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I am not very good at Trip Reports, so I will try my best here. I have to apologize for the quality of the pictures as I am not even remotely qualified as a decent photographer. Apologies for grammatical errors as well if any, it is now almost 9 am in Sydney and I was too excited to sleep on the plane. 
Anyway, enjoy!
The experience began in CGK. I reached the airport about 90 minutes prior to my flight SQ959, which was due to depart at 1425 hrs. Check-in was a breeze as there was no line. I asked to be checked just to SIN, thanks to Jubilee777 who informed me that SQ is using special “Suites” boarding pass and baggage priority tags ex-SIN for the A380 flight. I then headed to Starbucks for a quick drink and went to the gate. Flight departed from gate D1 on time. The aircraft used on this sector was the 3-class Boeing 777-200 (9V-SQJ), with Audio and Video on Demand.
Arriving in Singapore, I quickly cleared immigration and went to pick up my bags on the carousel. I was busy starting up my N95 as I waited for my bags to turn up when I noticed someone staring
and approaching me. It was BON! It turned out that we were on the same flight. After our bags arrived, BON accompanied me upstairs to the First Class Reception Lounge to check-in for my SIN-SYD sector.
We met Jubilee777 outside the First Class Reception and the three of us went in. I got my “Suites” boarding pass (Suite 4A) and my bags were tagged with the “Suites” tags. I must say that I am surprised SQ went all the way to printing “Suites” priority tags to differentiate this Suites service from regular First Class. It is interesting to note that it says “Class P” (isn’t that run of the mill, ordinary, regular First Class? That is COMPLETELY unacceptable
), not “Class R”. The check-in ladies all seemed pretty excited about the first regularly scheduled flight of the A380 today.
BON and I went out of the lounge to grab a drink at the Pacific Coffee on arrivals level, as Jubilee777 went to take care of some things. After BON left I went up to the departure level where I bumped into Mr. I just before Immigration. After some chat, I then proceeded to clear Immigration and went up to the Silver Kris Lounge. Couldn’t find the Suites Lounge so I settled with the First Class one.
At around 1930 hrs I went out of the lounge to take a quick look at some shops, then proceeded to gate F31 to meet up with Jubilee777. We then cleared security screening, and went inside the waiting room, where we were greeted by lovely Singapore Girls ready to hand out celebratory goodie bags (content: a nice handy Liquid/Aerosol/Gel pouch and a SYDNEY-SINGAPORE-LONDON travel guide).
Shortly after, it was boarding time. Passengers with children and those requiring special assistance were boarded first, followed by Suites passengers, then Business passengers/PPS members, *G, and finally the rest of the pax. I boarded quickly so that I can snap some pictures of an emptier cabin. I was greeted by an Inflight Supervisor Mr. Y at the door, and was shown to my seat by a Chief Steward. Regular First Class does not have a Chief Steward (usually a team of IFS + LS + LSS). For A380 flights, a team of CS + LSS + LS takes care of the Suites while the IFS oversees the whole aircraft cabin service. For this flight, we had the pleasure of having the guy in IFS jacket previously called a Inflight Auditor (previously called Check Trainer), a very nice Mr. P.
Of the 12 Suites on this flight, only 10 were occupied. A guy and his travelling companion were seated at Suite 3C/D (seems like regular UA flyers as one of them made some references to what they usually get on UA) – I later found out that they are on this flight for the same purpose as mine, just to try this amazing aircraft. There were two couples seated 2C/D and 3F/4F. The cabin crew members were very nice, informative and accommodative, several times offered to take pictures for pax.
Menu cards, amenity kits (a different version of Ferragamos than those of regular First Class) and pajamas were handed out. I have taken a picture of the menu pages for your reference (too lazy to copy for now).
I was not looking at my watch but I think it was pretty much on time when the aircraft started its take off roll on runway 02 Center. I was VERY impressed! The ride is smooth as no aircraft I have ever been on before. We literally glided down the runway, with no bumps or noises usually felt on other aircraft as it taxies/runs. I felt like I was on a Rolls Royce of airplanes.
We must have taken almost all of the runway when we finally lift off into the sky. The climb was not steep but felt effortless. Not much pictures to take since the sun was long gone.
Dinner was served shortly after take off.
I spent the rest of the flight trying to get to know the Suite, although I shouldn’t probably get too used to this knowing how much SQ wants its customers to pay to be in one of these.
