Singapore Airlines

Singapore fly a very modern fleet dominated by Boeing 747-400s. In fact you'll have to try hard to get on any other plane, although there are Boeing 777 which do a few routes to Oz, Airbus A340s fly the Pacific and to Seoul, and A320s do some of the short hops up the peninsular. However the 747s are being replaced on high density routes by the Airbus A380.

The airline has a history of labeling its fleet according to plane makes. The existing 747s used to be dubbed "Megatop", while the Boeing 777s were called "Jubilee". The 5 Airbus A340s were named "Leadership,", and the 747 cargo versions were called "MegaArcs". This naming convention has been dropped (simply due to the new Chief Executive, who disliked the practice), however most outstations still refer to their flights by SIA name, not that of the firm that built the metal, and as a result at checkin you'll still be asked if you want to ride upstairs on the "Megatop".

Economy seats have a pitch of 32 inches - an inch bigger than British Airways, and also with slightly more padding, so they feel more comfortable. The headrests slide up, and the wings fold in, giving a decent sleep.

A380 Singpore Airlines new twin-deck Airbus

Business class used to be called Raffles Class, although that name has been dropped (but still remains on the boarding cards). Most planes have the "Space Bed". A flat bed for business class, it doesn't quite go flat, but instead you sleep at a 10% incline. Still, it is quite a nice seat, with plenty of flat places to put drinks on, special noice-reducing headphones, and a slide up screen between the seats to separate you from your neighbour. The remote for the TV is hidden in the right hand armrest, while the table is in the left hand one. The TV screen is alas on the back of the seat infront of you (except for the bulkhead seats) and even though it unclips for a better viewing angle, it still feels like watching TV from half way across a room.

Singapore Airbus A380-800

Singapore's A380 Economy Row 31

Singapore's A380 Economy Row 44

Economy looks just like standard economy in any plane, however Singapore's A380 offer's some special features. Not least is the size - 399 people are crammed in the back. Pitch is only 32 inches, but width is 19 inches - a tad wider than normal. The seat also reclines 115 degrees - again slightly bigger than expected - and thanks to a well designed seat back even when the seat is fully reclined it doesn't feel as if it is rammed into

A380 unique seat 48D

the knees of the person behind. There is a 10.6 inch seatback screen, a USB port for games, music (and for working using the inbuilt word processing software) and a video in plug. Be warned however that pairs of seats (or 2 out of 3 sets) share a laptop power supply. This can cause fights with your neighbours. Under the flip-out screen is your reading light: this is a little LED, which works well in avoiding any light spilling into your neighbours seat.

Singapore's A380 Economy Row 54

In economy there are several cabins to choose from which will impact on your enjoyment. On the main deck seats are in a 3-4-3 pattern. The forward cabin has a bulkhead having extra legroom at row 31 with a window and a flip out TV screen, but this is a basinette (screamer) seat. Single travellers may well avoid. Row 48D is an totally unique aisle seat with double the normal legroom thanks to an escape hatch for the basement sleeping booths being infront of it. It has a flip out screen and is very popular. The next cabin back has an emergency exit at row 44, but no window, and two crew seated infront of you. In the rear cabin row 54 has a window, loads of legroom, and only one crew member. 54A&K are is the definate seats to get if you want a window and you are on your own. At the back rows 60 to 63 get progressively narrower, and should be avoided.

Singapore's A380 Economy Row 81

Singapore's A380 Economy Row 71

Upstairs there is just one cabin, which is smaller and more intimate than the lower deck, and it has four toilets for 88 people, as opposed to six for the 311 downstairs. Singapore designed this area for a premium economy cabin, but abandoned this late in the rollout stage. It is in a 2-4-2 configuration. Row 71 is an emergency exit with no window, and a crew member infront of you. Row 81 has the absolute best seats for couples. It is an emergency exit with lots of legroom, a window, and is in 2+2. There is another twin pair behind it, but that suffers from light and from queues for the loos if privacy is important.

A380 Business class seat 20A

All A380s have a unique seat for Business class. It's similar to the new seat used on the 777s and retro-fitted to a few 747s, but wider.

Singapore's A380 Business Seat 11A

There are 60 seats in two cabins, in a 1+2+1 format, all on the upper deck. The forward section, in rows 11 to 16 is highly favoured, as it is smaller and service here is faster. The toilet in front of row 11 is vast, going most of the way above the cockpit. On the other side the space has however been wasted with some cupboards.

The seats have a width of 34 inches - which leads many people to complain that they are "too wide" - indeed, in turbulence, you need to wedge yourself in with cushons. The fixed back shell on every seat can be extended with lift up screens at the sides.

A380 Business class self-serve bar

The business seat has a pitch of 55, and a recline of 130 degrees - but this really a meaningless statistic, because if you pull the back of the seat down, it becomes the first half of a bed. You then flip down another triangle which becomes a fully flat bed. This is far more comfortable than the old spacebeds, but beware: you have to wedge your feet into the triangle infront of you to sleep if you are over 5'6" tall, and also there's no gradually reclinging the seat. You have to get up and have the bed made for you, so you can't slump further and fall asleep as a good dinner takes effect. On a full A380 after dinner the aisles are rammed with people standing around while the beds are flipped.

A380 Business class row 11

Row 11 and Row 17 (18 in D & G) are longer, without a triangle to put your feet into, but oddly, the beds do still have this cutout, so you end up having to still sleep at an angle. All seats have a 15.4 inch widescreen TV, a USB port for games, music (and for working using the inbuilt word processing software), a video in phono plug, and a computer network socket (for future expansion should Singapore add inflight internet).

Singapore A380 First class seat 3A

First Class is unlike any other First Class cabin on the planet. The 12 seats are in separate cabins, in a 1-2-1 layout. It's a little bit like Emirates, in that there is a closed cabin, but it is much more comfortable. All of the seats get 2 windows, except for 3A&K which get three, and are favoured as you don't have to lean forward to admire the view. The cabins are 81 inches long, and 35 inches wide, which sounds rather like a rabbit hutch, but in context actually works. It is designed by leading French luxury yacht designer Jean-Jacques Coste of Coste Design. There are two sliding doors, and screens which slide down either giving a view of a mesh, or a blackout screen.

A380 First class 3CD&D in bed mode

The bed flips down, and isn't part of the seat: it is 78 by 27 inches, and comes with a full duvet and cushions, designed by French fashion house, Givenchy. All seats have a 23 inch widescreen TV. Beside the seat under a curved flip-up pannel there is a USB port for games, music (and for working using the inbuilt word processing software) a computer network plug, and a video in phono plug.

Singapore A380 First class bathroom

The best bit of this cabin is that for couples traveling together, the beds in the middle two seats can be converted to a double bed, but with one proviso: this is actually two single beds side by side, with an annoying plastic divider that comes up to the top of the matress. The dividing screens are also only 6'3" high, so it is possible for a tall person walking by to see in.

Singapore 747-400

Economy, Row 39 on a 747-400

Economy seats are in a 3-4-3 pattern. With the bulkhead and emergency exit seats there are also fold out video screens and a table, which is pretty nice, although beware that this eats into your seat width. It is possible to book seats in advance, if you are a Krisflyer Gold, and it is well worth it, to get enough legroom for a giraffe, and to be able to get out of your seat without problems on a long flight.

Economy, Row 49 In a 747 emergency exit seat

In 747-400s row 31 (or 32 in HJK) gets a bulkhead, but may also get a fold out cot, so you may be blighted by children. Row 39 (or 41 on 747-200s) gets lots of legroom with an overwing door - but no window! Row 49 is best, as it gets an emergency exit, a window, and no cot. It's also not over the wing - and is by far the best selection. Beware of booking window seats in rows 35, 36, and 37, as these seats get a blanker in the window to allow control cables to run down to the wing.

Singapore 747 Raffles 11K The best Busines class seat

All 747s now have Spacebed seats for Business class, in a 2-2-2 pattern downstairs, but if you ask to be in the "Megatop" (What a silly name! You feel a right berk asking for it!) which is the upstairs section, with seats in a 2+2 pattern. Children won't be seated here it's much quieter, plus you can get a lot of attention from the cabin crew. The window seats here benefit from a huge cubby hole low down under the window, which is large enough for a carry on case. However the windows here slope so much its impossible to get a decent view of the ground. You should also aim for a bulkhead seat, which means you can get out of the window seat even when the person next to you is snoozing.

