I had haircut and +1 had massage. Overall the second best J lounge I’ve been to so far.

For seats on A380 you have few options. You can chose 3A/K as suggested or can be cheeky and go for row 2 or 3 middle seat, hoping cabin will not be full and secure the double suite with double bed for yourself.
If you go for window seat you can ask the crew to make your bed in one of the middle suites assuming it’s unoccupied and no other pax requested the same thing before you.

Use the short(er) overnight leg to FRA to catch some sleep so you can fully enjoy the longer daytime to SIN.

LH Senator lounge is nice and specious, nothing interesting in terms of F&B apart from German pretzels. The showers are good and disembarking from F you’ll get the advantage of beating the crowds. In case there is long queue to showers go to AC Maple Leaf which is usually less busy.

My favourite meals on SQ are the Japanese for breakfast and Bak kut teh for lunch flushed with some vintage Krug and RWT.

TPR in SIN is ok. Not the best F lounge but not the worst either. F&B is good, lobster much better than the one SQ serve in the air. Apart restaurant the rest of lounge is boring, nothing else to do there. Note that you can also enter TPR on arrival if you want to freshen up or take a shower.

Refurbished F on SQ 777 is also great product, more modern and sleek with new IFE screen and controls.

 

[boomy]

Debateable on drinks - SQ have KRUG - king of Champagnes - reds yes maybe - CD yes a + that SQ have never offered. Service? Nope SQ gets all of ‘em without doubt.

The king of champagnes (in the air) for years was Salon, served by JAL until they recently downgraded to Cristal.

EK currently serve some interesting vintages like Dom P2 2000 which I’m excited to try. Hopefully better than the average standard Dom vintages.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

EK currently serve some interesting vintages like Dom P2 2000 which I’m excited to try. Hopefully better than the average standard Dom vintages.

Don’t get too excited I mean it’s nice, but for me, not memorable. But a lot of that could be down to jet lag, length of time already flying etc etc.

 

[boomy]

Don’t get too excited I mean it’s nice, but for me, not memorable. But a lot of that could be down to jet lag, length of time already flying etc etc.

Hopefully better than 09 vintage which I’m not a big fan of

 

[Cruiser Elite]

EK currently serve some interesting vintages like Dom P2 2000 which I’m excited to try. Hopefully better than the average standard Dom vintages.

Don’t get too excited I mean it’s nice, but for me, not memorable.

I had a big fill in July ZRH-DXB-MEL - it's cat pee compared to Krug - I honestly think showers on EK fabulous fun gimmick - I love the bar also - but other than that red wine is the only arrea that EK get over the top of SQ - and this red was SERIOUSLY good:

 

[boomy]

View attachment 136046

I had a big fill in July ZRH-DXB-MEL - it's cat pee compared to Krug - I honestly think showers on EK fabulous fun gimmick - I love the bar also - but other than that red wine is the only arrea that EK get over the top of SQ - and this red was SERIOUSLY good:

Didn’t try cat pee but I did try Luwak coffee which is made of cat poo and liked it so you never know

With Chateau Margaux and Hennessy Paradis free flowing onboard who needs champagnes anyway!

 

[SOPOOR]

Did exactly same flights couple of years ago.

VS lounge in JFK is great! Nice decor, service attentive and friendly, good coughtails. There is spa inside with open views, I had haircut and +1 had massage. Overall the second best J lounge I’ve been to so far.

For seats on A380 you have few options. You can chose 3A/K as suggested or can be cheeky and go for row 2 or 3 middle seat, hoping cabin will not be full and secure the double suite with double bed for yourself.
If you go for window seat you can ask the crew to make your bed in one of the middle suites assuming it’s unoccupied and no other pax requested the same thing before you.

Use the short(er) overnight leg to FRA to catch some sleep so you can fully enjoy the longer daytime to SIN.

LH Senator lounge is nice and specious, nothing interesting in terms of F&B apart from German pretzels. The showers are good and disembarking from F you’ll get the advantage of beating the crowds. In case there is long queue to showers go to AC Maple Leaf which is usually less busy.

My favourite meals on SQ are the Japanese for breakfast and Bak kut teh for lunch flushed with some vintage Krug and RWT.

TPR in SIN is ok. Not the best F lounge but not the worst either. F&B is good, lobster much better than the one SQ serve in the air. Apart restaurant the rest of lounge is boring, nothing else to do there. Note that you can also enter TPR on arrival if you want to freshen up or take a shower.

Refurbished F on SQ 777 is also great product, more modern and sleek with new IFE screen and controls.

That's super cheeky
But if I was booking a solo, I'd take the window first and then the middle

So does this actually work?

 

[boomy]

That's super cheeky
But if I was booking a solo, I'd take the window first and then the middle

So does this actually work?

Often suites are not 100% full so booking middle seat as solo pax is a calculated risk. If there will be more than one couple traveling together you may be moved or asked to voluntary move to window seat.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Often suites are not 100% full so booking middle seat as solo pax is a calculated risk. If there will be more than one couple traveling together you may be moved or asked to voluntary move to window seat.

I have booked 3C as solo pax dozens of times - plenty plenty times had the double bed to myself - divider up the middle can be a bit tricky but there are ways.

Solo pax booked into a C or D Suite / Seat will never be moved involuntarily - you may be asked to move at checkin, in Lounge, at boarding or indeed even onboard.

I have given up my 3C Suite multiple times to couples wanting to sit together - some have thanked me non stop - others not even an acknowledgment - and believe me they knew about seat change.

Try arranginging 2 couples in a 4 seat F cabin! We did 2 years ago MEL-LAX - we had 1C/D booked - sector SIN-NRT a Japanese couple asked would we move to 1A/F so they could sit together - ah no I don’t think so - how about we take A/C and you have D/F - kinda together just across the aisle! Still lots of grumbling but they agreed in the end - go figure.

Edit: I have just checked in for SQ7 LAX-ICN-SIN-DPS - last sector in J - at checkin I was asked would I give up 1C for 1F as a couple want to sit together - no problemo - the female member of the duo has just sought me out in *A F Lounge and thanked me like I have just completed life saving surgery on her husband. Good feelings all round.

 

[cove]

We are both happy in a separate Suite on a window. I go the Krug and my partner goes the water.

 

[coyote25]

Don`t forget to book the cook!

Will do. Any recommendations or SQ specialties worth considering. With effectively three legs a lot options

 

[blacksultan]

Will do. Any recommendations or SQ specialties worth considering. With effectively three legs a lot options

I believe the Singaporean food is good. the lobster seems obvious but read a commenter here say it was rubbery as pre-cooked.

 

[Steady]

I believe the Singaporean food is good. the lobster seems obvious but read a commenter here say it was rubbery as pre-cooked.

I had Boston Lobster yesterday SYD - SIN and it was rubbery- good flavour though. It was just a half tail - I was expecting both halves of a full Lobster after researching photos online