Singapore Airlines latest cabin products on the new B777-300ER (77WN) - 2013

[vbarberini]

Here's my take on the J seats.

Pluses:
1) Seat is much more comfortable. Lower incline possible.
2) Compartments for storing stuff is great, though I wish they had a sliding door for the upper compartment on the seat - sign says not to store anything there during takeoff and landing, since things can fall out. It is a good size for tablets and books.
3) The foldout table is much more versatile and more manageable - maybe it's new.
4) The square pillow is excellent, just nice for sleeping. Small pillow is too flat to prop head up.
5) The cushion in bed mode is much better and comfortable, no need for extra layer.
6) the quiltish blanket is nice, though I feel the air conditioning is too warm for its use on the upper body - but that's just me, I like it colder when I sleep.
7) The cushioned back in bed mode is excellent to lean on sitting up especially with a pillow to support the lumbar.
8) Also when in sleep mode, the head area is now much more spacious, unlike the narrow head space in the previous J seat.
9) The foot area is also much larger; no problems crossing my feet now, without hitting the top.
10) The new headphones are much better in comfort and noise canceling.
11) For the ladies, and some men, the largish mirror next to the screen is probably very useful.
12) The IFE screen seems to have a higher definition.
13) The touchscreen remote control is useful, though it takes a bit to get use to it. Thankfully the screen itself is not a touchscreen. The remote is a tad laggy and it does not have a high resolution. Wish it was closer to a iPhone resolution, even pre-Retina would be better.
14) The seat belt in bed mode is now "elastic". The catch is now much easier to fasten compared to the old seat. The downside of the elastic belt is that is can feel a bit tight and it crosses ones chest instead of tummy, hence it can make sleep a bit more uncomfortable for some.

Minuses:
1) There are way too may buttons to control the seat. I understand they want some standard sitting modes but seriously?
2) There are too many lights. There are 5 direct lights each with two modes: dim and bright. Plus indirect ambient light. Almost feels like my whole living room condensed into a chair.
3) When folding up the seat from bed mode, there is a tendency that it will get stuck, and it won't fold back up. If it does, one needs to undo two catches manually in the middle of the seat. Design flaw.
4) The use of the remote control touchscreen can be bothersome as one needs to look at the remote screen as well as the big screen. I assume that it'll be complicated to use by older non-tech aware folks, but that's just my assumption.
5) The compartment for putting a small bag or shoes under the seat in front, is now much more inconvenient to get at as it now underneath the foot rest ledge. But they have placed a light underneath there to help.

Yes, I think I got to sleep a tad more comfortably on this seat compared to the old J seat ... but I still prefer my own bed.

I just did LHR-SIN in the new First and agree with much of what CarbonMan has previously said.

The seat is much more comfortable - lumbar support in particular. And in sleeping mode the mattress/cushion is also better.

I agree that the cabin temperature is too warm to sleep comfortably, though I find this the case in all the SQ777 first cabins. Not sure why this is the case - it should be easy to adjust I'd imagine? I bring my own light weight pyjamas.

As for too many seat control buttons; I did not have a problem with this. For me it was just about right.

One of the big issues was cabin noise. IMO the 777 has always been a noisy beast, so I was surprised to find that this brand new bird was NOT noticeably quieter than its predecessors. Compared to the A380 suites cabin the 777 first cabin is still very loud.

My major complaint though is the new KrisWorld. It is not an improvement. The navigation is non-intuitive, with the user often forced to fumble around between the touch screen and the onscreen cursor control. I work in IT and had great difficulty finding audio tracks that were featured in the KrisWorld Magazine. I dread to think how difficult it will prove to be for non-tech savvy customers. Hopefully SQ can iron this our with some software revisions.

Overall the new 777 First is a great evolutionary product. I'm sure it will serve well until the next generation of First/Suites comes on line.

[CarbonMan]

Ah, just missed you. Am on SQ319 right now. Utilizing their free wifi. A tad slow but it works except on my iPad2. Had to resist using FaceTime with my wifey though, didn't want to wake up the whole cabin.

Thanks SQ for the complimentary use of the internet. Nice novelty but I don't really want to read my office mail while flying!

I just did LHR-SIN in the new First and agree with much of what CarbonMan has previously said.

The seat is much more comfortable - lumbar support in particular. And in sleeping mode the mattress/cushion is also better.

I agree that the cabin temperature is too warm to sleep comfortably, though I find this the case in all the SQ777 first cabins. Not sure why this is the case - it should be easy to adjust I'd imagine? I bring my own light weight pyjamas.

As for too many seat control buttons; I did not have a problem with this. For me it was just about right.

One of the big issues was cabin noise. IMO the 777 has always been a noisy beast, so I was surprised to find that this brand new bird was NOT noticeably quieter than its predecessors. Compared to the A380 suites cabin the 777 first cabin is still very loud.

My major complaint though is the new KrisWorld. It is not an improvement. The navigation is non-intuitive, with the user often forced to fumble around between the touch screen and the onscreen cursor control. I work in IT and had great difficulty finding audio tracks that were featured in the KrisWorld Magazine. I dread to think how difficult it will prove to be for non-tech savvy customers. Hopefully SQ can iron this our with some software revisions.

Overall the new 777 First is a great evolutionary product. I'm sure it will serve well until the next generation of First/Suites comes on line.

[SQ228]

This is all getting quite confusing and some wires must be crossed. SWW can't be arriving any time soon as it would have shown up on all number of databases by now.

