At the Airport

Check-in

Our Singapore Airlines flight operated out of Changi Airport Terminal 2, where the airline has check-in counters from Rows 3 to 6, catering to different groups of passengers. The airport encourages Economy Class passengers to use the self-check-in kiosks and baggage drop-off in Row 5. There are a few manned counters in Row 4 serving Economy Class passengers. As a KrisFlyer Elite Gold member, I was able to use Row 3, which primarily serves Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members. Ms Lynn Teo assisted our check-in and was very cheerful despite the early hours of the day. She even volunteered to help us check through our luggage to Vienna when learning that our final destination was Vienna (we will be taking EVA Air, another Star Alliance member airline). The extra work Lynn volunteered to help us meant we did not have to clear customs in Kuala Lumpur and saved us a lot of time during our transit. Before sending us off with our boarding pass, Lynn even reminded us of our boarding gate and the time it would take us to walk from the Lounge to the gate.

KrisFlyer Gold Lounge

Being a KrisFlyer Gold member, I was able to use the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge, a lounge dedicated to Gold members. This lounge is not to be confused with the SilverKris Lounge next door, which serves passengers flying in Business Class on Singapore Airlines or Star Alliance Airlines. The KrisFlyer Gold Lounge has an earthy tone, which feels classy and relaxing. The bulk of the lounge real estate is furnished with rows and rows of armchairs with a small side table, catering for passengers who want to relax. The presence of table lamps with warm lighting enhances the relaxing vibe in the lounge. However, I find consuming food from the buffet on these seats a tad uncomfortable. I did not see any dining tables in the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge. There is a small business centre (if one can call that), comprising a work desk with two seats at the far end of the lounge, that caters to passengers who want to get some work done. The buffet section serves up a small selection of local food. Unlike the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in Terminal 3, which comes with toilet and shower facilities, there are no toilet facilities or showers in the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in Terminal 2. Passengers using the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in Terminal 2 would have to exit the lounge and use the public toilet outside the lounge. Comparing to the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in Terminal 3, the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in Terminal 2 feels like a scaled-down version.

The Aircraft

Singapore Airlines operates a myriad of aircraft, ranging from the wide-body A350-900 to the narrow-body B737-Max 8, between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. We flew in the older and soon-to-be-phased-out B737-800NG, a hand-me-down from its sister airline, SilkAir, when the two airlines merged.

The Cabin

Singapore Airlines B737-800NG Economy Class cabin looked bright and airy, owing to the white coloured bulkhead, bright lights, and large windows in the cabin. The pilots switched on blue mood lighting in the middle of the flight, which gave the cabin an updated look and concealed the aircraft’s age very well. The choice of alternating bright blue and light grey for its seats also contributed to the refreshing look of the aircraft.

There are three lavatories onboard Singapore Airlines B737-800NG aircraft. One serves the 12 Business Class passengers at the front of the aircraft, while the other two serve all 150 Economy Class passengers at the back of the aircraft. The space in the lavatories felt a little tight despite the airline’s attempt to use mirrors to give the illusion of a larger space. The Economy Class lavatories looked a little dated, with the greyish/cream colour used in the sink.

The Seat

Singapore Airlines B737-800NG has 150 Economy Class seats arranged in a 3-3 configuration. Each seat has a seat pitch of 30″ and is 17″ wide with a small recline of 3″ via the seat recline button on the armrest. I find the seats comfortable for an old aircraft for this short flight. The padding used for the cushioning and the thick adjustable headrest contributed to the comfort on the seat. The legroom for this flight is decent, but it can feel a little tight for passengers with longer legs. Besides the seat recline button, the reading light switch and flight attendant call buttons are on the ceiling above each seat, alongside individual air nozzles.

Being an Economy Class seat, the storage is limited to the seat pocket in front of the seat. Singapore Airlines B737-800NG has a single large seat pocket (unlike their wide-body aircraft, which have compartmentalised seat pocket design), which means the storage capacity in these seats is somewhat limited. There is another seat pocket on top of the seat in front of us, but the hard moulded plastic made it difficult to access the contents. Storing anything does not seem possible with the holes at the bottom of the pocket. For Economy Class seats, I thought the tray table was rather sizeable. Besides using it to place whatever was served during this short flight, the tray table is large enough for passengers to place their laptops and iPads.

Inflight Entertainment

As this is an older aircraft, the B737-800NG was not fitted with a personal TV in the seats. The only form of entertainment is the in-flight magazines in the seat pocket. Given that this is such a short flight, I am not bothered by the lack of entertainment onboard. I found an old-school audio control on the armrest of the seat. I could not test whether these channels worked because there were no earphones for this short flight.

Refreshment

Due to the short flight time of around 45 minutes, Singapore Airlines did not serve meals onboard. Instead, each passenger was given a choice of apple juice, water, or coffee/tea.

Service

For a short flight, I thought the service rendered by the cabin crew was fantastic. We were warmly welcomed by the Leading Stewardess at the door, who gave us a very warm smile despite an early flight. The cabin crew taking care of us at the back of the aircraft were equally friendly and warm. However, given the short flight time and the numerous passengers who made their way to the lavatory in the middle of a very short service time, we were almost not served with refreshments. This was certainly not the fault of the cabin crew, who were seen trying to ensure every Economy Class passenger was served with a refreshment. The cabin crew were cheerful and made the short flight very pleasant. Despite not being part of their job, the cabin crew helped us stow our carry-on in the overhead bin.

Afterthought

We had a pleasant flight despite the ageing aircraft, the short flight time, and the absence of in-flight entertainment. The seats felt comfortable, and there was a good amount of recline for the short 45-minute flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. The crew were very friendly and did their best to ensure all Economy Class passengers were served a refreshment drink. I had a pleasant short flight with Singapore Airlines.