Business 747 Spacebed, upper deck 17A

Row 11 is right at the front by the cockpit, and has video screens that are screwed to the bulkhead, which makes them unpopular, however they are very private. Row 17 is by the emergency exit with miles of legroom, and gets fold out video screens, which means it is by far the best choice (although the seats on the left get crew members sitting looking at you, which can be a drawback). Avoid row 20, right by the stairs, which is also next to the galley so you spend the entire flight listening to the crew yacking, and they tend to give you a bit too much attention here. Note that on the left (seats A&C) in row 17, 18 & 19 (upstairs) the window lights are never turned off (because of the stairs) and you should avoid these seats.

Singapore 777 (777-200 & 777-300)

Singapore use the 777-200s for flights to Brisbane (see below for seats) and Perth (without spacebeds). For 2 of the 3 flights to Melbourne a 777-300 (with Spacebed seats for Raffles (business) class) is used.

Singapore 777 Raffles 11K Non Spacebed seats

Singapore's 777-300 have Wisemen 3000 with video on demand, so it is worth looking out for these, as many of the 777-200s still do not.

Raffles (Business) class 777 Spacebed seats

Economy seats are in a 3+3+3 pattern, which allows for a lot of width. (Emirates, for example, fly with 4 in the middle section, giving much narrower seats). In the 777-300 there is an emergency exit with extra legroom in rows 31 (but with no window), 36 & 50 (with a window). Row 49 for D,E,G is the bulkhead, giving a fold out TV screen. In the 777-200 row 31 is a bulkhead with two windows (but fixings for a cot - beware of children being seated here), while row 51 is an emergency exit, with no window (although there is one in the door ahead of you) and no cot fixings. Due to the large 2x2 toilet pod at this exit being designed for a 2+4+2 layout, rows 50 and 51 have only 2 seats abreast giving vast ammounts of space. Sleep is however difficult due to people queuing for the loos. Regular travellers know to ask for these seats on daytime journeys, however you can beat the system by pre-booking them if you check in on the Internet up to 2 days beforehand. Staff in Brisbane and Sydney have taken to blocking these seats from regular use - if you are a Gold Krisflyer member you can ask the supervisor at Business Class checkin to free up the seat for you.

Singapore 777 at Singapore

For Business class seats are usually in 2+3+2 pattern. It is however vital to check which aircraft variant you will be on to work out what type of seat you are on, and to ensure you get the Spacebed with an extended length of 78 inches and seat width of 27 inches.

For the 777-200 type with a First class section, Raffles is in 6 rows (seat numbers 11 to 17, with a galley & an exit half way between). Row 15 is an emergency exit. 777-200s without First (used to Brisbane) have Raffles starting at the front of the aircraft in row 11 (a bulkhead, with the video screen for seats in this row on the bulkhead) which then goes back 4 rows, but not alas with Spacebed seats. In the unusual dual-class 777-200ER (with no First) all the five rows of Spacebed Raffles seats are in a 2+2+2 pattern, giving a vast wide isle. The 777-300s (used to Melbourne) have all Spacebed seats, starting after First & the second entrance door, with 7 rows of 2+3+2.

On the 777s with First, these spacious seats are in 2 rows of 2+2+2.

Singapore A340-300 / A340-500

Singapore A340-500 on test at Singapore

The five A340-500s are configured in a unique way, with two classes. Economy has 117 Executive Economy Class seats in a 2-3-2 configuration (rather than the usual 8 abreast); with a seat pitch of 37" (recline of 8"), and 9" video monitors. Row 31 is particularly good,with 3 windows ahead of you - almost as good as normal Raffles. Row 34 has one window, and the emergency exit, but still, loads of legroom. Beware that on the A340, the seatbacks have oversized TV screens and cup holders, so there is no room for the tray tables, which are in the armrests. Therefore the arms do not swing up - so there is no point in asking for an empty row, or the seat next to you to be blocked off, as you still won't be able to lie down on the seats.

Raffles has 64 SpaceBeds in a 2-2-2-seat layout, with a larger seat pitch of 64".

Older Airbus 340-300s are being phased out. They offer Economy seat in a 3-4-3 pattern, which with a marginally wider body of a A340, means that the seats are very wide, and bulkhead & emergency exit seats also still have the fold out video screens and a table - nice.

Singapore A380 flies - if only in model form at Sydney airport

There's a lot of history - and bad feeling in the US - behind these aircraft. In 1991 SIA stunned the airline world when it told McDonnell Douglas that its new, much anticipated wide-body aircraft, the MD-11, did not meet SIA's long-haul performance specifications. It canceled a two billion pound order and opted for the Airbus A340-300 instead. Singapore was proved to be right, with those airlines which stuck with the MD-11 (such as Thai) wishing they'd made the change.

Singapore Inflight experience

Singapore's A380 at Sydney

Consistency (a rare trait in the airline industry) comes to the fore with SIA service, be it food or drink. Dom Perignon flows in first, Piper Heidsieck in business; the ice creams in economy are Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's. The trademark dish is Singapore's lobster thermidor.

SIA is decidedly retro in certain respects, including its celebration of what it calls the Singapore Girl, selected for her beauty, grace and youth. The average age is 22. There are male flight attendants at SIA, but they get little attention. A problem with this youth is that sometimes if you make a request outside the normal service schedule - and particularly in Economy - you will get a polite acknowledgement, and then totally ignored. This can be something as simple as asking for the other wine on the menu (there are always 2 on offer, but only one on the trolley), or asking for a cocktail when the cocktail run has finished.

Singapore Airlines playing cards

In Economy after takeoff a tray with beer, wine, and juice is brought around immediately after the seatbelt sign is taken off, and then hot towels are handed out (and again just before the second meal service, if there is one) and then the economy menu is brought around for you. This contains the beverage list, with five cocktails, and a list of the three wines. During the flight there is normally a choice of two red wines, but they will only be listed as "French" or "German" rather than by grape, and there is normally only one on the drinks trolley. If you ask the cabin crew they will bring both out for you to taste, but expect a bit of grumling over this. Newspapers are no longer brought round, but if you ask nicely and want a special paper, the cabin staff will often wait until a Raffles customer has finished their paper and then bring it to you. The first drinks service has trolleys from front to back except in the rear economy cabin where it is back to front and includes cocktails. A second run is with wine bottles only (so hang onto your plastic glass). The meal service then begins, in the same trolley order. The glass wine glass on the trays is tiny, and gaps between service long, so hanging onto your larger plastic glass is a good idea. Half way through flights of longer than 12 hours, there is a snack run, with rolls and reduced drinks run. The second meal service (on flights above 7 hours) starts 2 hours before landing, and is cleared one hour before.

Singapore 747 The back of the bus

In Business (Raffles) the experience starts as you enter the plane. Here a member of the crew will show you to your seat, and help with your luggage. You will be addressed by name and offered a drink, and one of each of the newspapers is brought round personally for you, so you can select one. The Straits Times is always offered, along with a local paper for the destination. You will then be offered a menu - often you are askedto select your food before takeoff. I guess this means it can be cooked quicker, and the serving starts almost as soon as the plane reaches cruising height.

The Menu contains the complete set of food both for outbound and return, so it pays to check the top of the menu carefully for the destination. Look for the little flaming wok symbol, which is by the food Singapore is really proud of. There is a separate Beverage list, which has long tasting notes on each wine. In business there are normally 3 reds, 3 whites, Sparkling Wine and port. On 747s and 777 there are also long lists of coffees.

Singapore is one of the few airlines which still hands out free packs of playing cards to passengers, on request.

Singapore Airlines 747-400 at Singapore

Singapore Routes

From the UK, Singapore airlines main usefulness is to get to Australia, New Zealand, and of course Singapore.

From LHR there are 3 flights a day to Singapore, at 1200 (or 1100 on clock change months), 1800, and 2215 (with an extra one on Saturday at 1830) all with 747-400s.