The seat is comfortable and supportive, much better than the First seats on the 77W. There is much better support for the back and thigh. The seat cushion is longer too, so no ‘hanging over the seat’ feeling for this one. Stowage space for hand luggage is roughly the same as the 77W First, which is under the ottoman in front of you. To the left side of the seat, there are three compartments: one to put your glasses in, another with the ports & power outlets, and a third one where the Bose QC2 is stored. To the right of the seat, there are the KrisWorld control (same as 77W) and the light controls, flight attendant call and Do Not Disturb buttons. There is also a compartment for water bottles. The magazine/literature compartment is located to the right of the ottoman on the other side of the Suite doors.
The meal table is large but it is still possible to get in and out of the suite even with the table deployed.
Cabin crew makes the bed for the passengers. The seat is folded to the front, the table on the side of the seat is pushed down and the bed is folded out from the wall behind the seat. There you go. The first real bed (not a seat-bed) on a commercial airline plane. The bed is very comfortable although it is not very wide. The most important thing is, it is a real bed. This means even surface, sturdy at ALL parts (the footrests of SQ SkySuites and CX last First are not sturdy, they move around as we change position in bed mode). On the bed mode, we can still use pillows to pad our back and sit comfortably to watch TV. There seems to be no table available in bed mode other than the mini table beside the bed, which is big enough for a glass of drinks, iPod and some reading materials.
I had the luxury of two Suites during the flight. Suite 4A (my original seat) in seat mode and Suite 3A (empty) in bed mode.
Couples who planned to do much more than sleeping on the double beds may want to reconsider. The privacy screens are not completely private – there are parts of them that are always see-through.
Some Suites have two windows and some have three. From what I have seen so far, my favorites are 3A/F for the three windows and location in the cabin.
Some random notes of the aircraft:
1) Business class seats on the A380 are wider than those on the 77W. Around 4” more according to the IFS. This is true for all BUT 11A/K and 12A/K which are of the same width as the 77W’s.
2) I am not sure if this is permanent, but there is no seat 47D in Economy. Therefore, 48D have ample legroom to stretch out.
3) The aisles are noticeably wider in Economy (lower deck). The cabin feels much roomier than the Economy cabin onboard the 744.
4) Economy menus are printed “Executive Economy Class”. I am not sure if this is an error, or is SQ going to start calling the A380 Y this ‘class beyond economy’.
5) The aircraft is noticeably quieter than 77Ws.
6) For Business passengers, there is one less-known, large bathroom to the left of UD stairs. Most Business Class pax used the normal sized ones at the back not realizing its existence.
Anyway, enjoy!
The experience began in CGK. I reached the airport about 90 minutes prior to my flight SQ959, which was due to depart at 1425 hrs. Check-in was a breeze as there was no line. I asked to be checked just to SIN, thanks to Jubilee777 who informed me that SQ is using special “Suites” boarding pass and baggage priority tags ex-SIN for the A380 flight. I then headed to Starbucks for a quick drink and went to the gate. Flight departed from gate D1 on time. The aircraft used on this sector was the 3-class Boeing 777-200 (9V-SQJ), with Audio and Video on Demand.
Arriving in Singapore, I quickly cleared immigration and went to pick up my bags on the carousel. I was busy starting up my N95 as I waited for my bags to turn up when I noticed someone staring
and approaching me. It was BON! It turned out that we were on the same flight. After our bags arrived, BON accompanied me upstairs to the First Class Reception Lounge to check-in for my SIN-SYD sector.We met Jubilee777 outside the First Class Reception and the three of us went in. I got my “Suites” boarding pass (Suite 4A) and my bags were tagged with the “Suites” tags. I must say that I am surprised SQ went all the way to printing “Suites” priority tags to differentiate this Suites service from regular First Class. It is interesting to note that it says “Class P” (isn’t that run of the mill, ordinary, regular First Class? That is COMPLETELY unacceptable
), not “Class R”. The check-in ladies all seemed pretty excited about the first regularly scheduled flight of the A380 today.BON and I went out of the lounge to grab a drink at the Pacific Coffee on arrivals level, as Jubilee777 went to take care of some things. After BON left I went up to the departure level where I bumped into Mr. I just before Immigration. After some chat, I then proceeded to clear Immigration and went up to the Silver Kris Lounge. Couldn’t find the Suites Lounge so I settled with the First Class one.
At around 1930 hrs I went out of the lounge to take a quick look at some shops, then proceeded to gate F31 to meet up with Jubilee777. We then cleared security screening, and went inside the waiting room, where we were greeted by lovely Singapore Girls ready to hand out celebratory goodie bags (content: a nice handy Liquid/Aerosol/Gel pouch and a SYDNEY-SINGAPORE-LONDON travel guide).
