I am always been tempted to try out Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy and finally got the opportunity to experience it with Singapore Airlines on their A380 Flight SQ833. The flight was from Shanghai to Singapore. It was scheduled to depart from Shanghai Pudong Airport at 1625hrs and arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at 2215hrs.
I have never flown on Singapore’s premium economy before. My first premium economy experience was with Air China flying from Guangzhou to Shanghai recently. It was a short flight and wasn’t comfortable. I have a higher expectation for Singapore Airlines.
Perks of flying Singapore Airline Premium Economy
- From check-in to boarding and baggage handling you enjoy priority treatment throughout your journey.
- Premium Economy Book the Cook
- A calf-rest and foot-rest is built right into your seat. For the ultimate snoozing position, just recline (up to a generous 8 inches), stretch out, and enjoy the 38-inch seat pitch.
- Built within your seat are two USB ports and a fully adjustable personal reading lamp.
Head to Singapore Airline’s dedicated website to learn more about SQ’s Premium Economy.
Our plane was parked at Gate D76, I have taken the same flight a few times before and if experience serves me right, it is normally docked at this gate. Boarding was easy, Premium Economy passengers gets to board after First and Business Class passengers together with Star Alliance Gold and Krisflyer Gold. Our flight did not have many of these travelers, the boarding was smooth.
Singapore Airlines SQ833 Hardware
SQ’s Premium Economy was located at the cabin after the Business class and it consisted of 26 seats with a 2-4-2 configuration. I opted for the seat in the last row, there were plenty of empty seats during this flight. I was lucky to know that I would be sitting by myself during this flight, the window seat beside me was empty. The window view and aisle access, yeah!
The next thing to do is to look at the technology in Premium Economy, it is always fun to experience something new. First thing that I found useful was the USB port located right below the crystal clear 13.3″ HD screen. This seemed like a good location for me to charge my phone and slip it into the pocket right in front of me together with the magazines. This is significantly more convenient than the USB port that is normally located above the tray table in Economy class.
In Premium Economy, we were also provided with Noise Cancellation Headphones. They are quite handy if you are on a long haul flight, I did not take a photo of it because I used my personal Bose headphones. There was also a reading light right beside you with 2 brightness settings, it was quite bright and could even be distracting if your seat mate wanted to rest.
The full HD screen, while it displayed the Flight Show clearly, the movie which I watched did not unleash the potential of this 13.3″ HD screen. If there are HD movies in Singapore Airline’s IFE system or commonly known as Krisworld I am sure it would be really nice to watch, especially on a long haul flight. Big screen and noise cancellation headphones are the perfect long haul IFE combo!
Moving to the site of the chair. There were 2 buttons on the site, one to extend the leg rest and another to adjust the pitch to up to 8 inches, making it a total of 38 inches of seat pitch. The IFE remote control was below those buttons, it is the common Airbus remote though, not the new ones that we see in A350s. Does the job well enough, no complaints here.
While I like the USB port in the front of the seat, there was another charger at the back of the arm rest, together with the headphone jack, I thought this was a really nice design. I used this USB port to charge my phone throughout the trip. If you plan to use your phone, the back USB port is great or if you plan to take a nap you can charge it via the front USB and leave the phone in the pocket.
Each seat came with a power plug, perfect if you need to plug in your power adaptor. There is also a water bottle holder.
Here’s something which I did not understand, there was a metal in between the aisle seat in front of me. This made putting a 32 liter North Face backpack underneath the seat in front of me not possible and inconvenient, luckily during this flight, the window beside me was empty therefore I was able to put it underneath the window seat in front of me, there was no metal in the middle of the metal seat. Since I quite like Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy seats and am considering to take it again in future, I looked at all other seats and found the following on this Airbus A380-800:
- Premium Economy seats are located on row 31 to 35
- Windows seats A & K did not have a metal underneath their seat
- Aisle seats C, D, G & H have a metal underneath their seat
- Middle seats E & F did not have a metal underneath their seat
I guess if I were to seat at the aisle again, I could always put my stuff in the overhead storage bin right above of me. That’s the advantage of sitting at the aisle anyway.
The middle row seats view from taken from my seat. Notice the metal underneath too the aisle seats.
Pre-Departure
Singapore Airlines’ warm towel felt good, I loved seeing the steam coming out from the towel when the stewardess handled it to me. It was real towel and it was real hot. They gave this out to almost all the flights that I had flown with them even in Economy class. I felt welcomed and relaxed.
A big pillow and blanket were also provided, the pillow is much bigger than the ones in Economy. I cant be sure if the blanket is the same as Economy but it kept me warm throughout the flight. I’ve put my Bose headphone case as a comparison so that you now how big the pillow was.
Singapore Airline Premium Economy Meal Service
Snack
The moment the seat belt flight was turned off, a welcome Champagne was served, in a plastic glass, together with a packet of Cashew & Almond nuts.
A glass of Champagne over sunset at 35,000ft, no one says no to that! I enjoyed this moment. A good way to wind down a hectic day.
Dinner Service
On certain routes, Premium Economy passengers could Book the Cook. Unfortunately it was not available for our PVG-SIN route, but here’s what its all about:
Reserve your main course from a variety of Premium Economy Book the Cook dishes up to 24 hours before you fly, or select from three meal choices on board. Match the food and altitude with your selection of wine or champagne.
You can view the menu here – Book the cook: Fine dining at 30,000 feet? We’ve confirmed your reservation.
Here’s the menu for Premium Economy. I was excited to try this out. Looking at what’s being offered, I’ve decided to give the Pan Seared Fish Fillet in Tomato Olive Sauce after recommendation from the stewardess. I was also looking forward for the Haagen Dazs Ice Cream.
Since Premium Economy cabin’s occupancy was not high, my meal was served a short moment after I made my order. The appetizer and main were served together on a single tray along with a table cloth. All the food were served in a plastic container, similar to Economy. Of course, real silverwares to eat with!
Took a photo of the appetizer, I did not eat this as Shrimp was not my thing. I did asked for another appetizer but unfortunately they did not have any extra on board. I did not eat the appetizer.
The Fish Fillet was hot and nice, the fillet was soft, so were the potatoes too. It was delicious. I will totally order this dish again.
Only if they served the Chocolate flavored Haagen Dazs ice cream onboard. I had the Vanilla ones. Being conscious of my diet, I finished half of the ice-cream.
SQ 833 Seat Preference
My PVG-SIN flight departs at 1625hr, this means that on a good day, one could enjoy sunset which having a glass of Champagne or dinner. If you love taking photos of sunset, K row is your best seat.
This photo was taken on row 35K, it is able to capture a great view of A380’s majestic wing and partial of the two Rolls Royce engines. Personally, I may want to choose row 31K to 33K to be able to capture much more of the engines on my sunset photos.
More photos of Singapore Airline Premium Economy Cabin
Plenty of space to rest your rest or put the pillow or blanket on the side if you sits at the window. I did find the cabin quite spacious for its price, while if the person in front of you did a full recline at 38inches, you would feel a little bit cramp.
Bottom Line
I truly enjoyed my first Premium Economy experience with Singapore Airlines. The seat was really comfortable, I had at least a solid 2 hours nap. The food was delicious. I think I’ve only good thing to say about this flight and will certainly take Premium Economy again on different routes if the price is right.
It would certainly be nice if they allow Book the Cook service on the PVG-SIN route too in future. Have you flown with Singapore Airline’s Premium Economy class before?
Photo Gallery
