At the Airport

Check-in

SQ612 departs from Terminal 3 of Singapore Changi Airport. Singapore Airlines has a dedicated check-in counter located at Row 6 (by door 5) for passengers flying on Business Class. There aren’t any queue lines at Row 6, instead, passengers would go to any counters with the shortest queues. My friends and I was behind another couple who were being checked-in and we did not have to wait for too long before our turn to check-in. Check-in process was efficient and the ground staff processing our check-in was courteous and professional in her interaction with us. The check-in process took less than 5 mins before the ground staff handed us our boarding pass and invited us to SilverKris Lounge while we wait for our flight. She not only gave us directions to the lounge the ground staff also gave us information on our gate and how to get from the lounge to our gate as well as the boarding time at the gate. We could feel the premium class service at the check-in with the efficiency and pleasant.

SilverKris Lounge

SilverKris Lounge is located about 3 mins walk from the immigration gate. There were ground staffs welcoming guests at the entrance of the lounge. There are two sections to SilverKris Lounge, the section for Business Class passengers is on the left after the main entrance to the lounge, where First Class or Suites passengers would use the lounge on the right. The lounge is decorated in brown earthy theme, which feels cosy and comfortable. The lounge was busy at the time we entered the lounge, the crowd toned down after 1 hour of us in the lounge as most of the passengers have already left the lounge for their flight. Despite the number of passengers using the lounge, we had no problems finding seats as the lounge has plenty of seats to handle the number of passengers. The lounge is also rather quiet for the number of passengers in the lounge at the time of our visit, this makes the lounge a great place to relax, especially for passengers with connecting flights.

Food is offered in buffet style, laid in four rows of marble counters, with mainly local food and some limited international cuisine. The food offered in SilverKris Lounge is rather limited with the last row dedicated to bread selection. Food is constantly topped up in the lounge and is rather tasty. Drinks can be found in the fridge by the side of the food buffet area, and also a smaller beverage section not far from the food area in SilverKris Lounge. On top of the usual beverages like soda and canned juices, local and international beer are also offered in SilverKris Lounge.

SilverKris Lounge is equipped with shower facilities found inside the toilet, which is located at the entrance to the Business Class section of the lounge. Passengers who wanted to use the shower facilities just need to walk into any shower cubicles that are not being occupied. The toilet and shower facilities are kept clean by the industrious staffs working at the lounge, who ensured that passengers have a clean toilet/shower to use at all times.

The Aircraft

Singapore Airlines mainly uses their medium-haul aircraft to ply between Singapore and Incheon Airport, except for one flight where they use the long-haul aircraft. I deliberately chose to fly on SQ612 which is serviced by the B777-300ER for this route. Space onboard B777-300ER in Business Class is more generous than the A350-900 counterpart which is used for other timings, perfect for a red-eye flight.

The Cabin

The Singapore Airlines B777-300ER is configured with four classes on board: First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy Classes. There are a total of 48 Business Class seats on the B777-300ER configured in two sections. The smaller Business Class cabin right behind the First Class configured with 12 seats and a large business Class in the back section configured with 36 seats. All Business Class seats have direct aisle access and are arranged in 1-2-1 configuration. For this flight, we chose the seats in the smaller forward Business Class cabin.

There are a total of three lavatories for Business Class passengers, all located between the two Business Class sections onboard Singapore Airlines B777-300ER. The lavatories feel no larger than those in the Economy Class cabins. Some touches make the lavatories feels a little more premium such as leather toilet seat covers and the placement of a fake flower. The lavatories are well stocked with amenities that are usually not found in Economy Class cabins such as cloth napkins and quality shavers and dental kits. On top of these, Singapore Airlines uses Quercus brand from the UK for the facial mist, hand lotion and Eau-de-toilette in the Business Class lavatories. I liked the small touches in the design of the lavatories like the sensor tap and the step pedal for bin covers in the lavatories, which makes it more hygienic to use.

