At the Airport

Our flight started in Kuala Lumpur, transiting through Singapore for Narita; hence, we were already checked through from our previous flights. As our previous and next flights landed and took off from Changi Airport Terminal 2, we headed straight to SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 2.

SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 2

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge is located on level 3 of Terminal 2, about a 3-minute walk from the immigration gates. The SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 2 was recently refurbished when the terminal underwent a renovation during the pandemic. But there doesn’t seem to be any difference in the lounge after the refurbishment. Three lounge staff were standing at the entrance, ready to welcome passengers. SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 2 is decked in dark brown and white marble tiles. The wooden earthy tone gave the lounge a sense of calmness, while the white marble tiles exude a luxurious vibe. SilverKris Lounge has a clear delineation for its lounging and dining areas. The lounge dedicates the majority of its floor area to its lounging area, decked with numerous single-seat leather armchairs and a side table. Passengers can comfortably rest on these armchairs, grab a small bite or drink from the main buffet area, and relax in the lounge while juicing up their lifestyle device from the USB-A or universal charging outlet on the side table.

The dining area in the lounge uses white marble floor tiling and tabletop. Here, we found a good spread of hot local dishes to fill our stomachs. On top of the hot food, there is a small salad bar and some cold cuts in the buffet area. I highly recommend one try out the Laksa in SilverKris Lounge. Food is served buffet style and is topped up regularly. There is also a made-to-order noodle station that changes the menu according to the time of the day. The lounge is well-stocked with packet juices, soft drinks, coffee/tea, and beer at the drink station, which is tucked in one corner of the dining area. Several long dining tables next to the buffet area, capable of seating up to eight passengers, provide proper dining space for us to dine. However, the long table, while great for larger groups, also meant passengers travelling in smaller groups would have to share the table with others.

SilverKris Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 2 has four shower rooms inside the restrooms. Showering facilities operate on a first-come first-served basis and require no booking. I was informed by the staff at the restroom that we could just walk into any empty shower room. The best thing about the shower rooms in SilverKris Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 2 is that there is no queue for usage. We were able to use the shower facilities at the time we arrived at the lounge. The shower room in SilverKris Lounge at Terminal 2 is decked in sand-coloured marble tiles, with a wet and dry area. I find the shower rooms a tad too tight, as space is a challenge for passengers carrying cabin-size luggage that requires a shower. The shower cubicle was fitted with both a rain and regular shower head. One point to note is that there are no toilets inside the shower rooms.

The Aircraft

Singapore Airlines mainly operates B787-10 and A350-900 between Singapore and Tokyo (Narita and Haneda). These aircraft were fitted with Singapore Airlines’ regional Business Class seats. We flew on the B787-10.

The Cabin

Singapore Airlines is very consistent in the tone and the vibe of its Business Class cabins across the various aircraft types and configurations in which it operates. Business Class cabins in their B787-10 employ different shades of brown to emphasise their earthy and relaxing vibe, apparent in the leather chosen for the seats, the shell of the seat and even the carpeting. The use of lilac mood lighting in Singapore Airlines B787-10 Business Class cabin made passengers feel relaxed, consistent with the vibe created by the earthy-coloured tone. Singapore Airlines B787-10 has only one Business Class cabin housing 36 seats arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration.

Two lavatories at the front of the aircraft serve the 36 passengers travelling in Business Class. The Business Class lavatories predominantly use white colour in the fittings and the lighting to make them feel larger than they are. Unlike the other aircraft configurations, where the backsplash was decorated with a brown leather backsplash to give it a more premium look, the lavatories on Singapore Airlines B787-10 looked exactly the same as the ones in Economy Class. The only difference is the type of amenities offered in the Business Class cabin lavatories. Besides the more premium dental kits and shavers, Singapore Airlines also provided Penhaglion’s amenities in the Business Class lavatory.

The Seat

Singapore Airlines fitted its B787-10 with its regional Business Class seats, narrower than its long-haul Business Class product and even its B737-8 Max aircraft. Each Business Class seat onboard has a pitch of 60″ and measures 20″ wide (compared to the long haul seats, which are 28″ wide, and B737-8 Max, which are 21″ wide). Nonetheless, the thick padding and the luxurious leather on these seats made them comfortable for our flight to Narita. There are three modes configured into these seats: the upright mode for take-off/landing, the fully reclined 180° flatbed mode for sleeping, and the in-between lounging mode for greater comfort when watching movies. These seat modes can be activated through the touchscreen panel fitted on the aisle side of the seats. Other than controlling the angle of the seat, the seat control panel also comes with a lighting control and an attendant call button. I thought the seat control buttons were very well designed, and they are sensitive enough to activate and not too overly sensitive for accidental activation. The Singapore Airlines regional Business Class seats are designed with high shellback, improving passengers’ privacy, especially in flatbed mode.

Regarding storage, Singapore Airlines regional Business Class seats on their B787-10 are fitted with a cabinet next to the seat with a sliding door that allows passengers to stow their smaller items even when the aircraft is taking off or landing. I find the space afforded for storage in this cabinet is on the smaller side. However, the cabinet is large enough to swallow a tablet on top of smaller items like passports and chargers. The side table, which also doubles as a cocktail table, by the cabinet also allowed me to place items on for easier access during the flight. However, these items must be put away during take-off and landing. Other than the cabinet, the seat pocket near the floor also provides some form of storage, but its inconvenient location discouraged me from using it as I had to bend over or get out of our seats to reach it. There is space underneath the footwell that provides us with an alternate place to stow our backpack other than the overhead bin. I mainly used this space to place the blanket provided during the initial hours of the flight.