From Singapore there are 3 flights a day to Sydney at 0010 (with a 777-300) 0930 and 2015 (on 747-400s). To get to Sydney from the UK only 2 connections are useful - the 1200 gives you an hour and a half changeover at 0930 to get to Sydney the next day at 1845. Meanwhile the 2215 gives over 4 hours to kill, leaving SIN at 2015, arriving in Sydney at 0530 two days later. It's an "entertaining" experiance in jet lag, and is like a military experiment in sleep deprivation. To get the cheapest tickets sometimes the only way to do it is to get the 1800 from LHR, waste 10 hours in SIN (taking a stopover tour of the city, or just lying by the rooftop pool), and then get the 0010, arriving in SYD at 0925.

Singapore 747 at Auckland, New Zealand

Returning from Sydney to Singapore there are flights (all on a three class 747-400) at 0805, 1130 and 1540. However to get back to LHR only the 1540 gives a decent connection in SIN (onto the flight which staggers into LHR at 0530), and is the only one timetabled as such. Accordingly earlier flights, particularly the 1130, often have more room. See the hints and tips section on selecting this flight, which often yeilds a much cheaper fare. Alternately you can overnight in SIN and get the early morning flight the next day. As a desperate measure, you can even sleep in the Silver Kris lounge.

From Singapore there are three times a day flights to Melbourne at 0955 (arrives 1910 on a 777-300) and 2050 (arrives 0555 with a 747-400) and at 2340 (arrives 0855 with a Spacebeded 777-300). There are flights three times a day to Brisbane (all on 777-200, in a 2 class layout) at 0955 (arrive 1915), 2110 (arrive 0630) and (except Tuesday and Wednesday) 0005 (arrive 0925).

Perth gets flights (all on non-spacebed 777-200s) at 0935 (arrive 1435) and 1850 (arrive 2350) , plus an extra 0120 flight every day except Tues, Weds & Fri). There are daily flights to Adelaide at 2230 (777-200).

To New Zealand there is Auckland daily at 2100 (747-400) and Christchurch on Monday, Friday and Saturday at 2105 (A340).

Up the peninsular there are 6 flights a day to Bangkok, 7 a day to Jakarta, and 8 to Kuala Lumpur (which only takes 50 minutes).

Singapore to New York Route over North Pole

For years, Singapore has served both coasts of the US, through airports in New York (Newark), Los Angeles and San Francisco. But in the past 18 months, it has also added flights to two interior cities, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Paris CDG Singapore 747

Singapore has launched the longest non-stop commercial service in the world with direct flights from Singapore to Los Angeles, using a uniquely configured A340-500, with extended economy seats. The 7,900 nautical mile service from Singapore to Los Angeles will take 16 hours, and the return service from Los Angeles 18½ hours. Takeoff in Singapore is 1600, flying west, landing in LA at exactly the same time, 1600, on the same day. Return takeoff in LA is a 2000, going east and arriving two days later at 0640. The return fare of £747 (presumably a joke at Boeing's expense) is an increase of 65 pounds on the usual fare which includes a stop off.

Singapore Airlines has launched an even longer flight, from Singapore to New York Direct. This 8,965 nautical mile flight will fly directly over the North Pole on its return journey. Leaving Singapore at 1205 it gets into New York (Newark) at 1830 on the same day. On the return journey it leaves New York at 2300, and arrives in Singapore at 0535 two days later, without stopping off en-route. Indeed, it would be difficult for it to do so - there are no airports for 4,000 miles of the route over the Arctic.

Singapore Entertainment - Krisworld

Singapore Airlines entertainment system is called Krisworld, and when launched it was the best inflight entertainment system onboard any airline. It is still pretty good, particularly with the uprated system used on the A380. Most aircraft have a variant that allows Audio Visual on Demand (or AVOD), allowing you to play a film when you want to.

EconomyNew headphones

Economy video screens come in at a giant 6 inches (10.6 inches on the A380) and with true stereo sound for some films. Films in stereo are indicated with a dolby symbol in the inflight magazine.

Economy headphones use twin 3.5mm jacks. The sockets will however let you use 3-pin noise cancelling headphones if

A380 First pannels (headphone & ports)

you can get hold of them. Most routes now use Singapore's new style high quality headphones with an overhead band, which are pretty good and deliver a nice bass sound. However a few flights still use the old style rather uncomfortable sit-in-the-ear headphones. Alas Singapore will only distribute headsets in economy for flights that exceed 2 hours in scheduled flight time, except for certain transit flights (such as Zurich to Manchester and Johannesburg to Cape Town) where the flight attendents will let you keep the headsets for the continuation flight.

Economy Old style headphones

Business (Raffles) class gets a giant 10.5 inch screen (15.4 inches widescreen on the A380), which alas is clipped to the seat infront, except in the emergency exit seats (upper deck) where there is a fold out screen which wraps up under the seat, or in the bulkhead (747 upper deck or 777 front seats) where it is screwed to the wall in front - and anoyingly far away. You will also be handed real noise cancelling headphones, which are lovely. Probably the best in use by any airline, they are increadably confortable, and so good at cutting out the noise of the plane, its like being in a cinema. Alas they are collected before the flight lands, to stop anyone from walking off with them.

A380 Economy handset & ports

First Class on the A380 has a giant 23 inch widescreen TV screen. In your armrest there is a flipup wood covered pannel with the USB and network sockets. Below this is another flipup pannel, containing your headphones.

Krisword comes in several variants. The first version was called the Wiseman 2000 system, which does not have AVOD. To check which system you have, if you are in Raffles on a non-spacebed equiped 777, look at the non-SpaceBed’s cloth cover. If it is light blue there is no AVOD, whereas dark blue means there is AVOD. On aircraft such as the 777-200 without AVOD there are just 9 channels of films. However, while you are waiting for a film to cycle to its start, you can select an audio track and listen to that while watching the film timer countdown.

The later variant used on all the 747s and 777-300s is Wisemen3000, a video-on-demand-in-the-air system which should be a dream, but it is unreliable. It works just like a video player. You can start, play, rewind and even fast forward every film on the list, including 29 movies, 30 hours (50 features) of short TV features (like shorter film clips, documentaries and comedies), 50 music CD albums, and more than 30 Nintendo Games.

A380 First handset

The variant used on the A380, and which is being retro-fitted to the latest 777s is The new KrisWorld – eX2. It offers all the usual AVOD, with 100 movies, more than 180 TV programmes, 700 CDs and more than 22 radio channels. The games have been uprated too to include multiplayer and 3D Games. But the best bit is there are PC applications, including a Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation software. If you take along your files on a USB stick, you can work with them onboard. Just ask the crew for a keyboard.

Raffles Headphones

When you first switch on your screen to select Wisemen 3000 press mode on the remote until INT is shown on the display. If you are in video mode you can just channel hop by pressing the channel key. You then go through a heirarchial menu system, and watch a film showing how to use the handsets. To skip this intro press backwards. You are then invited to select language 1 and 2 - what the system doesn't tell you is that English is on language 1, and language 2 is either German or the original Asian language version. For all the Lufthansa codeshares you'll get a German soundtrack along with the English one.

Warning: Every Singapore flight I've been on has had a serious computer crash inflight, which brought down the entertainment system.

Main computer crash on the KrisWorld system - a common sight

With the older AVOD systems, it is quite common to get several Wisemen crashes in one hour, and to have the whole bank of seats operating off one computer node to be switched off for the duration of the flight. Until Singapore and Boeing solve their computer problems, the inflight entertainment system of Singapore must be regarded as "suspect". You'll know when you get a crash - either the buttons stop working, or, worse, a little windows style box (see picture) appears on the screen warning of fatal drive errors. These seem to occur most often when several people in the same seating bank are playing the computer games - the PC can't cope, and shuts down.

Singapore A380 economy, lower mid cabin, IFE

The controls for the films are quite simple. The four coloured buttons on the remote are stop, play, rewind and fastforward. These seem to be implemented in a wacky way - what the instructions don't tell you is that you have to press the fast forward once to go forward and then press pause to see where you are in the film. This is particularly annoying in the adverts at the start of a film - the time counter doesn't update when you are in fast forward, so you won't know when the film starts!

Moving map display on Singapore

When you select films, and then the title of the film, you'll get a short, text, synopsis. At this point you can press the yellow button to get a 5 minute trailler for it - and with some films that's all you need to know you shouldn't go near it.