The Seat

The seat onboard Singapore Airlines B777-300ER Business Class is huge! All Business Class seats have direct aisle access and come with a generous 55″ pitch and measure 28″ wide. The seats onboard Singapore Airlines B777-300ER Business Class provides passengers with a great amount of privacy, thanks to the large cacoon designed seat shells. These seats feature a Lazy Z design, which has the footrest slanted to one side of the seat. The seats in Business Class cabin are capable of transforming into a full flatbed that measures 78″ pitch. There is a storage area under the ottoman large enough for me to place my carry-on backpack. On the seat waiting for passengers are a large pillow as well as amenities like slippers, socks and eyeshades. Singapore Airlines does not provide amenities kits to their Business Class passengers. To transform the seat into a full bed, passengers would have to release a latch at the back of the seat, where bed linens, blanket and additional pillows are stowed. I find the design of the seat in flatbed mode a tad uncomfortable as the leg well in flatbed mode is slanted to the side which I usually do not sleep on. It also makes tossing and turning during sleep difficult, as the design of the Lazy Z is great for passengers who usually sleep on one side. I do find the two pillows provided in each Business Class seats comfortable to sleep in as they are not too soft.

Seat control buttons are found on the aisle side of each seat which allows passengers to adjust the seat up to lounge mode. On the same panel of control buttons, one can adjust the overhead reading light, dimming lights in the seat, call buttons, as well as TV off buttons. The huge table is stored in the armrest on the side away from the aisle. I like the design of these table as they can be slid back and forth and moved to a position that allows passengers to leave the seat without putting away the table. The adjustable height feature for the table allows me to place the table in a comfortable height depending on which seat mode I am in.

I like the plentiful storage space (there are a total of three storage compartments) in the Business Class seats onboard Singapore Airlines B777-300ER. There is a small cabinet beside the TV screen where I used to store my passport and my phone.  A small cocktail table for one to place their drinks or to use as additional storage space where one can store some of their small items, There is another storage compartment on the side of the seat which is large enough to swallow an iPad while charging. There is yet another cabinet next to the table storage where one can store small items in. A small mirror is found beside the TV in every seat. All seats on Singapore Airlines B777-300ER Business Class cabin comes with an international powerpoint and some ports for passengers to charge their lifestyle devices. Two headphone jacks are found in each Business Class seats, one located above the powerpoint outlet, and another next to the seat control buttons. There are a total of three reading lights, one on the inside of the seat, one above the seat and a set of three lights that are angled to the mode of the seat located on the aisle side of the seat. The seat pocket is found under the inside armrest with the usual inflight reading materials.

In-Flight Entertainment

All Business Class seats onboard Singapore Airlines B777-300ER is fitted with a massive 18″ HD Personal TV screen. These screens are not touch-sensitive which I am not complaining about as the screen is rather far from the seat, thanks to the massive legroom in the Business Cabin, which makes touchscreen impractical.  These massive screens make watching movies enjoyable as though one is in a personal movie theatre. The screens can be tilted to the angle and are still visible even when I was lying on the flatbed in the seat. Entertainment choices on the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) System have to be made via the IFE controller, which is similar to a smartphone. The menu system on the IFE controller is intuitive, making scrolling through entertainment choices a breeze. One can use either the touchscreen function on the IFE controller or the physical buttons to operate the IFE system. Singapore Airlines offers Business Class passengers noise-cancelling headphones that are very effective in cancelling out cabin noises. The headphones are very comfortable to wear due to the thick sponges that cup one’s ears. These headphones are so effective that I had to remove the headphones whenever the stewardess spoke to me.

When it comes to entertainment options on the IFE System, Singapore Airlines has an extensive library of movies and TV shows to keep one entertained throughout the flight. There are also music libraries for those who prefer to listen to something as opposed to watching on the TV screen. For young passengers and those young at heart, there are games in the Singapore Airlines IFE system. On top of the extensive IFE library, all Business Class passengers get 100MB of free wifi access during the flight. Connecting to the wifi onboard is pretty easy,

Meal

Passengers are served pre-departure drinks as soon as we were settled into our seats. The pursuer came around and offered choices of juices or champagne for pre-departure drinks. They would ask if we want a second serving of drinks while waiting for the rest of the passengers to board the aircraft. As this is a red-eye flight, before departure, the stewardess would check with passengers if we would prefer meal to be served after take-off or before landing. I opted to have my meal before landing. After the seat belt sign has been turned off, the stewardess sprung into action and served passengers with warm nuts and our choice of drinks.

