Singapore Airlines First Class Review

Airline	Plane Type	Class of Service	Route	Rating
Singapore Air	Boeing 777	First Class	LAX-NRT	8/10

Booking

We planned a trip back to Hong Kong for the first time since 2019 (pre-COVID). A couple months before our initial planned arrival to Hong Kong, we decided to stop by elsewhere in Asia en route to maximize our time in Asia. I found Singapore Air First class availability on their Fifth freedom route from Los Angleles to Tokyo (can book that segment separately) before the flight continues to Singapore that worked for our time there. I found saver availability in First class for 120,500 SQ miles per person booked directly via their program. All the major transfer currencies transfer to SQ KrisFlyer, I opted to transfer Amex points which showed up almost instantly to book seats.

Ground Experience

After our United flight from Seattle (booked separately with United Travel Bank credit), we walked from Terminal 7 over to Tom Bradley International terminal. There was a dedicated first class check-in which was fast and efficient. The check-in agent walked us over to the security gate and also called the lounge in advance to notify us of our arrival. As First class passengers, we could use the dedicated Star Alliance First class lounge which is next to the Star Alliance business class lounge. We were given a private room.

While the privacy was nice, the food options were lackluster despite a menu that was cooked to order. In addition, the lounge lacks natural light and runway views. Overall, it was fine but not someplace to arrive early, particularly if LAX is home base.

Cabin & Seat

Singapore Airlines’ 777 first class cabin consists of just four seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. There was one other passenger in the first class cabin on our flight (3 out of 4 seats occupied). I selected the window seat for Wallis and I opted for the middle seat closest to her. The other passenger selected the other window seat.

Singapore Airlines’ First class seat on the 777’s were designed by BMW Designworks and manufactured by Jamco. It sports a decidedly sophisticated aesthetic, with dark brown tones, burnt orange accents, and tan-coloured seat shell. The design language borrows heavily from the interiors of luxury yachts and cars (BMW owns Rolls-Royce, after all), offering greater privacy and acoustic isolation, as well as more luggage space.

The seat is really wide, the point it isn’t practical to use both armrests at the same time. They do provide a pillow to rest your arm. Then the front side of the seat has an ottoman, storage compartment, and large entertainment screen.

The suite has a large ottoman that becomes part of the bed when the seat is placed in bed mode. Off to the side of the seat were various controls including positioning your seat, lighting and the hand held entertainment device.

On the opposite side, there was a small compartment where you could put your phone or glasses along with a USB plug-in station.

The seat flips over in bed mode. The pitch is 71 inches, which is on the shorter side for international First class cabins.

Overall the seats have ample space, although on the shorter side in bed mode. It may no longer be industry leading, especially compared to their Suites, but it still provides ample privacy (without doors) and a comfortable ride.

In-Flight Dining

Upon getting settled into our seats, we were offered a pre-departure beverage. Unfortunately, for flights leaving the US, they don’t serve champagne on the ground due to excise tax. I opted for water. However, as soon as we were in the air, we were offered champagne. On this flight, Singapore Air carried Tattinger Comtes de Champagne on board, many other flights may have Krug instead.

Lunch and dinner service is dine on demand, but we both opted to start relatively early (about 40 minutes after departure) to maximize rest time and the long day ahead with a daylight flight. One of the most well known features for Singapore Air is “Book the Cook†feature where passengers can pre-select meals in both first class and business class. They also provide catered options from a printed menu. I had pre-selected both meals prior to the flight but was able to change my pre-selected dinner option after seeing the printed menu. For lunch, I pre-selected the famous lobster thermidor and for dinner I originally chose Shanghainese chicken rice but changed to Eel Donburi after seeing it on the menu. Compared to my previous flight on Suites last year, there were a lot more food options and the quality was markedly better as well.

For the main course, I started with the obligatory caviar service.

The main lobster dish was good, but I though the noodles were a bit too wet

For the dinner service, I found the eel donburi to be perfectly cooked.

Amenities & Service

Singapore Airlines is known for some of the best service in the airline industry and they did not disappoint. Both the purser and primary attendant were warm and gracious and took care of every need. They were generous with drink re-fills and graciously allowing me to change my second mail meal. As typical with most first class service, they provide turn-down service and took attentive detail when making the bed.

On board, Singapore Air provides pajamas and amenity kits from Lalique. Singapore Airlines takes an unconventional approach to providing amenities, since most of the basic things you might need are located in the lavatories. So these kits instead largely have things you might enjoy at home, like a scented candle, soap, body lotion, and lip balm.

The entertainment system on KrisFlyer is great. They have an endless selection of movies and TV shows and the system is highly responsive and easy to use. During the flight, I ended up watching a couple movies. You do have sit through the commercials though before the movie or show loads. 

Overall Impression

Singapore Airlines’ First Class seat on the B777-300ER may not be the best in the world, but it’s still very comfortable and you’ll definitely arrive refreshed. Dining is still an elaborate multi-course affair, you still get the usual goodies like amenities kits and PJs, and service is, as always, top notch. This might not be the most modern hard product, but the airline excels at getting the first class soft product right.