Film selection is very good - there should be a couple of films which haven't made it to the UK box office yet, and other recurrents (films from the past year or so). On all flights there's a serving of 1 Spanish/Italian film, and 4 Asian ones (normally chinese) in the selection for the month.

There is audio on demand. You can build up your own track playlist - but the albums are very Asian and US orientated. There's virtually nothing from the UK charts from the past 10 years, but plenty of country and easy listening.

CNN headlines on a Raffles class bulkhead seat

There's a very pretty 3D map - the latest version from Boeing, which shows the aircrafts position on a world map, and shows how the hills look from the pilot's perspective. A nice change from the usual scrolling map. It's in News & Info then Flightpath. Alas when you are half way through watching a film you can't get to it directly.

KrisWorld - the inflight film listings

There are news headlines in text form which are - theoretically - updated from CNN every hour. Alas they almost solely deal with US news, and are never updated at a weekend. A sad omission. However if you want the CNN news in vision, it's hidden under short features, then bulletin, and is 30 minutes long, and normally updated every day. It is also shown on the broadcast TV channel (number 98) in the first half hour of the flight.

Singapore A380 economy, lower rear cabin, IFE

There are 45 computer games. 31 are GameBoy games - the F1 race and SuperMario are the best here - and 14 PC games - all board games, and very dull. You can also challenge another passenger to a dual-player game of chess. FOr the new Wiseman system on the A380, there are full 3D games.

The in-seat telephone can also be used to call other seats. To Enable this feature: On a 747 press 1, then "Incoming Off", select OK, and the display shows ON. On a 777 press On, then Func, then 2. To Dial a seat, press 1, select "Call Seat", then OK, then dial the seat number (in Row, number format) you want to dial.

Film listings are in the inflight magazine KrisWorld. Produced by Sparfax, it's got some OK reviews and synopsis, all in a very easy to read style. The film listings start about halfway through, and the short features are on a page hidden at the back, before you get to the lists of albums.

Singapore Inflight Magazine - SilverKris

SilverKris - the inflight magazine

Like Singapore Airlines - and Singapore itself - the inflight magazine is glossy, professional, and tells you a lot without telling you anything thought provoking or controversial in any way whatsoever.

It's called Silver Kris after the 14th century Malay weapon (and shows Singapore Airlines origins as Malay Airways from 1947).

A380 Singpore's new twin-desk Airbus with new airbridges

It comes out monthly, and normally includes a good article on the arts in Singapore (provided the plays are non-political), travel (to a Singapore Airlines destination) which normally includes all the good points about food and culture, but nothing negative, and couple of articles on business issues, such as how to get the best from your accountant.

There is also a lengthy, and incomprehensible, chinese section.

Alas there is no information on how Singapore Airlines is doing, or what planes are flying, but there is a good guide to Singapore Changi Airport - read it before you land to find out how to get to the swimming pool on the roof (Terminal 1).

Loos in a Singapore Airlines 747 Toothbrushes and razors are in the small drawer underneath

Singapore Longhaul amenity kit

Singapore airlines is quite stingy when it comes to giving away stuff in its amenity kits.

What you won't be told is that in the loos there are not only several smelly things on the shelf - (aftershave, face wash, etc) but in the hidden drawer under the counter marked "utilities" there are toothbrushes (in a long thin packet, with toothpaste in the packet), razors (in a packet with shavingcream), and combs. Economy gets some handed out - in business class you have to get your own! Singapore also colour code the goodies - economy ones are red, while business class ones are blue, even though they are identical (Its good to see an airline with so much money it can afford to make duplicate items in different colours), except for the razors which are single blade in economy, and double blade in business (a recent change, and most welcome).

Goodies for Economy - the socks and grey toothbrush are in the wallet. The razor, comb, shavingcream, and blue toothbrush are in the loos.

Economy class

In economy if the flight is over 10 hours, within an hour you'll get a little plastic wallet, with socks, a very cheap grey toothbrush, and a small tube of toothpaste.

All the other stuff you may need, such as a razor, is in the drawer in the loos.

Goodies for Business Nice slippers with a Raffles logo, and an eyeshade.

Business (Raffles) class

If the flight is over 8 hours, you'll get a nice pouch with some pretty decent slippers, and a separate eyeshade.

That's it - no washbags or toothbrushes any longer. If you want any of these, alas you have to go to the loos.

Singapore Frequent Flyer - KrisFlyer

NEWS: There are a number of changes on the way for Singapore Airlines Frequent Flyer KrisFlyer Programme. For round-trip Economy Saver redemption award, Singapore to Adelaide rises from 40,000 to 55,000 miles, while the rest of Australia (Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane) & New Zealand rise from 50,000 to 55,000. The previously good deal of Companion Awards have been axed.

KrisFlyer is Singapore Airlines frequent flier programme, and is part of the Star Alliance.

How to book your seat online: Up to 48 hours before departure, logon to Krisflier, click on Online Services, enter your flight number, and select your seat

Like most of Singapore Airlines, it does things efficiently, professionally - and allows you far fewer perks than virtually all other loyalty cards. There is little point in joining it, unless you plan to fly Singapore Airlines exclusively. 1,600,000 people are members of the Krisflier scheme.

Your tier level points bonus will also reset on the 1st of April each year - so even if you've flown enough for gold level, if this falls over the boundary, you won't get any benefit. If you achieve a tier upgrade in fewer than 12 months, your new 12-month membership period will begin from the date of your upgrade and your membership anniversary will be reset to this date.

Sometimes the tier bonus isn't added correctly. The yearly tier level status can also be added up incorrectly, so it pays to check online.

KrisFlyer membership packs

There are two main perks to joining KrisFlyer, and they are available whatever level you are. Firstly, all KrisFlyer members can check in via the internet - and reserve the sought after bulkhead seats - 48 hours before departure. You can also use the mileage accrued for either more flights, or buying an upgrade on an economy seat (but at such high redemption levels, it costs only marginally more to get a business ticket for free). To upgrade just SIN-SYD from economy to business, you need a wopping 35,000 miles.

When you join you get a natty little pack with all the membership & redemption charts, plus at silver and gold level two luggage labels. However the labels are too small for the attached tags, and most passengers use the string tags which bmi provide to tie on Singapore labels.

Earning Miles

Business (Raffles) class only gets 125% of miles flown (unlike BA and bmi who give you twice the miles). Singapore Airlines own cheap economy tickets (booked into W class) such as the promos to Australia for £680 earn full miles, but Travel Agents cheapest economy tickets (V,Q,G & N class) don't get any points or miles, and this includes the Expedia.co.uk "Expedia Special" fares - so it is well worth paying the £10 premium that Singapore charge, to book on their site.

Points last for 3 years, and then expire.

LHR 6761 SYD 3912 BKK 898 HKK 1594 LAX 8763

Points earned from SIN

Points are normally reliably added to your account, althought there are odd occasions when even Singapore Airline's flights fail to appear. If you send in boarding cards there can be a long wait (up to 3 months) before these miles are added to your Krisflyer account while Krisflyer check with the relevant airline that you did, indeed, take the flight. The delays here seem to depend on the airline - Thai flights are added almost instantly, whereas Lufthansa and Lauda flights wait for a full 3 months, before almost being added by default (Presumably because the airline didn't get back to Singapore, so they added the miles by default).

Sometimes the tier bonus isn't added correctly. The yearly tier level status can also be added up incorrectly, so it pays to check online.

You can earn miles on all Star Alliance flights at exactly one mile per mile flown, even on the cheapest tickets - however there is no minimum mile level. Accordingly, for very short flights it may be worth adding the miles to a scheme, such as bmi, which has a minimum earning-per-flight level.

You also earn miles on Silkair, Emirates, Delta, Mexicana, and Virgin Atlantic.

Spending points

KrisFlyer Elite Gold Welcome pack

Singapore Airlines have complicated charts for redeeming points.

Singapore organise the world into zones. There are now 23 zones (up from the previous 12). Singapore is in Zone 1, the UK is in Zone 21. For a return trip from the UK to Singapore 70,000 points are needed (120,000 business class), to Perth 80,000 (130,000 business) and 90,000 (145,000 business) to Sydney and Auckland. From Singapore to Perth its 40,000(65,000 business) and Sydney 50,000 (85,000 business).