Singapore Airlines has the Book the Cook service which allows First and Business Class passengers to choose from an extensive menu of local and international cuisine, some of which are created by renowned chefs. For this flight, I used the Book the Cook service and ordered Seared Nut-Crusted Veal Fillet designed by Singapore Airlines International Culinary Panel Chef Carlo Cracco. Pre-arrival meals are served about 3 hours before arrival. The stewardess came around and lay the table with tablecloths and cutleries. Food is served course by course with the fresh fruit as an appetiser followed by a basket of bread for passengers to choose from. After clearing my fruit, the main course is served. The veal served was moist and tender and does not taste like your typical airline food. I particularly like the sauce which adds a little flavour to the veal fillet. The crushed potatoes that come with the veal is also very tasty. The stewardess told me this is the first time she seen anyone ordered the veal. For passengers who did not utilise the Book the Cook service has options of breakfast choices. Coffee was served after the main course during the flight.

Service

The service we received onboard Singapore Airlines SQ612 from Singapore to Seoul was top notch. I felt we were well taken care of by the pursuers during the entire flight. The hospitality they displayed is what makes flying with Singapore Airlines in their Business Class product enjoyable. Upon boarding, not only were we warmly welcomed by Shirley the Inflight Manager, but she also got another stewardess to show us to our seat. Throughout the flight, we were addressed by our last name by the pursuers. As soon as we were settled into our seats, pursuers came around distributing warm towels and pre-departure drinks. The observant steward, Jason, even offered an additional glass of drink when he saw our glass was empty. As this is a red-eye flight, pursuers checked with passengers if we would prefer meal to be served after take-off or before landing to maximise our sleep time.

Emma is the stewardess serving the row I am seated. I am amazed by her warm personality and her attention to details. Emma is always around to ensure that we were well taken care of. During the flight, my friend and I wanted to have our seat made into the flatbed mode, upon seeing us trying to do it ourselves, Emma hastens by and volunteered to make our beds for us. Not only did Emma deployed our seats into bed mode, but she also makes up the seat to resemble a real bed so that we can rest on it. I am amazed by the efficiency of Emma when she transforms our seat into a bed. As we opted to have our meal before arrival, Emma constantly patrolled the cabin to ensure those passengers who are still awake are well hydrated. During meal service, Emma noticed of my mushroom allergy and assured me that the meal I have ordered does not contain mushroom.

Before the aircraft has landed, the Chief Stewardess Jenet and Emma approached me and my friend. She explained that they noticed we had some allergies according to our passenger records. Jenet explained that Emma took the initiative to write down our allergies in Korean in a note for us to show to the restaurants that we visit during our travel in Korea so that they can avoid putting them into the food we ordered. These are the small touches that make flying with Singapore Airlines fantastic.

Shirley, the inflight manager attended to my concerns. I had some issues with the seat selection during check-in on the ground. Somehow this has been made known to Shirley. Instead of being defensive and cook up with loads of excuses, Shirley listened to my concerns empathically. She was shocked at the description of my experience and volunteered to write a report to ensure Singapore Airlines look into the concern. Shirley was also at the door greeting passengers during boarding and disembarking.

Afterthought

I am glad that I chose to fly on the timing that Singapore Airlines uses B777-300ER to Korea. The seat is very spacious and the cabin feels luxurious. I also like the plentiful storage space in each seat. In the entertainment department, the huge personal TV made me feel as though I am watching the movies in my personal cinema. I am spoilt for choice with the massive library of entertainment options ranging from movies to TV shows to games. Singapore Airlines B777-300ER has excellent hardware. What makes this flight more memorable is the impeccable service that I have received onboard. The star of the flight would have to be Emma, who is warm, hospitable and go all out to ensure that I have a comfortable flight. Her attention to details and thoughtfulness makes me want to fly with Singapore Airlines on their Business Class product again. Kudos to Emma for such a memorable flight.