The best seats in Singapore Airlines' Boeing 787-10 business class

With Singapore Airlines' new Boeing 787-10 set to take a number of regional routes under its wing, travellers will soon be scoping out their pick of the best business class seats.

And they're impressive seats, with an all-new regional business class design providing direct aisle access for every passenger, some handy at-seat space and a lie-flat bed.

(The same seats will also be fitted to a fleet of regional Airbus A350-900 jets which Singapore Airlines will begin flying in the second half of 2018.)

SQ's Boeing 787-10 has 36 business class seats from rows 11 through 20 – but savvy travellers will want to know which of those are the best to choose, and which they should avoid.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 business class: best seats

The staggered seat layout in Singapore Airlines' new regional business class makes it a bit trickier to snare a seat location that's ideally suited to your preferences, but also rewards flyers who plan ahead.

11A and 11K: located behind the bulkhead in the first row of the business class cabin, these seats also make provision for a bassinet – but instead of the kidlet-cradle being mounted on the bulkhead wall, it's tucked away into a spacious corner nook.

And if not booked by passengers with an infant in tow, this seat is superb for the business traveller because they can use the space during the flight (but not during taxi, take-off and landing) to keep a laptop bag or cabin bag handy if they need access to its contents during the flight, such as for working.

For that reason we consider this a 'corner office above the clouds', and it's our choice for the business traveller on Singapore Airlines' Boeing 787-10 or Airbus A350-900.

Of course, the perennial downside of being in the front rows is that there's a bit of extra traffic to the lavs and noise from the galley – which will be less bothersome on a short regional flight around Asia but more so on flights to Australia, especially overnight legs. (The same applies to the rear-most seats in row 20.)

If you like the view: the staggered seat layout means that only 8 of what would normally be considered 'window seats' are positioned directly next to the window.

The others are adjacent to the aisle, with a bench between the passenger and the window.

If you'd rather be sitting right next to the window so you can take in the view, you'll want to shoot for seats 12A, 12K, 15A, 15K, 17A, 17K, 19A or 19K.

Note however that even in these true window seats, the extended shell of the seat chosen by Singapore Airlines somewhat obstructs the view.

For solo travellers: Any of the A or K seats should be your first choice. If they're all gone by the time you check in, shoot for a middle seat situated at the aisle rather than together in side-by-side pairs: the ones you want are 12D, 12F, 15D, 15F, 17D, 17F, 19D and 19F.

For colleagues, companions and couples: Every alternate row of Singapore Airlines' new Boeing 787-10 regional business class cabin sees passengers in the middle sitting next to one another.

There's a privacy screen if you happen to be flying solo...

... but if you're with a colleague or partner, these paired seats are best for chit-chat and sharing the travel experience  – to the extent of being able to sleep side by side when the seat converts to a bed, if that's your thing.

Those couple-minded seats are 11D & 11F, 14D & 14F, 16D and 16F, 18D and 18F, and 20D and 20F.

Best seats for sleeping: Retracting the armrests on either side of the seat gains you an additional six inches of seat width (going up from 20" to 26") which is very welcome for sleeping.

Want a bit more room? Grab a seat that's next to the window (as listed above: 12A, 12K, 15A, 15K, 17A, 17K, 19A or 19K).

That's because there is an extra few inches between the seat's shell and the cabin wall into which you can splay out your elbow.

The aisle-side seats – and this applies to those in the middle pairs, too – see you risk having a wayward elbow whacked by passengers, crew or galley carts trundling down the aisle.

Extra room for larger feet: when Singapore Airlines' new regional business class seat swings down into a full-flat bed, your feet tuck into a cubby hole which we're pleased to report is rather spacious.

However, if you have large feet (we're talking size 12s and up), the first row of seats sport an ever larger footwell because this is carved into the bulkhead rather than the bench of the seat in front of you.

So: owners of plus-sized plods will want to make 11A, 11D, 11F or 11K their first choice.

For passengers of size: Packing a few too many kilos around your middle? Grab a seat which is at the aisle and has its console bench sitting either between you and the window...

... or, in a pair of middle seats, you and the passenger next to you.

The reason we're calling this is out is because there's not much room between that bench and the seat in front, so seats with the bench between you and the aisle will pose an uncomfortable squeeze each time you want to visit the loo or the galley.

Seats to avoid: let's face it, all of the business class seats in Singapore Airlines' Boeing 787-10 are pretty good. But two of them lucked out when it comes to the cabin layout: 16A and 16K have no window.

The seats are adjacent to the aisle, so you're not missing much of a view anyway, but some people are almost allergic to a window seats sans window so for them, this is the seat to skip.

Read: AusBT reviews Singapore Airlines' Boeing 787-10 regional business class

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.