Airline review: Singapore Airlines, A380-800, economy class, Singapore to London

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Airline review: Singapore Airlines, A380-800, economy class, Singapore to London

By David Whitley
Economy class on board Singapore Airlines is one of the best flight experiences you can have, by economy class standards.

Economy class on board Singapore Airlines is one of the best flight experiences you can have, by economy class standards.

THE FLIGHT

Flight SQ322, Singapore to London; Airbus A380-800 in economy, seat 56D (aisle). Scheduled flight time of 13 hours and 25 minutes, although a 45 minute delay in take-off and headwinds mean arriving an hour late. Singapore has four flights daily on this route.

THE LOYALTY SCHEME

Singapore Airlines has its own loyalty scheme – KrisFlyer. But it is part of Star Alliance and points from flights can be credited to other schemes within the group. Most importantly, there's a partnership with Virgin Australia, so Australians can earn Velocity points from Singapore Airlines flights.

CARBON EMISSIONS

Eco-conscious passengers can offset their flight via a partnership with Tasman Environmental Markets (carbonoffset.singaporeair.com.sg). According to the airline's online calculator, there are 841.14kg of CO2 emissions per passenger, which cost S$10.93 ($12.12) to offset.

CHECKING IN

As this flight is the second leg of a journey from Australia, check-in is in Adelaide, with a fairly long, winding queue. There's infuriatingly little point in checking in online, as the internet check-in queue snakes just as badly as the normal economy check-in queue. A simple bag drop could and should work much better. However, transit at Singapore Changi Airport is spot on. There's no security check on disembarking the plane from Adelaide – it's straight in, with all checks for the connecting London flight taking place at the gate.

THE SEAT

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There are 343 economy seats on the A380 big bird, with a seat pitch of 32 inches (81cm) and width of 19 inches (48cm). Even aisle seat devotees should consider plumping for a window seat – there's surprisingly generous space between arm rest and window. It's in 3-4-3 formation, and the advantage of 56D near the toilets is that no-one wants to sit in 56E. There's a spare seat to the side.

The seats are smartly designed, with individual screens, USB ports and cup holders separate from the tray tables.

BAGGAGE

Precise baggage allowance depends on the ticket booked. Standard tickets grant 30kg of checked-in baggage, while value tickets grant a still-generous 25kg. Star Alliance gold members get an extra 20kg, while the cabin baggage allowance is officially 7kg, but it's basically not enforced.

ENTERTAINMENT

It's tough to quibble with the vast TV – 30 complete seasons and plenty more one-off episodes – and movie selections. The categories are often idiosyncratic – "calm and wellness", "featuring Chris Hemsworth" and "anti-hero movies" are among the options. It is touch-screen only, though, which means you need your own device to play the games provided in the entertainment system. There's theoretically free Wi-Fi, but it's only for messaging apps, and no-one seems able to get it to work.

SERVICE

Service is what Singapore Airlines is famous for, and deservedly so. Staff go out of their way to alleviate the pain of a passenger recovering from a recent hip operation. And they have absolutely nailed the blend of polite assertiveness required to get everyone to put their seats back up at meal times. Meal trays are also cleared away impressively quickly – no easy task on an A380.

FOOD

The dinner options are fish and potatoes or chicken and noodles. The noodles have good texture and flavour, but the chicken is disappointingly rubbery. The smoothly rich chocolate ice cream goes some way to making up for it, though. The breakfast is better – the omelette with sausage is the sort of meal that's dreadful with other airlines, but is pleasingly more-ish in this instance. The wines – a cheap Chilean chardonnay and a French cabernet merlot – are an unnecessarily disappointing weak link.

ONE MORE THING

Bring a jumper – Singapore Airlines does not go in half-hearted when turning up the air conditioning.

VERDICT

There are clearly areas for gradual improvements, but taken as a whole, Singapore Airlines still offers one of the best long haul economy experiences in the skies.

OUR RATING OUT OF FIVE

★★★★

The writer flew as a guest of Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com), Tourism NT and the South Australian Tourism Commission.

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