1 en route stopover or 1 enroute open jaw is permitted on every round-trip itinerary, with additional en route stopovers redeemable at 15,000 miles each. It is now possible to buy extra miles, although the level of US$40 for 1000 miles hardly makes it economical.

You can use your points for all other airlines in the Star Alliance, at slightly different rates than on Singapore. For example Singapore to Copenhagen on SAS in business comes in at 120,000 miles. The miles can also go on Delta, Virgin and Emirates, but with even higher redeption rates, so that UK to Sydney in Business comes in at 180,000.

You can redeem online at the Singapore website, and this saves 15% of the miles.

Booking redemption tickets from London can be tricky. Infact, not just tricky, but almost impossible if you are trying for a Raffles seat. There are only ever two of these business class seats available for redeption on any flight from LHR to Singapore, and they go almost as soon as they are released. You can however beat the system - if you try booking a Raffles seat all the way to Australia, the online system will often show availability, even if there was none just going to Singapore. Also, coming back from Singapore to LHR, the 1540 (arrives at LHR at 0555) is often booked out, however the other flights which arrive later often have some availability.

Buying an Upgrade using points

It is also possible to book an Upgrade using miles. This used to be a good deal, but redemption rates have recently been sharply increaded, From economy to business class, from the UK to Singapore one way it costs 45,000 points, 45,000 to Perth & Adelaide, and 55,000 to Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne. From Singapore its 25,000 to Adelaide & Perth, and 35,000 to Sydney and Auckland. With such steep redeption levels, there is little point in only upgrading as far as Singapore and you might as well upgrade all the way to Australia from the UK. Be warned that only economy classes S, Y, B, E & M can be upgraded, however when booking the website will never tell you the booking class letter (unless you click on the fare rules link after entering your name, on the payment & ticketing page, when the booking class letter is displayed in small type in the top right).

It is normally fair to assume that promotion (Q) and flexi-saver (W) can not be upgraded. You can however phone the ticket desk and get them to "upsell" your W ticket to E class (normally only £28GBP from LHR to Australia) which then can be upgraded, but only the London ticket office (not the Singapore office) can do this. You do not have to pay the increased Air Passenger Duty when you upgrade.

You can also upgrade your ticket online. Book your ticket in the usual way online, with your Krisflyer number. Then, view your bookings, and select this booking, then select upgrade. If your booking is greyed out, it is in an ineligable booking class.

You can also use your KrisFlyer miles for upgrades on five other Star Alliance airlines - Thai, All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and Lufthansa. All have launched the Star Alliance Upgrade Awards. This is a great perk - you can purchase an Economy Class ticket (beware - only on a specific booking class) and then redeem your KrisFlyer miles for an upgrade to a Business Class seat on the same flight. Doing this is complicated - there has to be a redemption seat in business on your selected flight, and to get it you need to contact KrisFlyer Membership Services direct.

KrisFlyer Blue Level

KrisFlyer Elite

This is the basic level for collection points. As soon as you join online and take your first flight you are sent a pack with this card. You don not however get any luggage tags, or indeed any other perks, with this membership tier.

KrisFlyer Elite Silver Level

KrisFlyer Elite Silver

KrisFlyer Elite Silver comes after 25,000 miles (LHR-SYD return is 21,000 miles. Annoyingly close!)

At silver level there is a 25% mileage bonus on all flights, and you get priority on standby lists. And that's it: no lounge access, no nothing!

KrisFlyer Elite Gold Level

KrisFlyer Elite Gold

KrisFlyer Elite Gold comes after 50,000 miles.

At gold level you get access to all Silver Kris lounges (Except in Singapore & LA, where you can only get access to the Premier lounge). However this does not permit you access to the First Class lounge (for that you need Solitaire PPS club membership). You also get two credit card sized "priority" tags for your luggage. There is also the silver 25% mileage bonus.

KrisFlyer gold members get an extra 10kg luggage allowance, taking it to 30kgs for economy, and 40kgs for Raffles (Business) class.

Renewing Gold level can be a problem, however if it looks as if you won't even make Silver level the next year, SQ often have an offer that you can stay at Gold if you take two return trips from December to April. See below in the hints and tips section for details.

Singapore lounges - SilverKris lounges

Singapore Airways lounges are large and good quality. There's normally a good selection of booze, often some good nibbles, and a lousy collection of newspapers.

Note that any Singapore Airlines passenger traveling in First or Business Class, holding Solitaire, PPS Club or Krisflyer Elite Gold membership cards who are traveling in `Y' Class with SQ, can get into the Virgin Clubhouse at LHR, LGW, IAD, JNB, HKG, and NRT. The clubhouse at Heathrow is particularly impressive, but no guests are permitted.

Lounges at Singapore

Singapore Airlines operates flights out of two terminals in Singapore. It has First and Business lounges in both the new Terminal 3, and the older Terminal 2, which are open to both Singapore premium fliers, and passengers on Star Alliance flights in First or Business although this is not advertised. Star Alliance Gold members in economy are not permitted into these Singapore Airlines lounges, but are entitled to use the SATS Premier Club at Terminal 2 and Krisflyer Gold Lounge at Terminal 3.

SilverKris Terminal 3 Lounge

Singapore SilverKris Terminal 3 Lounge

Terminal 3, Train Stop A, by gate A5, Third Floor Open 0530-2330 No access for Star Alliance Gold Members in economy.
When you have finished being wowed by the brand new Terminal 3, and going gaga over the shops, the forest, and the waterfall, you can have a look at the lounge. Rather like Singapore itself it looks pretty impressive (and it should be - it was brand new in 2008), but it is let down by some of the facilites, but it's still up there with some of the great airline lounges of the world. In the middle of Terminal 3 (by Gate 5) you go up the escalator, past the big sign saying Kris Lounge, go left at the top, and have your boarding pass checked by the two lounge dragons. On the right is the checkin area, and past this the internet café. Straight ahead on the right is the first lounge, while to the left, past the half wall of pillars is the business class lounge (which would be called the Raffles lounge, if only Singapore still used that name).

SilverKris Terminal 3 Food area

The business lounge finally looks like a proper flagship lounge, with high ceiling and natural flights and new mood lighting. There is a marble floor with brown coloured carpet, marble walls, and lots of black leather armchairs. The lounge is huge - and it needs to be, because this place gets very busy with all the Europe to Australasia transfer traffic. There is just about a view of the tarmac (on the left, if you squint down low, and look through the rest of the terminal), although this isn't great, but at least there is some natural light. Admittedly however all the seats are pretty much the same - there isn't much variety, no matter where you sit. On most of the walls there are huge plasma TVs, showing CNN or Singapore TV, with the sound down. Alas the sound isn't out around the lounge - there is annoying music. This gets really loud - ironically - at the quiet section at the back, which is a phone free zone - presumably so people can't speak on their mobiles. There are no slumberettes or sleeping areas.

SilverKris Terminal 3 Lounge

The new Dining area is large, with three rows of many different types of hot and cold food. Much of this is made up of different types of curry, laksa, dumplings, and fishball noodles in vast silver tureens, along with a rack of salads (dressing is in the big jars on the right), chicken wings, and plenty of cheeses and yoghurts. There is plenty of bread (including a Singapore flag made out of bread dough) and some very bad sandwiches tightly wrapped in clingfilm. Around here there is a long cafeteria type marble table with high wooden chairs, but this feels isolated and drafty - few people sit here unless the lounge is really crowded.

SilverKris Terminal 3 Sandwiches

The bar is OK, but nothing special. There is a sign which says "please approach our staff for wine or Sparkling Wine", and that Sparkling Wine is decent - normally Charles Heidsieck.

The shower area is very nice, lots of white and marble - indeed, its blindingly light, and there are only 4 showers, but with very trendy huge showerheads. Back in the internet café (shared between First and Busines) there are twenty new Mac computers, which are fast and virus free - although there is just one printer, and getting access to it can be a problem. There are plenty of power points, with a UK design of plug. There are no monitors in the lounge showing the status of your flight - you have to go to the entrance to check on this, which can add some stress to your visit - hardly the point of popping into the lounge.