With two planes they can run a daily LHR on SQ308/319 from Oct 27 with an arrival time into SIN of 1455 and a departure the following morning of 0905.

Very few current 77W flights would be able to utilise this gap, which is probably why BOM was selected with a departure of 1955, returning the next morning at 0800 (cutting it a little fine to be off to LHR 65 min later, but workable I guess).

For NRT to see any service from either of these planes, they would have to lose the daily LHR because NRT is about a 21 hour turnaround and therefore can't utilise any gaps from another flight. SQ638/7 is scheduled to go A380 from Oct27 so NRT is only getting the new cabins for another week or so unless something about this has changed.

[bent]

This is all getting quite confusing and some wires must be crossed. SWW can't be arriving any time soon as it would have shown up on all number of databases by now.

With two planes they can run a daily LHR on SQ308/319 from Oct 27 with an arrival time into SIN of 1455 and a departure the following morning of 0905.

Very few current 77W flights would be able to utilise this gap, which is probably why BOM was selected with a departure of 1955, returning the next morning at 0800 (cutting it a little fine to be off to LHR 65 min later, but workable I guess).

For NRT to see any service from either of these planes, they would have to lose the daily LHR because NRT is about a 21 hour turnaround and therefore can't utilise any gaps from another flight. SQ638/7 is scheduled to go A380 from Oct27 so NRT is only getting the new cabins for another week or so unless something about this has changed.

NRT will only get the 77WN from NS 14/15

[hjerapa]

[QUOTE=benlee;180191]


Well, overall, I think it's good. But I wouldn't say it is a significant jump compare to the previous 77W first class so expectation should be adjusted accordingly.

The Plus(+)
- Improve leather seat
- More gizmos and gadgets. More importantly, the buttons are now easy to operate and push.
- New IFE Krisworld. The new touchscreen remote is cool
- Better sleeping position, feels wider and more comfortable. There is no protrusion. I was at 2F. Also in the old F class, there use to be some kind of "hard plate" in the centre of the bed when fold down which can cause discomfort. Now it's gone or at least I don't feel it.


The Minus(-)
- No side storage space to put things. Only storage is the footrest or underneath it. I really miss those. I think they took them out to accomodate the wider seat
- No compartment to store the water bottle
- Leather clad pillow instead of arm rest

You mean there is no place to store like phones or passports etc. so the water bottle now has to just be left on the chair ?

[sinner]

sorry, u r right:

BOM:
D567 from 27 Oct13 to 29 Mar14, and additionally, D34 from 30Oct13 to 21Nov13

Thank you for clarifying that , bent. Fingers crossed I'll be flying the new F on 424 on January Saturday!

[SQueeze]

Thank you for clarifying that , bent. Fingers crossed I'll be flying the new F on 424 on January Saturday!

Just wonder if D 5,6,7 is from BOM or from SIN?
BOM departure is 0005 am

[vbarberini]

I did LHR-SIN in new F last week. Take the suites in my view. New F is good, but still nowhere near as comfortable (and obviously not as spacious).

[bent]

Just wonder if D 5,6,7 is from BOM or from SIN?
BOM departure is 0005 am

should be taken from SIN persepctive.

[Durian]

Amenities kit

Anybody knows if SQ eventually realized they were the only J class without a comfort kit (sorry, smurf socks and eye shades are not a comfort kit) and decided to have one with the new cabins ?

[CarbonMan]

Anybody knows if SQ eventually realized they were the only J class without a comfort kit (sorry, smurf socks and eye shades are not a comfort kit) and decided to have one with the new cabins ?

Well they changed the colour of both the smurf socks and the shades from blue to beige to match the new seats. That's like wow

[arrow29]

What are people's thoughts (for those fortunate enough to have flown in both) regarding this new F vs A380 suites? I'm guessing in terms of crew/service/food and drink etc it should be similar, so mainly in terms of hard product comfort etc

[SMK77]

What are people's thoughts (for those fortunate enough to have flown in both) regarding this new F vs A380 suites? I'm guessing in terms of crew/service/food and drink etc it should be similar, so mainly in terms of hard product comfort etc

It's actually exactly the same.

Only difference: When Suites is fully booked, service is noticably slower and not as attentive. I think it's easier to check on passenger on the 77W where the galley is in the front and you can see all passenger immediately.

77W is still having the smallest footprint for international F seats out there. Something SQ will only be able to change with the next generation of cabin interior in seven years...

[arrow29]

It's actually exactly the same.

Only difference: When Suites is fully booked, service is noticably slower and not as attentive. I think it's easier to check on passenger on the 77W where the galley is in the front and you can see all passenger immediately.

77W is still having the smallest footprint for international F seats out there. Something SQ will only be able to change with the next generation of cabin interior in seven years...

Thanks for your thoughts! I'm in the process of booking some first awards for my wife and I (once the points I transferred show in my KF account!); the A380 flight suits our timing better but was toying with the idea of trying the new 777 F. If they're very similar will probably just go with the better timing then, I'll be blown away by either anyway!

[SMK77]

Thanks for your thoughts! I'm in the process of booking some first awards for my wife and I (once the points I transferred show in my KF account!); the A380 flight suits our timing better but was toying with the idea of trying the new 777 F. If they're very similar will probably just go with the better timing then, I'll be blown away by either anyway!

Important piece of information missing: for two people flying together, the A380 Suites is ways better. You can dine together and sit opposite, you have two suites together which make for a huge room and you deploy both beds and just lounge in them together.