SQ Premium Economy from Singapore to London

[yflyer]

Introduction – SQ Premium Economy from Singapore to London

You’ve seen the PR material, you’ve read the reviews in the travel press, and you’re heard from the travel bloggers. It is about time someone posted a trip report on SQ’s new Premium Economy – and here it is!

This trip report covers Singapore Airlines Premium Economy from Singapore to London (SIN-LHR) on SQ322 earlier this week, which was the first leg of a trip I made to London (And Reading, a town west of London), Amsterdam and Paris.

SQ launched Premium Economy earlier this year, in August 2015. Every new SQ product launch is an event. When one of the best airlines in the sky today introduces something new, the whole world will be watching.

While premium economy is not as glamorous as Suites, First or Business Class, it is a product that offers something beyond just getting you from point A to point B. SQ has always excelled in delivering a memorable travel experience, whether in the back or the front of the plane, so the buzz and excitement in the travel community when SQ announced premium economy was quite palpable.

But SQ has probably been feeling the pressure as well. They were late to launch premium economy: Eva, Qantas, BA have had it for some time now, and many other airlines, including Cathay and Lufthansa have recently launched PEY offerings. Is SQ’s offering the equal of these existing products? Can SQ go one better?

And to complicate things further, regular economy on SQ is already excellent. How much more can a great Y product be enhanced without cannibalising the business class cabin?

Just how comfortable is SQ Premium Economy, and how is it different from regular Economy?

Read on to find out!

[yflyer]

Pre-Flight

This TR almost did not happen.

I was flying SQ from Singapore to London and I was booked in A380 economy.

I had it all worked out: Although I was in Y, I had worked out a plan to snap pics of the premium economy cabin.

The Y seat I chose was on the upper deck mini economy cabin. I would preboard along with the other Krisflyer/Star Gold and PPS members, dump my hand luggage at my seat, then dash down the rear stairs to the PEY cabin to snap pictures of the premium cabin before heading back to Y.

But SQ had other plans. I arrived at T3 around 10pm for my 11.30pm departure and headed to the KF/Star Gold check-in area.



They now use this for Premium Economy check-in as well as KF Gold check-in.



“Which class of travel are you in, sir?” the young man manning the check-in desk asked.

“Economy”, I replied.

“I think the flight must be full, because they have upgraded you to Premium Economy”, the agent said with a smile.

“Thank you!”, I replied, breaking into a big grin. “Best news I have heard all day!”

Perfect! Less than a month after my recent experience on LH Premium Economy on the SIN-FRA sector, I would now get to try SQ’s brand new Premium Economy Product!

[yflyer]

But first, I would head to the Silver Kris Lounge to meet a friend. By coincidence, my friend was headed to Copenhagen via Frankfurt on SQ26 that day, departing just 25 minutes later than my flight to London, and as an SQ Solitaire PPS member, he offered to guest me into the F section of the Lounge. This was the first time I’ve been inside that part of the Silver Kris Lounge, and I was thrilled.



And in an example of how the online world and the real world sometimes intersect in unexpected ways, I first got to know my friend several months back through Mrs yflyer. My friend is an expert in his field of work, and a highly respected member of his profession. When we were introduced, and got round to talking about hobbies and interests, it turned out that he was quite an aviation/travel enthusiast as well, and had been so since he was quite young.

He is a regular reader of travel forums, including SQTalk. When I mentioned that I went by the handle yflyer on SQTalk his eyes widened in disbelief…”you’re that guy who likes to go running...”. My friend, if you are reading this, thank you very much for giving me a peek into the F Lounge. It was great to meet up!

So my friend and I spent some time together in the lounge chatting and enjoying the F&B, and where I took the opportunity to take a few pictures as well.

[yflyer]

About 45 minutes before my flight, I left the Silver Kris Lounge and took a short walk to gate A4, where SQ322 was being readied for departure.

[yflyer]

The Flight

Today’s flight was operated by 9V-SKF, one of the older A380’s in the SQ fleet, relatively speaking. This aircraft was 7 years old, and was delivered to SQ in 2008.



I entered through the main deck doorway, glancing enviously to the left where SQ’s Suites were, before turning right to the premium economy cabin.



First impressions were positive. A brand new cabin, looking very spacious and stylish with SQ’s new premium economy product: Just 4 rows in the centre block and 5 rows on each window side, arranged in a comfortable 2-4-2 layout.



These contoured seats were upholstered in grey leather, with orange and light blue accents.

The overall ambience suggested the cabin of a high end European automobile…great build quality and a very solid feel to the seat.

Some views of the bulkhead row. All seats, including those not in the bulkhead row, had extendable thigh rests.





A view of the window-side seats, in pairs of two.

