Here are the best Singapore Airlines business class seats
By Brandon Loo, November 21 2018
Singapore Airlines now has five different business class seats in the air, and all of them featuring on flights to various Australian cities.
With the newer-generation seats being leagues ahead of their older siblings in terms of comfort and features, choosing the right aircraft and seat could make a world of difference on your next journey to the Lion City and beyond.
1. New Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 business class
This latest-design business class seats appears on all of Singapore Airlines' new Airbus A380s and will gradually be introduced to the older superjumbos as they are upgraded over the next few years.
While not a perfect seat, we’d suggest this as the airline's most well-rounded option.
There are plenty of nooks and crannies for your small belongings, and even enough space to cram a carry-on bag under the seat along with your shoes.
The large 18 inch video screen is filled with content, the paired middle seats have a privacy divider that can be fully lowered, and the 198cm bed will be comfortable for most travellers.
All this space comes at a cost though, and for this seat that's a reduced width of 25 inches.
In comparison, Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350 business class seat measures 28 inches wide, while the original super-wide A380 seat boasted 30-34 inches of shoulder space.
A common complaint with this seat is the foot cubby, which necessitates sleeping on an angle and trying to fit your toes into a small recess.
To sidestep the squeeze, consider snagging one of the seats in the front row of each mini-cabin (that’s rows 11, 91 and 96), as these have a full-width footrest.
The middle seats (D and F) of those same rows have the added benefit of being able to convert into a near ‘double bed’, once the central divider is lowered.
Just be mindful of extra noise and disturbances in these areas, as they are close to galleys and toilets.
At the time of writing you can find these latest Airbus A380s flying from Sydney to Singapore on SQ232 and SQ221, and onwards to key destinations in Europe including London and Zurich.
Also read: Singapore Airlines' new Airbus A380 business class seats review
2. Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 and retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER business class
The second-best business class seat in Singapore Airlines' fleet is on the Airbus A350s (including the ultra-long range version flying non-stop to New York) and the refurbished Boeing 777-300ERs.
The key features of the latest Airbus A380 seat are also seen here, as they are related in design.
However, while the superjumbo's business class seat is the latest iteration, the A350/B777 will appear to passengers who seek the added comfort of a wider seat, which in this case measures 28 inches across.
There’s still ample space to stash your stuff.
However, the same drawbacks are present including the positioning of the footwell and the need to sleep on an angle (once again, we recommend the bulkhead seats for extra leg space).
Like Singapore Airline’s other older-style seats, you need to manually flip your seat forward to reveal the bed. But once that inconvenience is aside, you’ll still find a fairly comfortable plinth to snooze on.
We’d recommend choosing the more-modern Airbus A350 over the Boeing 777-300ER if you have a choice, as the cabin experience is a lot more pleasant: think quieter engines, larger windows, lower cabin pressure, and integrated mood lighting to help you adjust to different timezones.
Overall we’d rank this seat a close second behind the new A380 seat, but it’s really down to a matter of personal preference, and many travellers will prefer the Airbus A350 experience.
Hop on selected Singapore Airlines flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to find this seat.
Also read: Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 business class seat review
3. Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 and regional Airbus A350 business class
Passengers in Perth and Adelaide can opt for Singapore Airlines’ new fully-flat regional business class, found in the long-legged Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner and a subset of Airbus A350 jets intended for medium-range routes around Asia and to Australia.
This is easily the best 'regional business class' in the sky, with a staggered 1-2-1 layout providing direct aisle access and a fully flat bed.
Present are the usual mod-cons such as an 18-inch entertainment screen and a few handy crevices to store your contraptions.
The footwell is of a decent size and the forward-facing layout means you don’t need to sleep on an angle.
The main concern is seat width. On paper, it’s a nominal 20 inches which is quite a tight squeeze in business class terms. In practice, it’s a bit better when you lower both armrests during the cruise, giving you a lot more space to snooze.
Also read: Singapore Airlines new regional Boeing 787-10 business class review
4. Singapore Airlines original Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300 business class
Introduced with the first-ever Airbus A380 in 2007, there’s no denying these behemoth seats are an impressive sight to behold.
The seats measure an unbeatable 30 inches or more across, nearly enough space for two (very friendly) people to snuggle up in. In fact, there are two headphone ports in each seat for watching movies together.
As usual, these seats have manual fold-down beds and require you to sleep on an angle, so the first row of each mini-cabin is your best bet.
Also read: The best business class seats on Singapore Airlines’ older A380s
There’s really nothing wrong with this business class seat apart from the virtue of being old and outdated, which is especially noticeable in the clunky interface of the inflight entertainment.
You’ll generally find these seats on the older A380s from Sydney, as well as some of the Boeing 777s that grace the skies of Perth and Melbourne.
5. Singapore Airlines older Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 regional business class
Trailing the pack is Singapore Airline’s ‘sloping sleeper’ of older Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s.
It was a great seat when it debuted and still serves well on the shortest regional routes within Asia, but is of course overshadowed by the newer trends of fully-flat beds and direct aisle access for everyone.