Singapore SilverKris Terminal 2 Lounge

Terminal 2 Open 0530-2330
No access for Star Alliance Gold Members

Singapore SilverKris Lounge

The vast mother of all lounges. This lounge gets a lot of traffic, so it needs to be big, but even so as you enter past the very stubbon girls on their little podium on reception you realise you're entering another realm. There are two big fish tanks, in the centre of the room, and little circles of chairs and tables, in the standard Singapore style. There are also plenty of orchids growing between the chairs. Lighting is kept very dim in the room, and there are no windows, but the plus point is it's very good for sleeping.

On the left as you go in is the business centre, with 8 internet computers, all with very fast connections. The whole lounge is also equiped with Wireless Lan. Then as you go around the lounge on the extreem left behind the glass screens are 8 leather sleeping couches. Further round is a TV on the wall, showing Reuters. The loos are a delight, with free razors and toothbrushes (the same as on the planes). There are also 4 showers, and 3 phone boxes.

Singapore SilverKris Bar

There is a dedicated bar (open 1530-2330) with a few stools and a rather surly barman, who mixes a very good Singapore Sling, and come to that anything else you ask for. However when the bar is open all the alcohol in the food area disappears. Before that point there is a good Sparkling Wine, and Tiger beer on draft in the fridge by the food.

Singapore Premier Lounge

Food is very good, with a decent selection of cheese and vegitable dips during the day. In the evenings (after 7pm) there is a full dinner service, with two tubs. One contains hot chicken and beef curry. The other has rice and noodles. On ice is a salad bar, with potato salad, green bits, slices of tomato, and lots of cheese.

Singapore Premier Lounge

NEWS: SATS has introduced a totally new lounge at Singapore. The old SATS lounge is (thankfully) no more. The new lounge is next to the MH lounge, and is a vast improvement. There is a good bar, a long rack of newspapers, and lovely pink seats. Terminal 2 Open 0630-2300
The designated Star Alliance Gold lounge

Singapore Premier Lounge

Woe betide you if you arrive at Singapore after a 14 hour flight hoping for a decent rest in a quality lounge before your ongoing flight. While the SIA SilverKris lounge is top quality, if you are a Gold member of any Star Alliance Frequent Flyer scheme you get stuck in the SIA Premier lounge. While it is brand new, and vastly better than the old offering, it is still one of the worst on the network.

Tucked away under the eves near to the Sunflower garden, you take the escalator up to the Raffles lounge close to the food court, and then take a sharp turn right, as if you were to be heading to the Malaysian lounge. As you walk over the hanging walkway this really emphasises to you that you are not going to be in a Raffles heaven.

Singapore Premier Lounge Main seating area

The lounge can get very crowded. Seats are hard and uncomfortable. Thankfully there are windows, but even so it seems claustrophobic. The lounge is divided into two, with a sort of TV viewing area at the far end, while in the main area there is a TV screwed to the wall, although it is impossible to watch it without disturbing other people. It does however have BBC World. Newspapers are on the rack as you walk in the front door, although these consist only of the Straits Times and the FT.

There are three Internet computers which are brand new and quite fast in the business centre which is at the far end (and then turn right). Get the log on password of the day from the main desk. Beware that the machines are virus ridden and full of advert malware.

Singapore bar & food fridge

The Bar is ok. The wines come from Willowglen and Carpia, with two whites and two reds of each. The two whites are in an ice bucket which is tepid for most of the day, and the two reds are behind them, but there is no Sparkling Wine. There are nine bottle of spirits (Smirnoff Vodka, Gordon's Gin, Black Label Vodka, VSOP, and Baccardi among others), beer (Tiger, Carlsberg & Heiniken), mini pots of water, and a fridge with some fruit juice, including a terrible tomato (but no Bloody Mary mix). Ice is under the tin lid in the worktop. There is a Nescafe machine, giving a decent cup of coffee, and a capochino machine next to it. There is also a most impressive array of tea bags.

Food is pretty limited. Early in the morning there are packets of Cornflakes and Rice Crispies, with full cream milk in the fridge. During the day on the left hand side is a fridge with packets of sandwiches - there are three types, all wrapped up tight in cling film. There is a small heated cabinet with some baked pastries in it, including miniture crossants (but not butter) and Dainish pastries. Late in the day fish soup appears. Meanwhile on the bar counter there are Pot Noodles and Pringles.

Singapore Premier Lounge bar

There is two showers - often with long queues. Ask at reception for a towel. The hot control on the shower has at last been fixed, so it is no longer the "refreshing" experience it once was.

There are no screens in the lounge to tell you the status of your flight, nor announcements; instead you have to exit the lounge, and run across the bridge to the other side of the hall to see the screen. This bad piece of planning has resulted in many passengers missing their flight; alas Singapore also make a "final call" for their flights about 20 minutes before passengers start to board; the only fix for SATS cronic lack of foresight is to note the time your flight is due to push back, calculate how long it will take you to walk to the gate, subtract one from the other, and aim to be at the gate 15 minutes beforehand. Normally this works, although it tends to make the crew at the gate jump up and down.

Beware that the lounge is only open from 0630 to 2300, so fails to meet and greet the early morning or overnight flights. All in all its a waste of time, however there is plenty of Tiger beer in the fridge, so I often just swipe some of these and go and sit beside the open air swimming pool on the roof.

LHR SilverKris Lounge

London LHR SilverKris Lounge

Terminal 3, near Gate 6a Open 0715-2200
NEWS: Singapore are planning to keep this lounge open until it opens its new lounge in Terminal 1. Singapore are going to be the last Star Alliance airline to move to Terminal 1, probably in 2009.
The LHR Lounge has recently undergone a major transformation - it's got a lot smaller, and yet is still looking pretty tired. The change is due to BAA making considerable changes to ensure that there is separate arriving & departure access for passengers at gate 6, This is a great improvement, as the temporary wooden partiton outside the lounge, and all the access hassles, have gone. Alas space has been sacreficed - no longer is there a wrap around bar; this area has gone, as has the TV lounge and the sleeping area.

London SilverKris Lounge

There are usually two people on the front lounge desk (who are fairly friendly, but can't help with ticket details - these have to be done at the ticket desk by check in). First class is to the left and downstairs, Raffles passengers go upstairs to the Silver Kris (Business) lounge, as do Gold Star Alliance members. Follow the stairs past the waterfall (!).

The Silver Kris lounge has great view of the apron around gate 6 where most SIA flights leave from (a few leave from gate 18, a 20 minute hike up the other end of Terminal 3). If you lean over, you can see the southern runway & Terminal 4.

London LHR SilverKris Lounge sleeping area

Even though SIA have only 3 flights a day from LHR (at 1200, 1800, and 2200), this lounge is open from early in the morning until the last flight leaves, to allow passengers on bmi codeshare flights to sleep before the trek to Singapore.

There is a small stand with newspapers (only a few from the UK, like the FT - the rest are from Singapore) and magazines, such as Wallpaper. There are two TVs. One is a small TV screen in the recess where the sleeping area once was. Watching this TV is a problem - many people end up standing. There is also a larger TV flat widescreen TV in the main body of the lounge, with Freeview.

London LHR SilverKris Lounge food

There is a business centre with four computers, which have just been replaced and are fast, with free Internet access, and flat screens. Alas, they are badly infected with viruses.

The bar is good, and infact is a real bar - there is even a barman, who will mix cocktails for you. On the bar top (in wine coolers) are two of Singapore's white wines of the month. Tasting notes for these are on the small stand beside them. There are reds at the back of the bar. Alas the bar no longer serves Sparkling Wine. To the left of the bar is a fridge, which has beer, including cans of Fosters lager and Guinness.

London SilverKris Lounge

Food is served in variants thoughtout the day, with sandwiches available all the time. There is some breakfast in the mornings, including cornflakes, while there is Chicken Satay for the early evening flight, and hot samaosas and vegitable rolls in the late evening. Under the food counter there is a fridge with cheese and yogurt. The loos are good, with showers.

The lounge is pretty good, but it is small and tired. However if you are in Raffles (Business Class), or hold a KrisFlyer or bmi Gold card (but not another other Star Alliance card) you can get access to the Virgin Atlantic clubhouse. Close to the SAS lounge, this is a real perk, with a great Sparkling Wine bar, food court, lots of seats, good office space, a hairdresser and swiming pool. It should be used at all costs until about half an hour before your departure time when you should walk along to the Singapore lounge incase there are any last minute boarding changes. You can also access the SAS lounge, with great games and a good library, and the United lounge (which isn't worth bothering with). Note that at Terminal 3 at LHR BAA have abandoned fasttrack for Gold card holders - you can now only use fasttrack if you are in a premium cabin.