[yflyer]

Seat pitch, at 38 inches, looked decent.



A view of the window-side bulkhead seats, with the screens built into the wall in front.





The A380 main deck cabin walls have a very noticeable chest level bulge outwards, and this gave the window seats a fair amount of extra room between the seat and the wall. One drawback of this is that you could not rest your head on the wall to sleep, but on balance I think the additional room would be preferable.



Very fine stitching on the leather.



The cushioning itself is on the firm side. I would have liked a little more padding and softness, but overall the seat was quite comfortable.

The headrest is adjustable up and down, and also has movable wings.



Each seat had a large orange pillow with a fabric pillow case and a large blanket.



Adjustable reading lamp, with adjustable levels of brightness.



The large LCD screen was very slim, and could be tilted forward for an optimal viewing angle even when the seat in front was reclined.

[yflyer]

Adjustable footrests…



The window-side aisle seats had an obstruction in the footwell, but I did not find this to be an issue as there was sufficient seat pitch, and underseat space to rest your feet.



The seat pocket has a compartment for magazines, and a separate compartment large enough to stow a 15 inch MacBook Pro.



Slot to store a mobile phone.



Drink holders.



USB Charging and headphones in a raised console in the armrest.




And a second USB charging port under the screen.



A/C power with universal plug for each seat.

[yflyer]

The seat can be reclined, and the thigh rest extended, using brushed metal buttons in the armrest. The IFE controller (Similar to the controller in Y) is in the armrest. Note that the screen is not a touch screen, so it was necessary to use the controller to operate the IFE.



This is the seat in fully reclined position.



Thigh rest and footrest.





The middle armrests in the centre bank of 4 seats can be raised.





There is ample room to recline the seats in the last row of the PEY cabin.

[yflyer]

The IFE screen is very impressive. A really large, sharp and bright screen.



The IFE software and programmes are similar to what you have in other classes, but the screen is noticeably shaper and larger than Y.



Movies were vivid and clear.



One thing to note is that the screen is smooth as glass, so you think it is a touchscreen, but it isn’t: you need to use the IFE controller.

Headphones are high quality Phitek headphones, with active noise cancelling.

[yflyer]

Everyone was handed an amenity kit in a printed colour bag. Contents were not all that different from the Y amenity kit. The same toothbrush as Y, with bright orange socks with some added rubber non-slip bumps added.



Bottles of SIA-branded water were handed out.



The bottle holder was under the armrest, out of sight of the passenger in the seat. I did not notice it until I bent over to see what was below my seat.



Each PEY passenger was given a fast track pass for arrival immigration – I thought this was a nice touch, especially since Heathrow immigration queues can be quite unpredictable. [Update: Since the time I took the flight, it appears that SQ may have stopped giving out fast track passes for PEY.]

[yflyer]

Steaming hot towels…



There was no pre-take off drink service, but immediately after take-off the cabin crew came round with juices and champagne, along with bags of mixed nuts.





The very large and solidly built tray table was in the armrest.







After the initial drink service, the crew came round to refill champagne glasses.



Here is another shot of the PEY cabin ambience.

[yflyer]

Here is the PEY menu.



The beverage menu was identical to the Y beverage menu.



There were 3 choices of main for both supper and breakfast – a very impressive list of dishes.

Dinner menu…



Mid-flight snack selections…



Breakfast menu…



For completeness, here is the menu for the return LHR-SIN leg as well, which I did not fly on this ocassion.

[yflyer]

I mulled over the menu for a few minutes, before deciding on the mutton rogan josh…



You had a choice of plain, or cheesy, bread roll.



The starter as a tasty Thai-style salad.



The main was really delicious…large chunks of spiced mutton and fluffy basmati rice.



Dessert was also very good….



A very satisfying meal.

Was the catering better than Y? Certainly you had more choices in PEY.

I thought the catering quality was similar to Y, but that was more a reflection of the high quality of Y catering on SQ, rather than any criticism of the Y selection.

My seatmate booked the cook for both supper and breakfast. Her roast chicken rice looked really good, and came with small plastic tubs of chilli sauce and dark soya sauce.

[yflyer]

Whisky after dinner...



This flight had inflight wifi, but it was fairly expensive, so I did not order it this time.





There are no dedicated PEY lavatories, so you need to walk past the first Y cabin to reach the lavatories. This is unlike LH, where the bathrooms in the A380 PEY cabin are just behind the PEY seats, which means you don’t need to walk through Y to get to them.

[yflyer]

By then, everyone had reclined their seats to rest…








Another photo of PEY cabin ambience…



And for comparison, here is a shot of the Y cabin…



PEY seats from the rear…



And equivalent view in Y…



The added spaciousness of PEY compared to Y is very apparent.