You’ll still find it winging its way to Perth and Adelaide, as well as the Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington service of SQ247/SQ248. If you're booked on the Melbourne-Singapore leg of those flights we would strongly recommend changing to a different flight out of Melbourne if you have the chance.
What's your favourite Singapore Airlines business class seat, and why? Tell us in the comments below.
Based in Perth, Brandon enjoys tucking into local delicacies, discovering new cocktails, and making aeroplane food look good on camera.
09 Jul 2016
Total posts 30
in the last 2yrs of flying J on SQ (my only long haul J experience!) have enjoyed all of the first four options. No issues with the cubby or getting to sleep. Never got the 5th type
05 Mar 2015
Total posts 422
A good summary, I find the original A380 business class seats are in anything too wide! It's a funny thing to say about a seat but I sort of feel like I'm not anchored in the seat, there's just too much space around me. The new A380 ones are great!
28 Mar 2018
Total posts 35
Agree. I thought I was the only one. I found myself sliding all over the place. Also lacked lumbar support, but later fixed with cushions.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
13 Jan 2015
Total posts 580
Also their is a subset of 77Es with the older A380 style super wide J.
QF
11 May 2015
Total posts 28
I consider the new J class seats to be a failure I always have a window seat so I can look out of the window - however its difficult to look out as the actual seat is placed next to the isle with part of the seat structure blocking the outside view. The isle has disturbing passing traffic. The original much wider seats on the B777 300 ER, A380 and A340 500 ULR that you have shown were much more comfortable and you could actually see out of the window! Ex SQ Solitaire PPS here - but not any more.
01 Apr 2018
Total posts 2
I completely agree: All of the new seats just seem to ignore the window, which is really a big failure of the designer.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Sep 2013
Total posts 188
Totally agree - I sat in the LH window SIN-PER and had access to three windows but the curved part of the seat blocked the view from three of them, but mostly the one in the middle which negates the value of a window seat. Further, the little shelf on the right with the recess for a glass was so high and the seat width so tight that I had to use my left hand to pick up my glass or cup.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
13 Jan 2015
Total posts 580
lol at first I read LH as Lufthansa
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
02 Nov 2016
Total posts 5
Thanks for the speedy response and congratulations on all your research. Much appreciated.
23 Feb 2016
Total posts 1
My post should be labeled "first world problems" but I really do regard Singapore's J seats as the worst in design and comfort of what i'd loosely call the top tier of airlines. The only potential excpetion is the new J seat on the 787-10 which I flew last week from Singapore to Delhi (though its still not great compared to Cathay, Qantas business suite, etc, Qatar, Emirates, AA international premier first, etc.
10 Jul 2017
Total posts 32
the mattress on the last business class sing seat was more like a wooden plank, so hard it was actually painful to lay down on
12 Aug 2017
Total posts 75
I like the fold-down bed design: you get a flatter bed and it really isn't a hassle to do.
28 Sep 2018
Total posts 13
I flew on one of the first A380 planes with the new seat from London last June and the crew were really excited to show us all the improvements. If you look closely at photos 1 and 3 you will see the seat control panel alongside and/or behind the cushion. Before even taking off, my arm/elbow/cushion had pressed the crew call button 3 times without me realising! It happened again and again and to other passengers during the flight and I was told that it was a poor part of the seat design that was being fed back to SIA.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
23 Mar 2015
Total posts 53
On MEL-LHR-MEL last week managed to get the oldest plane on every flight )-: and have to agree about the poor lounges. Even 'The Room' in Singapore is dated and dark. BUT the crews and service are normally excellent.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
13 Jan 2015
Total posts 580
what do you mean by "the room"? The Private room is for first and suites only and not J (as per the topic of this article). I assume you had the crappy regional seats on the 772 to and from MEL and the old 2006 J A380 seating for the longer LHR legs.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
23 Mar 2015
Total posts 53
I mean the Private Room as I have been in there many times in F but no longer bother. Perfectly valid comment on SQ lounges.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Nov 2018
Total posts 1
Just returned from London in J all legs A380. I found the window old seats more comfortable for sleeping and the new seats hard when lying in bed mode not comfortable. We had a baby with us and most of the double bed seats were bassinet points.
Singapore Airlines - The PPS Club
14 Nov 2013
Total posts 40
not a fan of having to sleep on an angle and i agree about the elbow constantly pressing buttons on the contril pad. SQ does try though, their service is always top notch, i reckon give whoever is in charge of cabin staff a crack in designing the next seat because they keep failing in this area especially compared to Qantas, CQ and EK. Its almost like they overthink everything.
07 Nov 2018
Total posts 9
I have to say, having flown all of these quite a lot the last few months, retro-fit 777-300ER 11A/K are my favourite for the most space and best first class feel. A350 comes in second in 11D/F for the most space and most comfortable seat, and the new a380 comes in a third for me. The biggest and best seats appeared to be the 96D/F, which also had no privacy at all. 11K was good, but not as good as 777-300ER 11K.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 May 2018
Total posts 28
Much prefer the diagonal bed design over the new SIA A350-900 It felt like I was in a coffin when seat is not open to the aisle. could not bend my knees and needed to put the seat back into the normal position to get out.So skinny rolling over was an effort.
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