Bangkok SilverKris Lounge

Bangkok SilverKris Lounge

Terminal 1
A very small lounge, which is dominated by the furniture. The standard Singapore squashy round armchairs seem to take up too much space in the room, but it gets very few guests coming through, so I guess it works. The woman on the main desk often wanders off, and you can see her from the main corridor, so sneaking in extra guests is easy.

There is a great view of the main airport apron. The bar is very small, with Singa the only beer, in cans. There is only one type of white wine, and food consists of 3 types of pot noodles, and a small heated cabinet with pastries. There are however lots of bottles of spirits. There are a few newspapers on a rack, mostly the Bangkok Post. There are no computers, and only one tiny cubby hole with a phone.

Sydney SilverKris Lounge

Sydney

Pier C, level 3. Open 0600-1530.
The SilverKris lounge in Sydney is up the stairs (or via the escalators) on the far side of the terminal, on the same upper corridor as the Air New Zealand lounge (which is actually a better bet if you want Sparkling Wine and salad, rather than the SQ offerings).

The lounge is split into two, with First on the right, and Raffles on the left as you enter. There is a great view of the airport runway, and of gates 57 and 58 which Singapore commonly use. At Sydney, unlike Singapore, final call really means that, but thankfully there is a Tannoy in the lounge for when it is time for Raffles passengers to get on board.

Sydney SilverKris Lounge

The Bar in Sydney is pretty good. Until 4 years ago there was a barman in the lounge for the afternoon flight, but that has since been binned, although there is a bar area where one can still go, however the self service fridge is still pretty decent. The fridge is large and well stocked. True, there is only one type of white, and an Aussie sparkler, however there is a vast, sprawling, beer collection with everything from Guinness (and chilled glasses) to Crown. There is no Bloody Mary mix, but there is Tomato and Orange in jugs in the fridge.

Food wise the lounge is pretty good too. For the early morning flight there is a good breakfast selection with plenty of fruit salad, and a basket of bread with a toaster. There is a selection of cheese, but only one type of biscuit to go with it. Fresh sandwiches appear every half hour. Soup appears during the day, but only for a short time. For the afternoon flight to Singapore there are meat pies in the food heater above the soup, plus some chicken and Pot Noodles.

Sydney Raffles Lounge bar

There are two TVs in the lounge, one above the "almost" bar, and the other on the other side of the lounge. Both are big screen TVs, and yet both are annoyingly locked onto CNN. There is also a telescope in the far right corner of the lounge.

There are two showers in the loos, which are on the far side, bearing left as you enter. There are a few Oz Newspapers are on the rack on this side, plus the usual Straits Times. There is also a small business centre, on the left as you walk in. There are 2 computers here with free Internet access (on a dial up modem) a photocopier and a fax machine.

Brisbane

Past duty-free. Open 1000-1350 & 2100-0000.
The SilverKris lounge in Brisbane is pretty small, however it underwent a revamp in 2008, and is a combined Raffles and First lounge, so the food and drinks are slightly better. It is located tucked away under the main concourse, so you have to double round on yourself, and then walk past the duty free, and along the corridor past the tax reclaim office, and the Emirates lounge.

Brisbane SilverKris Lounge

Seats are big and comfy, but there are no slumber seats. There is a TV which you can control (and a video under it), with CNN (Ch15) Cartoon Channel (Ch16) and Sky (Ch17) although reception is poor. There is one shower at the far end of the loos.

Brisbane SilverKris Lounge bar

There are four phone boxes on the right as you go in - in two there are internet terminals which are brand new and fast, however it has "Netnanny" which tries to stop you from looking at almost every site. There is a photocopier at the far end of the lounge, to the left of the bar, past the newspaper rack. The newspapers normally include the Australian and the Courier Mail. Alas the window only overlooks the road, so you can't look out at planes.

Food was improved in the 2008 revamp. For the lunchtime flight there are two bowls of salad (Ceasar and Greek) with hot meat pies in the heated cabinet. There are plenty of sandwiches in tight plastic wrapping, and lots of Sushi on the island bar opposite the main one. Late in the evening there is hot food, with bowls of pot noodles, lots of sandwiches and a heater with chichen satay (peanut sauce is on the table below the heater) and spring rolls, which are very good.

San Francisco SilverKris Lounge

San Francisco

Boarding Concourse G Open Summer 1020-1420 & 2200-0200. (Winter 1.5 hours earlier).
A decent, small lounge, at one of SIA's most remote locations. However this lounge sees a lot of traffic, because the only other lounge in the terminal, United's, is much worse without a free bar.

Getting to the lounge is a struggle - turn right at the entrance to United's lounge, along the corridor, through the fire escape door, left up the small stairs, through another fire escape door, and past the Eva air lounge.

Divided into two, you can often get into the First side when it isn't busy, however food and drinks on each side are identical. There is a TV screwed to the wall, in a position which is difficult to watch. Never mind, you can't change the channel anyway. Seats are Singapore's usual standard design, with strange angled girders over the windows which afford a good view of the apron.

On the Raffles side there is a business centre in a small glass cubical, with photocopier, fax, and a very slow computer. This rarely works, but if it fails you can ask to go to the other side and use the First computer, which is much better, and which is in the main part of the room.

There are very few magazines or newspapers; in effect only a local SanFrancisco daily.

Melbourne SilverKris Lounge Bar

Food is good, with a selection of dips (cucumber and carrots with ranch dressing), crossants, two types of sandwiches (cheese or ham) and a host of pot noodles. There is a fine beer selection in the fridge, and two types of wine, however you have to ask for Sparkling Wine.

Melbourne

International Satellite, Basement Level Open Summer 1420-1720 & 2150-0050. (Winter 1305-1605).
There are two separate sides to this lounge, with First on the left (seating 25) and Business (Raffles) on the right (seating 75), where Gold Star Alliance members also go. Greeting at reception is decidedly curt, particularly for economy passengers using a Gold level card.

Melbourne SilverKris Lounge

On the Raffles side, the lounge takes the form of a three armed cross, with the business centre up one arm. There are 2 computers which are very fast and work well, plus a printer. There are sockets to plug laptops into. The loos are next, which are very good, and there are 2 top quality (and clean) showers at the end of this corridor.

Alas there is no view of the runway. The main part of the lounge has standard Singapore seats, and two Fujitsu Plasma flat screen TVs, with channels which you can't change. One shows channels 7, the other channel 9. Both are at low volume, so you'll have to sit up close to listen (and get a kink in your kneck) to avoid it being drowned out by the pretty loud lift music (Abba and instrumental variations) being played in the rest of the lounge.

Newspapers (The Age & The Australian) are placed on the room dividers, along with magazines like Wallpaper, and the Australian Aviation review.

Melbourne SilverKris Lounge Food

Food is pretty good. There are sandwiches all the time - Salmon and Cream Cheese is really nice, while the beef is a bit dodgy. There is a fruit bowl, and two types of Pot Noodle which are better than you might expect. There are two types of cheese, and biscuits on a tray with fruit cake. Ice Cream is in the fridge. Two hours before takeoff, the kitchen staff come out with hot meat pies and sausage rolls. Although these are "mixed meat" so there is no way of knowing what is in them, they are very good with a tinny of VB.

The bar is pretty decent too. It has one white, one red, and is one of the few SIA lounges to still stock Sparkling Wine for business. There are cans of VB and bottles of Crown in the fridge. There are bottles of Red Label, Gordons' Gin and Baileys on the worktop.

Hong Kong

After Security, Basement Level Open 0700-2300..
There are both First and Business class lounges at Hong Kong, which sees a lot of customers, with several flights to Singapore a day.

The lounge is right at the bottom of the base of the long spine of Hong Kong's new Airport. The lounge itself had a revamp in 2008, and is now looking much smarter. There are 2 sides, which are long, thin, and rectangular. There's a TV at the far end of the room, 3 computers, and a newspaper rack with the past 2 days papers (alas, the USA today is the onyl English language paper). Food is the usual sandwiches in tight plastic wraps, and soup. There is also a warm pastry cabinet. The Bar is much better, with beers including Guinness, Carlsberg, Tiger, San Miguell, Heiniken. There is Piper Heidseck in First, along with 8 spirits.

