Singapore Airlines reveals 777X first class, business class

Here’s your first look at Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-9 first class and business class suites, which the Star Alliance member promises will “push the boundaries of comfort, luxury, and modernity.”

To nobody’s surprise, both the first class and business class berths come with on-trend sliding doors to give premium flyers greater privacy.

But in a welcome surprise, Singapore Airlines isn’t waiting on the still-delayed 777-9 for the next-gen suites to make their debut.

The business class suites will be rolled out across the long-range and ultra-long range Airbus A350 fleet from mid-2026, with the A350ULR jetliners also getting the first class suites from early 2027.

Singapore Airlines describes the SGD$1.1 billion A350 upgrade as “a significant milestone (in) redefining the premium travel experience on its network”.

As for the 31 Boeing 777-9s on order – which will replace SQ’s 777-300ERs and eventually its A380 superjumbos – they’re now not expected to arrive until 2027 or later, and that’s assuming Boeing makes good on its latest promise to begin deliveries in 2026.

Singapore Airlines was sixth in line to order the 777X, behind Lufthansa, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and ANA; approached for comment by Executive Traveller, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said the airline was “working closely with Boeing to finalise the delivery timeline for its 777-9 aircraft.”

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong previously described these new products to Executive Traveller as a “quantum leap” from today’s Boeing 777 premium cabins, including a “first class that we believe when we launch it will again set industry standards.”

Singapore Airlines’ 777-9 first class

To start with, here’s an all-too-quick quick video teaser shared by Singapore Airlines showing its new 777-9 and A350ULR first class suites.

The louvre-style doors make for an elegant entrance, although it’s hard to see if these go all the way to the ceiling to create a fully private cubicle. However, the end of the video clip clearly shows a gap atop the front wall of the suite.

A sneak peek inside Singapore Airlines' new first class suite.

Electric concertina blinds shimmy over the windows at the touch of a button: something we’ve seen in several other first class treatments, including those of British Airways and Qantas, and it always delights.

A sneak peek inside Singapore Airlines' new first class suite.

To the left side of the windows we can spy a very large monitor – no doubt upsized from the current SQ 777 First’s 24” screen, and equally certain to include Bluetooth audio streaming.

(Singapore Airlines also says we can expect a new version of its KrisWorld inflight entertainment system which “will offer greater personalisation and an extensive range of lifestyle options across all cabin classes.”)

To the right of the screen, towards the very end of the clip, the armrest and side console of the first class seat comes into view.

A sneak peek inside Singapore Airlines' new first class suite.

This tells us that the seat will fold out into a bed, rather than the armchair and bed being two separate pieces of furniture, because for a seat+bed configuration you’d expect the bed would be next to the window so that passengers don’t have to climb over it to move between the seat and the aisle.

So how large will Singapore Airlines’ new first class suite be?

It clearly spans three windows, which is roughly the same as the current 777-300ER first class (although the bulky shell of that seat obstructs one of the windows), so we’d put the length of the bed at around 6’.

Singapore Airlines has also confirmed its new first class will follow the standard 1-2-1 layout, which on the A350 will be a single row of four suites.

Intriguingly, a design patent filed by Singapore Airlines in 2022 indicates the 777-9’s first class cabin will have six suites: four individual suites by the windows, and two suites in the middle.

Part of Singapore Airlines' patent application for its new 777-9 first class cabin.

And as on Singapore Airlines’ A380 superjumbos, the two middle suites can be opened up to form a double suite and a double bed (there’s a partition to keep them as two separate suites for solo flyers).

Part of Singapore Airlines' patent application for its new 777-9 first class cabin.

Singapore Airlines’ 777-9 business class

Singapore Airlines’ new 777-9 and A350 business class suites not only let travellers close the door but help SQ close the gap against rivals such as ANA, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways, among others.

Here’s the quick teaser video.

There’s not much else to be seen – the door is closed, then it’s open – although the airplane motif on the panels is a lovely touch, and the colours are drawn from SQ’s palette.

A sneak peek inside Singapore Airlines' new business class suite.

However, what little we can see inside the new business class suite tells us plenty more.

A sneak peek inside Singapore Airlines' new business class suite.

The passenger will be facing forward, with a large footwell directly in front – so that means an end to sleeping diagonally and having to carefully wedge your feet into a smaller space – and you’ll no longer have to flip the seat over so that it becomes a bed.

Those are arguably the three biggest ‘pain points’ in SQ’s current long-range business class.

The new business class suite also retains the familiar layout of a large monitor next to some storage nooks.

Directly behind the ‘hero’ business class suite 16K in the video, you can see what appears to be the armrest of the next seat – and as the video screen in 16K is offset to the right, and passengers generally face the video screen, this indicates the passenger in 16K is seated at the window while the passenger behind is seated at the aisle.

This accords with the conventions of a forward-facing staggered layout – so we also know Singapore Airlines isn’t going for the alternating forwards/backwards layout of Qatar Airways’ Qsuites, for example.

There’s little doubt that the business suite’s big screen will come with Bluetooth audio streaming, and we’d also expect both the new first and business class suites will include wireless device charging and high-power USB-C sockets.

Also read: Here are Singapore Airlines’ best (and worst) business class seats