Creating Singapore Airlines’ new A380 first class suites

This empty shell might not look like much, but it’s on the way to becoming a five-star suite on Singapore Airlines’ new Airbus A380.

The transformation takes place at Airbus’ sprawling facility at Hamburg, where Australian Business Traveller paid a call on the second of the Singaporean flag-carrier’s five new superjumbos.

This one, due for delivery in early 2018, is tipped to take wing on the Singapore-London route, following the mid-December debut of the first factory-fresh A380 between Singapore and Sydney.

The six first class suites on the A380’s upper deck measure between 3.2m² and 5m² (1A and 1F are the largest, and merge with 2A and 2F respectively to create the 'double bed’ suites, although in practice they're more like two single beds pushed together).

This overhead cutaway diagram gives you an idea of how the suites are laid out.

Designer Jacques Pierrejean, founder and head of Pierrejean Design Studio (below), says he first conceived the suites as being a hotel room above the clouds.

"Our concept was the idea of a passenger who stays at a (luxury) hotel, he should find this type of hotel room on the flight, with a swivelling seat and different functions for day and night" Pierrejean tells Australian Business Traveller.

Pierrejean reveals that Singapore Airlines was at first resistant to trimming back the number of suites from a dozen on the current A380s to just six in this redesign.

"We wanted to find a way to increase the space for the passenger. That meant that we had to reduce the quantity of suites. That was another story, to convince the airline to reduce the capacity for these passengers. But, in the end, they accepted to do that and to do this new concept.”

However, at this early stage each suite is just bare bones and bare metal.

That manhole-sized cutout in the middle is where the elegant 21-inch wide Poltrona Frau leather armchair is fitted.

Note the seat cover is adorned with Singapore Airlines’ ‘Skyroom’ tag for the suites – a moniker that’s yet to be formally rolled out by the Star Alliance member, but an apt description for the suites considering Pierrejean's guiding principles.

Each of the red tags dotted around the suite-in-progress marks an area which needs some attention by the fitout team.

These bespoke first class suites are literally the finishing touches on Singapore Airlines’ new Airbus A380s – the rest of the cabin is already done, including the business class seats which stretch all the way to the rear of the superjumbo’s upper deck.

Also read: Designing Singapore Airlines' new A380 business class seats

Australian Business Traveller travelled to Hamburg as a guest of Singapore Airlines, and will be on board the delivery flight of the airlines’ new Airbus A380 from Toulouse to Singapore on Wednesday December 13, 2017.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.