Codename ‘Skyroom’: Singapore Airlines A380 first class concepts

Singapore Airlines set a new benchmark for luxury travel when it began flying the world’s first Airbus A380 some 14 years ago.

Singapore Airlines' original Airbus A380 first class suite.

High flyers were cosseted in private suites with sliding doors, while adjoining middle suites could be opened up to create a double bed.

Singapore Airlines' original Airbus A380 first class suite.

But competitors were quick to follow with their own private suites – foremost among them, the Gulf powerhouses of Emirates and Etihad Airways – so when it was time for the second generation of Singapore Airlines’ superjumbo suites to take shape, the Star Alliance member knew it had to reach for the sky.

Etihad Airways raised the bar with its A380 Apartment suites.

The project was codenamed ‘Skyroom’, and it hinged in transforming the close-quartered suites into an actual room with a separate recliner chair and bed, plus a bit of extra space to move around in.

Singapore Airlines tapped feted French designer Jacques Pierrejean to develop the Skyroom from a mere concept to a cosy haven for the well-heeled.

“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 different functions for day and night,” Pierrejean told Executive Traveller at the global media launch of the new Singapore Airlines A380 suites in November 2017.

Jacques Pierrejean reimagined the A380's first class suite as being closer to a hotel suite.

“In this way, as per a hotel room, you can live onboard free to rest, to sleep, or to work at any time without be disturbed by the general cabin lighting of the aircraft or your neighbours.”

Pierrejean made his name designing luxury yachts and interiors for private and commercial aircraft, and he channeled those exclusive influences into a series of treatments meant to spark the imagination, inspiring Singapore Airlines to think beyond the three walls and one sliding door of the original suites.

That began with envisioning the upper deck of the Airbus A380 – where the new super-sized suites were to be relocated from the nose of the main deck – as a lobby-style entrance and a standing bar for drinks and snacks.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

This was gently illuminated by LED lighting and dressed with oriental orchards for a subtle Singaporean touch, while elegant woodgrain finishes replaced aluminium panels.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

Plush curtains opened to the first class cabin, which in Pierrejean’s vision included this private dining room.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

It was all part of Pierrejean’s attempt to recast commercial first class flying as being closer to a private jet experience – again, not something he believed would actually take flight, but to challenge conventional notions of first class.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

As the Skyroom project progressed, the concepts became more grounded and Pierrejean zeroed in on transforming each suite into a room all its own, with his work drawing closer to what Singapore Airlines eventually unveilled.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

It’s not far off from the finished product – although some might suggest Pierrejean’s take has a more contemporary styling, and wouldn’t look out of place as a first class compartment in a high-speed train as it raced across Europe.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

For comparison, here is the actual Singapore Airlines’ A380 first class suite in the same chair+bed mode.

Singapore Airlines' second-generation Airbus A380 suite.

And here is Pierrejean’s treatment of two first class suites joined together to create a double room with a double bed, followed by the same ‘double suite’ as realised by Singapore Airlines.

Concept images for Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380 first class.

The 'twin suite' of Singapore Airlines' latest Airbus A380s.

The room-like A380 suites were also twice the size of their predecessors, and Pierrejean told Executive Traveller that Singapore Airlines was at first resistant to trimming back the number of suites from a dozen on the first-gen A380s to just six in this redesign.

Larger suites meant fewer suites: here is the layout of Singapore Airlines ' latest Airbus A380 first class cabin.

“We wanted to find a way to increase the space for the passenger (and) that meant that we had to reduce the quantity of suites,” Pierrejean recalled.

“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.”

Also read: These early Airbus A380 first class concepts were flights of fancy