Singapore Airlines A380-800 Business Class Review with Book The Cook!
At last! We finally get to try this amazing feat of engineering from Airbus! It’s been a long wait to get to one of the major airlines that still fly this incredible aircraft. With the numbers dwindling by the day and news of Qantas, Air France and now China Southern retiring the aircraft, it will be harder and harder to find a way to fly the King of the Skies. Luckily, we planned our vacation around trying to fly some of the best airlines and aircrafts to test their services and of course, their food.
Singapore Airlines ranks among the top in all categories so we were very keen to see how the A380-800 compared to the Turkish Airlines A350-900 we just flew 3 days prior. We have to say that the service, food and especially the quality of the seats were heads and tails above Turkish. Granted, we are not comparing direct planes but we believe the A350-900 from Turkish is the best they have to offer. We will be flying Singapore Airlines A350-900 in a couple of weeks so we can do a direct comparison.
We really wanted to love the Turkish Airlines A350-900 pods but when we sat in the middle seats, we really couldn’t see each other as the seat had these wrap around seats and the reading lights were protruding out. We would have to lean way forward to see each other and talk which made things uncomfortable. But we’ll get into the details on our Turkish Airlines A350-900 full review soon.
The Singapore Airlines A380-800 plane is just a marvel of engineering. You look out the apron of the gate and you see this airplane that is taller than the floor you are on. The two full rows of windows looks unlike anything you have seen before, making the forward section of the Boeing 747, an icon of its own, blend down to one row, thin in comparison. The engines look huge but not disproportionately so compared to the rest of the aircraft. The tail, however, is massive and stands taller than anything that flies should.
Walking onboard the top deck of a A380-800 is a site to behold, not many planes have nothing but business class pods as far as you can see. As we enjoy being near each other, we usually book the “honeymoon” suites. In this case, the SQ A380-800’s, have a middle partition that can be lowered right down below your legs so you feel like you have double the space. It is quite wide open to talk to each other without straining your neck to look left or right. The pods do not have doors, but offers excellent privacy as the window pods are slightly staggered and no one can really look into each others area unless standing in the aisle.
For those travelling alone, you will probably want to book the window seats/pods. The seats are almost identical to the two middle seats, however, we could see that the window seats offer a slight bit more shelf space towards the knee area.
Upon arriving at our seats in row 18, an inviting seat with pillow are set up. The seats were clean and the blanket and extra pillow are packaged in the foot well.
During your time onboard, you have all the comforts at a touch of a button. Charging ports, headphone jack, IFE controller, vanity mirror, seat controls, table and reading lights are all within easy reach.
The table comes straight out with a touch of the “Push for Table” button. It then arcs towards you with clicks to hold different positions. To open for the full surface, just flip the partition open. The table was nice and large and very sturdy to support work on a laptop. One thing to note, if you need to go to the washroom, do so before getting setup. The table does block the entrance in and out of your pod. One other thing to note, we had had a bit of a hard landing so the tray came flying out, luckily, it goes straight forward and didn’t waiver to the right (or left) or else that could be an accident waiting to happen. It wasn’t just my table as I could hear many others around the cabin fly out.
As you will undoubtedly be staring straight ahead most of the flight, you’re greeted with a decent sized screen. My guess is about 18 inches. Not quite as sharp as the Turkish A350-900 screen but it was equipped with more TV shows and movies. The interface was easy to use and with the IFE controller, you won’t have to keep reaching forward to go through the selections. To the left of the screen, you have a small cubby hole and the coat hook, does anyone really use these things? Just below the cubby hole is another cubby hole with a cover; I guess you could put your valuables there. To the bottom right of the screen you have the wireless payment dock and more charging ports. To the bottom left is the literature pocket.
So far we were really impressed with the pod, the only negative thing we could think of was the fact that the footwell was off to the side of the seat. So when you lie down, you have to lie at an angle but the seat back is still straight. If you’re like us, you like to have a slight 3-5 degree angle so that your head is raised but it was a bit uncomfortable in this position. A small gripe, we know, but we are here to write about the details, right?
If you choose not to sleep though, you can thoroughly enjoy the crisp clear sound with these noise cancelling headphones. I personally can’t wear them for long as it gives me a headache but my other half has started to really like using them and says that these are the best ones yet that she has tried on any flight.
Now on to the good part, the food! With Singapore Airlines, you can check in up to 48 hours ahead. We did so right on our phones through the Singapore Airlines App, it was easy and we were able to utilize the Book The Cook feature. You have options such as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Western and of course, Singaporean. I opted for the Lobster Thermidor while my better half choose the Laksa. I wish I could have enjoyed my lobster more but I was an idiot and filled myself up too much at the SilverKris lounge, but more on that in another post. That is not to say that it wasn’t good, it was absolutely devine, I was just so full and stuffing myself to try it.
Overall, we had a fantastic flight experience. The hard product was outstanding, the soft product was outstanding and the ground product was outstanding! In a week we will be flying Singapore Airlines A350-900 to do another comparison from Shanghai, a layover in Singapore and then another A350-900 to Ho Chi Minh. We will try out the shower facilities in the SilverKris Lounge and do a full write up then.
As for the A380-800, it was a fantastic plane, a bit of turbulence, but I’m guessing less so than on a smaller aircraft. The landing was hard but not due to any fault of the plane. The space you have to get comfy and enjoy the next several hours is unprecedented. We really felt like we had a room to ourselves as the middle partition was lowered down by our flight attendant. We could talk and easily and didn’t have to crane our neck to see each other. The flight attendants were absolutely the best, professional and courteous. They were from all ethnic backgrounds and wore the traditional Singapore outfits with pride and it showed. As a side note, I had an orange juice and a flight attendant saw me place it on the side, she came back with a coaster to place it on, that’s detail on another level. We can see now why Singapore Airlines ranks among the best in the world, if not THE Best.
PROS:
- Great service from checking in our bags, getting comfortable in our seats, food, and just the flight attendants attentiveness
- The pods make the best use of space we have seen on any plane yet
- Pods are staggered providing ample privacy
- Book The Cook is an amazing feature that not many airlines offer
CONS:
- Foot rest is off to the side forcing you to lie at an angle against the back of the seat
- No door but wasn’t, in our opinion, necessary
- No amenity kit for flights 6 hours or shorter but they did provide us slippers, eyeshades and earplugs when we inquired
Thanks
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