At the Airport

Check-in

Singapore Airlines flies out of Terminals 2 and 3 from Changi Airport, with Terminal 2 allocated to regional flights and Terminal 3 for further destinations and Taiwan. Despite flying out of Terminal 2, we were able to check in from Terminal 3. As we were flying on Business Class for our subsequent flights, we used the Business Class check-in counters in Row 6, located in the centre of the terminal building, to check through for this and our subsequent flights. Although there was a queue at Singapore Airlines Business Class check-in counters, we did not have to wait too long as many counters were open at the time of our check-in. The check-in process took a little longer as we had 3 sectors of flights and wanted our luggage to be only tagged from SIN to NRT. The ground staff servicing the First Class counter was not exactly welcoming, he came across as impatient and was frowning during our check-in process. He also did not give us any instructions for lounge access but merely told us the time of our boarding and that our boarding gate was at Terminal 2 for this leg of the flight.

Terminal 3 SilverKris Lounge

As we were flying on Economy Class on this leg, we would not have lounge access. However, since we checked through to NRT, we used our boarding pass for NRT to access the SilverKris Lounge. Singapore Airlines operates two lounges from Singapore Changi Airport, one in Terminal 2 and their flagship lounge in Terminal 3. The staff at the entrance of the SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3 were welcoming, and after scanning our boarding passes, we were let into the lounge. SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3 employed an earthy tone, which provided passengers with a calming and soothing feel. There is a barista bar counter by the entrance of the lounge, where a bartender would whip up a variety of cocktails. However, the counter was not manned during our visit. Past the bar counter on the right of the entrance, was a small buffet counter and further in was an area catering for passengers to lounge. This area is dominated by single-seated armchairs arranged in groups of two or four. We spotted some tall tables and chairs that could accommodate larger groups.

The main buffet and dining area are located on the left of the entrance to SilverKris Lounge, employing the same calming, earthy tone. The lounge was not too crowded during our visit, so we had no problems finding tables. Besides the a la minute noodle bar, food is mainly served buffet style. The food served was mainly local cuisines, on top of some finger food. There is also a salad bar placed in the fridge next to the main buffet counter. Here, we also found fruits and some packaged sandwiches. Drinks are available in fridges located throughout the lounge. We also found coffee and tea stations dotted across the entire lounge. There are some shower facilities next to the toilet near the main buffet area. We did not use the shower facility (we subsequently tried to use the shower facility in the evening and were told the queue time is up to 2 hours).

The Aircraft

Despite being a short flight (Singapore Airlines’ shortest flight), Singapore Airlines deploys a mix of long-haul and medium-haul twin-aisle and single-aisle aircraft for this route. We flew on the Singapore Airlines A350-900 long-haul version.

The Cabin

Singapore Airlines A350-900 Long Haul Economy Class cabin has 187 seats in two sections: a smaller forward cabin with 51 seats and a larger aft cabin housing 136 seats. The forward Economy Class cabin seats were dressed in turquoise and dark brown, complimenting the navy blue carpet and giving the cabin a more vibrant yet relaxing vibe. The seats in the aft cabin are decked in sand and dark brown seats matched with light brown carpeting, exuding a sense of calmness in the more crowded main cabin.

The lavatories onboard the Singapore Airlines A350-900 Long Haul variant are fairly sizeable, with sufficient room for passengers to use without knocking onto the bulkheads of the lavatory. The clever use of mirrors in the Economy Class lavatory enhances the sense of spaciousness. The dark brown wooden panelling used on the cabinetry at the sink gave the lavatory a luxurious vibe. Singapore Airlines is one of the few airlines (that I have flown) that provides amenities in their Economy Class lavatories. Besides the standard hand soap and tissue found in most airlines, Singapore Airlines also provides dental kits, shavers, and sanitary napkins in its lavatory.

The Seat

Economy Class seats onboard Singapore Airlines A350-900 Long Haul variant are arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration. These seats have a pitch of 32″ and measure 18″ wide, and they can generously recline to 6″ via the recline button found on the seat armrest. I found the padding on these seats fairly thick, which makes travelling on them even for longer periods comfortable. In terms of powering up our lifestyle devices, these Economy Class seats are fitted with two USB-A outlets on the seat back in front and a universal power outlet underneath them. However, only one of these USB-A outlets has a charging logo; I am unsure if it meant this is the only USB-A configured to charge. I also found an iPod outlet under the two USB-A outlets. The one thing I liked about these Economy Class seats is the inclusion of a cup holder next to the personal TV, giving passengers an alternate place to hold their cups without the need to deploy the tray table. There is a small groove at the cup holder, which I have yet to figure out its purpose as it is too small to place my mobile phone. Singapore Airlines also fitted a small coat hook above the USB-A outlets, allowing passengers to hang their shopping bags other than their coats.

As with most Economy Class seats, passengers travelling on Singapore Airlines A350-900 Long Haul Economy Class are limited to the seat pocket in front as the only storage space. Despite having a small storage space, the seat pocket was sizeable enough to hold a tablet, mobile phone, and passports. I like the multiple-layered design of the seat pocket, which allows me to stow smaller items in the shallower front pocket while leaving the larger and deeper back pocket for bigger items. The design also allowed me to organise the stuff I wanted to stow for easier access. The tray table fitted on Singapore Airlines A350-900 Economy Class seats was also sizeable. The bi-fold tray table allows passengers to deploy only half the tray table, making moving in and out of the seat easy. When folded, there is sufficient space for us to place a cup of drink and smaller items. Singapore Airlines even fitted a small vanity mirror on the tray table. When fully deployed, the tray table allows passengers to work on their 15″ laptop when not using it during meal times.

Inflight Entertainment

Singapore Airlines fitted an 11.1″ monitor at each of its A350-900 Economy Class seats. As this is a short 1-hour flight, earplugs were not provided, despite entertainment being available. Fortunately, I brought a set of reusable earplugs from my previous Singapore Airlines flight and could still enjoy entertainment from KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines’ Inflight Entertainment system. There are no IFE Controllers found on these Economy Class seats; instead, Krisworld entertainment options were controlled via the responsive touch screen function on the personal TV. Krisworld was loaded with tons of entertainment options such as movies, TV shows, news channels and music channels. For movie selection alone, there are hundreds of movies loaded in the KrisWorld, intuitively organised in several categories for passengers’ easy navigation.

Refreshment Service

The SIN – KUL flight operated by Singapore Airlines is the only route that does not serve food, mainly due to the very short flight time. Instead of serving food, the diligent cabin crew distributed apple juice to passengers as soon as the seat belt signs were turned off.

Service

Service was great onboard this short 1-hour flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. The cabin crew welcomed passengers the moment we stepped onboard and guided us to the correct aisle closest to our seats. When we walked into the Economy Class cabin, another set of cabin crew was already there, ready to assist passengers, and they even took the initiative to show us to our seats. Despite the short time allotted to the cabin crew to complete the refreshment service, the Singapore Airlines cabin crew did it with grace and a warm smile. The great teamwork and well-oiled process enabled service to be completed within a short time (despite being a nearly full flight) without giving us the feeling that service was rushed.

Afterthought

The Economy Class seats onboard the Singapore Airlines A350-900 Long Haul variant were comfortable, thanks to the thick padding, with generous legroom. KrisWorld was made available to all passengers despite being a short flight, but passengers would have to bring their headphones. Service onboard was done with much grace and did not come across as rushed. Kudos to the crew onboard for providing such good service despite the short flight time.