Shortly after, it was boarding time. Passengers with children and those requiring special assistance were boarded first, followed by Suites passengers, then Business passengers/PPS members, *G, and finally the rest of the pax. I boarded quickly so that I can snap some pictures of an emptier cabin. I was greeted by an Inflight Supervisor Mr. Y at the door, and was shown to my seat by a Chief Steward. Regular First Class does not have a Chief Steward (usually a team of IFS + LS + LSS). For A380 flights, a team of CS + LSS + LS takes care of the Suites while the IFS oversees the whole aircraft cabin service. For this flight, we had the pleasure of having the guy in IFS jacket previously called a Inflight Auditor (previously called Check Trainer), a very nice Mr. P.
Of the 12 Suites on this flight, only 10 were occupied. A guy and his travelling companion were seated at Suite 3C/D (seems like regular UA flyers as one of them made some references to what they usually get on UA) – I later found out that they are on this flight for the same purpose as mine, just to try this amazing aircraft. There were two couples seated 2C/D and 3F/4F. The cabin crew members were very nice, informative and accommodative, several times offered to take pictures for pax.
Menu cards, amenity kits (a different version of Ferragamos than those of regular First Class) and pajamas were handed out. I have taken a picture of the menu pages for your reference (too lazy to copy for now
). I was not looking at my watch but I think it was pretty much on time when the aircraft started its take off roll on runway 02 Center. I was VERY impressed! The ride is smooth as no aircraft I have ever been on before. We literally glided down the runway, with no bumps or noises usually felt on other aircraft as it taxies/runs. I felt like I was on a Rolls Royce of airplanes.
We must have taken almost all of the runway when we finally lift off into the sky. The climb was not steep but felt effortless. Not much pictures to take since the sun was long gone.
Dinner was served shortly after take off.
I spent the rest of the flight trying to get to know the Suite, although I shouldn’t probably get too used to this knowing how much SQ wants its customers to pay to be in one of these.
The seat is comfortable and supportive, much better than the First seats on the 77W. There is much better support for the back and thigh. The seat cushion is longer too, so no ‘hanging over the seat’ feeling for this one. Stowage space for hand luggage is roughly the same as the 77W First, which is under the ottoman in front of you. To the left side of the seat, there are three compartments: one to put your glasses in, another with the ports & power outlets, and a third one where the Bose QC2 is stored. To the right of the seat, there are the KrisWorld control (same as 77W) and the light controls, flight attendant call and Do Not Disturb buttons. There is also a compartment for water bottles. The magazine/literature compartment is located to the right of the ottoman on the other side of the Suite doors.
The meal table is large but it is still possible to get in and out of the suite even with the table deployed.
Cabin crew makes the bed for the passengers. The seat is folded to the front, the table on the side of the seat is pushed down and the bed is folded out from the wall behind the seat. There you go. The first real bed (not a seat-bed) on a commercial airline plane.
The bed is very comfortable although it is not very wide. The most important thing is, it is a real bed. This means even surface, sturdy at ALL parts (the footrests of SQ SkySuites and CX last First are not sturdy, they move around as we change position in bed mode). On the bed mode, we can still use pillows to pad our back and sit comfortably to watch TV. There seems to be no table available in bed mode other than the mini table beside the bed, which is big enough for a glass of drinks, iPod and some reading materials. I had the luxury of two Suites during the flight. Suite 4A (my original seat) in seat mode and Suite 3A (empty) in bed mode.
Couples who planned to do much more than sleeping on the double beds may want to reconsider. The privacy screens are not completely private – there are parts of them that are always see-through.
Some Suites have two windows and some have three. From what I have seen so far, my favorites are 3A/F for the three windows and location in the cabin.
Some random notes of the aircraft:
1) Business class seats on the A380 are wider than those on the 77W. Around 4” more according to the IFS. This is true for all BUT 11A/K and 12A/K which are of the same width as the 77W’s.
2) I am not sure if this is permanent, but there is no seat 47D in Economy. Therefore, 48D have ample legroom to stretch out.
3) The aisles are noticeably wider in Economy (lower deck). The cabin feels much roomier than the Economy cabin onboard the 744.
4) Economy menus are printed “Executive Economy Class”. I am not sure if this is an error, or is SQ going to start calling the A380 Y this ‘class beyond economy’.
5) The aircraft is noticeably quieter than 77Ws.
6) For Business passengers, there is one less-known, large bathroom to the left of UD stairs. Most Business Class pax used the normal sized ones at the back not realizing its existence.
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