Singapore Airlines upgrades older 777 business class to A380 seat
By John Walton, November 14 2012
If you're a business class passenger connecting on Singapore Airlines, you can look forward to newly upgraded Airbus A380-style fully flat beds on SQ's older Boeing 777-200ER planes.
Those aren't the jets you'll be flying on to Singapore from Australia -- but they are the ones that connect you onwards to numerous long-haul destinations, and on which you're likely to be spending the greater part of your total flight time.
"The retrofit programme is currently underway to bring the Business Class product in line with the A380 and 777-300ER and the upgrades should be completed in July of next year," an airline spokesperson confirmed to Australian Business Traveller.
That means the popular fully flat business class bed with direct aisle access for every passenger will be found across Singapore Airlines' long-distance fleet.
"Amsterdam will be the first route on which the aircraft will be deployed, but we are not yet able to provide additional deployment details as these are still being finalised," SQ's spokesperson explained.
The refurb means that all SQ's long-distance flights have the new business class -- these upgraded planes plus flights on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER.
Note that the refurb aircraft doesn't include the similarly-named Boeing 777-200 planes currently used on regional flights including Perth-Singapore, nor the Airbus A330 fleet seen on many Australian routes.
Those planes have Singapore Airlines' new regional business class angled lie-flat seats -- the Weber 7811s also seen on Virgin Australia and soon to arrive on Fiji Airways, the newly-renamed Air Pacific.
The cabin upgrades are all about knowing what to expect on your Singapore Airlines flight: "We're always looking at ways to improve our in-flight products to provide more comfort to our customers and critically, consistency across our regional routes," the SIA spokesperson told us.
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Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.
13 Dec 2011
Total posts 30
What does this mean for Krisflyer redemptions?
The European destinations currently served by these 777-200ER's currently require significantly less points to redeem than destinations served by the -300ER's/A380's
Might be time to play the seat lottery.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2011
Total posts 359
This was well overdue. With regards to redemptions, my guess is that once the retrofit is complete that they will be brought inline with the other destinations.
03 Jan 2011
Total posts 665
That's my hunch too, russell.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Aug 2011
Total posts 165
I expect and hope that it means that the SQ flights to Christchurch and the non-777-300ER flights to Auckland will finally get the fully lie flat product. Both have been getting long past the tooth with Spacebeds for far too long (even though SQ has never discounted Business Class on those routes to fairly reflect the inferior product).
03 Jan 2011
Total posts 665
Yes indeed, Libertyscott — Kiwis have been hard done by in that regard for some time, and it'll be good to have another decent business class option ex-NZ.
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 7
Aren't Singapore meant to be launching newly designed seats sometime next year?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Feb 2011
Total posts 52
Singapore needs to put these on the Perth to Singapore run urgently. With everyone using SIA to connect through to China it will make life a dream.
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