The in-seat table is stowed under the personal TV. The table was folded in half when I first fished it out of its storage space. The half-folded design meant I did not need to deploy the entire table size to only use it to place my drinks. When fully deployed, the table is large enough for passengers to work on their 15″ laptop. The table was not designed with a swivel function, and with the little space available for wriggling when it is fully deployed, the table will need to be stowed away whenever I need to move out of my seat. Other than the overhead lighting, Singapore Airlines B787-10 Business Class seats are also fitted with a panel of three reading lights placed high inside the seat, which are angled to provide illumination at various seating positions. Each Business Class seat has a universal power outlet and two USB-A outlets inside the cabinet, allowing us to keep our lifestyle devices and laptops juiced up throughout the flight.

Inflight Entertainment

A large 18″ personal TV is fitted in the Business Class seat on Singapore Airlines B787-10. The screen looked crisp and sharp, and I was able to enjoy the entertainment onboard without reflections. I like how these screens can be tilted downwards, which does not affect the watchability even when the seat is reclined into bed mode. The movie selection can be controlled directly on the responsive touchscreen functions on the TV or via the IFE controller stored under the seat controller panel. I could select my entertainment from the physical button or the touchscreen on the IFE controller. I like how the IFE controller was easy to use; even my 8-year-old nephew could use it by exploring himself. KrisWorld is Singapore Airlines’ entertainment system, where I found a huge selection of movies and TV series to keep myself entertained when not sleeping. The entertainment options on KrisWorld were very well catalogued in its menu options, with a menu dedicated to young passengers to access kids-friendly shows. Singapore Airlines provides noise-cancelling headphones for its Business Class passengers. I would say these headphones were very effective in removing ambience noise; I even had to remove them while speaking to the cabin crew.

Meal

Singapore Airlines made some changes to their red-eye flight, otherwise known as the sleeper service. I flew on their red-eye from Seoul pre-pandemic and was served supper and breakfast. However, this time around, we were only served one meal. Passengers were given the option to have their meal after take-off or before landing. Prior to our flight, Singapore Airlines published the inflight menu on their website. Looking at the food on offer for this flight, I opted for the Book-the-Cook service, which opens up a good variety of food options. This service is only available for selected routes. However, the Book-the-Cook service only allowed us to choose from the main course; we were served the same appetiser and dessert as passengers who did not use this service. I booked the “Aromatic Barramundi” from the Book-the-Cook menu. I am not a fan of the Barramundi. The fish, while fresh, tasted a little too bland for my liking. The bed of couscous below the fish felt undercooked. As this is a sleeper service, Singapore Airlines did not offer their signature garlic bread. Fortunately, the croissant that I chose was tasty and fluffy. Singapore Airlines also offered snacks to passengers who felt peckish throughout the night.

Service

The service I received onboard this flight did not match the service standards that Singapore Airlines proud itself to have. The service was horrendous and fell very far behind my previous Business Class experience with Singapore Airlines. Not only did the stewardess not provide basic service, such as confirming my pre-ordered meal or giving me the option of when to have my meal, but she ignored my presence as a passenger in Business Class. I witnessed her providing such services to the passengers around me, seemingly signalling that she “conveniently” forgot about me. Her service rendered to me felt more like an afterthought and felt forced. When it came to timing for my meal, she just came by uttered “breakfast”, and walked away without waiting for my answer. Signs of her ignoring my presence manifested when I was heading to the lavatory. She saw me walking down the aisle, and instead of acknowledging my presence, the stewardess simply squeezed past me without saying a word. There was no service from her, and she did not even provide drinks or snacks. I had to request drinks from the other cabin crew working at other stations.

I raised my unhappiness to the inflight manager, who came across as patronising and finding excuses for the behaviour of the stewardess. It also seems that the cabin crew onboard this flight did selective listening, even with the inflight manager. As I was flying on my birthday, my friend requested a birthday cake, but the stewardess made me lose my mood to celebrate my birthday. I requested the inflight manager to split the cake amongst my family to consume onboard. The inflight manager did not heed my request and threw the cake away. Several other crew members also seemed to practise selective listening; when I requested amenity kits or drinks, these crew would nod, walk away, and never return with my request. I had to ask them several times before my drinks or amenities kit was brought to me. When it came to serving my meal, the cabin crew seemed disinterested and placed it in a haphazard manner, which almost fell on me. The service standard on this flight was not the usual Singapore Airlines standard I had received, I had better service when flying in Economy Class.

Afterthought

Singapore Airlines’ regional Business Class seat on the B787-10 was comfortable. It provided passengers with great privacy despite not having an enclosed space like the Q-Suite on Qatar Airlines. However, I find the seat narrow and getting in and out of the seat past the consoles can be squeezy. Nonetheless, I could still catch a few hours of sleep in this Business Class product. This flight had the worst service that I received onboard Singapore Airlines. The stewardess serving me came across as deliberately ignoring my presence. The inflight manager came across as patronising and practised selective listening. This is the worst experience anyone would experience; not befitting of Business Class service and certainly not befitting Singapore Airlines.