Paris CDG

Terminal 1, Satellite 3 Open 0600-2200
In Paris Singapore borrow the bmi Business Lounge for the single daily flight, with access for all Raffles, First, and Gold passenger. It is nowhere near SQ standards, but it is a welcome relief from the concrete hell that is Paris CDG T1. To find it, after going through the strange 1960s concrete

Paris Business Lounge

tunnels with bouncy people-movers, you turn a sharp right when you are in the Satellite - which can best be described as third world, and that's a compliment. The whole terminal is falling to pieces, but is thankfully due for a revamp, when all the Star Alliance lounges will be grouped together. Right now, you pass under the small bmi sign, and down in a tiny lift to the basement. Here, the lounge is quite large, but windowless.

Paris Business Lounge

There is one central food & drink pod, with seats around the edge. The most comfortable seats are oddly in the smoking section, where you can tuck around 2 corners and be nicely hidden away. There is a TV (with BBC World), but no computers.

The Bar is very basic, having just a single bottle of white (warm - in a bucket) and red wine on top of the counter, and four spirits on optics. Beer is in the fridge, with Kronenborg in strange tall thin cans, and Heiniken in barrel shaped ones. There are miniature cans of juice and Pepsi, plus a lovely tomato juice. There is no Sparkling Wine.

Food is very poor at CDG, with only packets of shortbread, lemon biscuits, or miniature fairy-cakes in plastic wraps. There are however some very good peanuts. Singapore Airlines get a treat denied usual bmi passengers: in the two hours before SQ's midday flight, a table with rather mournful

Paris cheese for Raffles, fruit for First

looking plastic-wrapped cheeses appears, plus biscuits. There is a large (and handwritten!) sign above it saying that this is strictly for the use of Raffles passengers to Singapore (although quite how this is policed is unclear) and even more unusually, First class SQ passengers are allowed to pick at the tray of even sadder looking bunch of fruit. This tray is removed as soon as the flight starts boarding.

Newspapers are pretty good, with a single copy of all the UK papers, plus large number of all the French ones, but no Singapore papers. There are, alas, few magazines other than a couple of copies of Wallpaper and Home & Garden.

Singapore Airlines History

Singapore Airlines was launched as an independent carrier in 1972 after separating from Malaysian-Singapore Airlines. Despite the highly regulated atmosphere of the times, it refused to play by the rules, essentially ignoring the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the governing body that ran the airline business almost as a cartel. When SIA became the first IATA carrier to serve free drinks in economy, in 1972, the group's director dismissed the Asian upstart as a "parasite".

SIA takes off with some distinct advantages. It is the international face of Singapore, the disciplined, business-oriented country and culture that is a ferocious economic competitor. Small and smart and aggressive in pursuing their interests. The Singaporean government owns 57% of SIA's shares and while by no accounts does it dictate the airline's strategy, the government aids SIA in many ways. Tax breaks on the carrier's aircraft help SIA maintain one of the youngest fleets of any major airline. The government helpfully paid the multibillion-dollar construction cost of Singapore's impressive Changi Airport, the airline's hub since 1981 and one of the best airports in the world.

Singapore Airlines hints and tips

Cheap Tickets

Because Singapore is a pretty popular airline with those travelling from the UK to Oz, the cheapest tickets, (that is the blocks of seats allocated as discounted economy tickets which don't allow you to just turn up and go) sell out on the Amadeus booking system (used by its internet booking systems) pretty quickly. Even Expedia's system of buying a percentage of the cheap tickets and selling them on later as "special deals" sells out pretty quickly.

Singapore 747 loading at LHR

However there is a way around this. It is worth noting that Singapore has very primative yeild management, and has just two ticket prices for economy. Full fare economy (£4750 from LHR to Sydney) and Cheap Economy, which for LHR-SYD is from £555 to £910 depending on the time of year, NOT on how many seats are left - therefore if you miss out on the cheap seats, the price curve is like falling off a cliff. Full fare means you can turn up for any flight, and are guaranteed an economy seat. Cheap economy means you'll have to notify Singapore of changes in advance. However if you book through the SIA website (not via a travel agent) most cheap economy tickets are fully flexible tickets, with nothing extra to pay never mind how often you change your journey, so long as there is space left on the plane! Its a bit of a bargain - and very useful.

The website has recently been updated, and it now allows you to select various different ticket classes, on the tab across the top, for economy fares:
Promo Fares (V, Q, G, N and T) do not allow you to accumulate Krisflyer miles, nor to upgrade. You cannot change the date. With some codes, you can collect miles on a United card.
Flexi-Saver (W, H) means you can collect Krisflyer miles, but not upgrade.
Flexi (E,M,B,S) mean you can collect Krisflyer miles, and also upgrade. You can change the date & time of your ticket if you need to, so long as you do so 24 hours in advance.
Fully-Flexi (Y) mean you can collect Krisflyer miles, upgrade, and also change your flight or get a refund on your ticket if you cancel, as long as it is 24 hours in advance of your flight.
Full Fare (Y) is just that. You can collect Krisflyer miles, upgrade, get a full refund at any time, or turn up for any flight at any time, and get a seat. It is very expensive.

Clicking on the fare rules when you make a booking is rather pointless, as it will not show you the booking class. However if you click on the fare rules link after entering your name, on the payment & ticketing page will tell you the booking class letter.

Singapore 777-300 at Singapore

Sometimes the Singapore website will indicate that no cheap economy fares are available, and just price up a full economy fare - as an example that can be £4750 from LHR to Sydney, in economy. However the website will only check on flights which offer an easy connection at Singapore if you select the book "From and To" option. In this case you'll have to be a bit crafty to fly cheaply. To get the best fares (which may involve some hanging around for your connection) choose the Multi-City option and put down all stops on your journey. Of course this means a lot of work testing each leg to see which flights have cheap seats on them - one neat trick is to test each leg in turn, say trying LHR to SIN as a return, and then SIN to SYD as a return, until you can see which flights have sold out of bargain seats, and only have falling-off-a-cliff economy seats.

Prices rise considerably over Christmas. It is worth knowing that extreme high tariff is 1st-15th Jan (lowest LHR-SYD £910) then 4th-31st Dec (LHR-SYD £815), then Nov-4th Dec & 16th Jan-1st April (£765). All other times are base fare (£683). Prices correct in 2007.

Singapore review their plane loading capacity 21 days before the plane takes off, and if there are still a lot of unsold high priced economy seats on the plane, but no low priced economy seats, it will release a further block at midnight Singapore time, and price these seats at the base fare - ie: lowest for the sector anytime. So for example if you want to fly LHR-SYD out on the 9th Jan, and book on the 18th Dec you can find the price is £4750 (economy, Y). However if you book on the 19th Dec, and a block is released, the price drops to £683. It's worth waiting an extra day, however when these seats appear, book them immediately - all tickets normally disappear within 24 hours.

Singapore 747 Raffles class upper deck

If you try these methods, quite often the Singapore Airlines UK version of the website will always sell you tickets at the cheapest price, even a couple of days before the plane takes off, if you select the "Multi-City - build your journey one flight at a time" option. So typically you can fly at peak times UK-OZ-UK cheaply, booking just days ahead.

Buying upgrades at checkin

Singapore will never upgrade passengers for free. However sometimes it can be possible to buy an upgrade at or after checkin if you are Krisflyer Gold. Either at checkin or the lounge ask if there are any upgrades available - of course they will say no. However they will offer to let you use points for a one-way upgrade, or pay for it. As you are paying to upgrade to a discounted space-available business class fare, this can work out to only about £250 for LHR to SIN. These fares have full mileage and PPS credits.

This is similar to standby in the sense that this fare bucket (if that's really what it is) is only ever available at the airport on the day of departure and only if there is space available (indeed, abundant space available, such that there are still seats if two passengers turn up at the last minute and offer to buy a full priced ticket) and only if the lower class is at risk of overselling. It doesn't seem to be available very often. There is a certain language that should be used when asking for these upgrades, since you want to avoid directly using the "upgrade" word, given Singapore's sensitivity to the issue. Instead the question is "what would be the cost to reissue of this segment as a C class".

Singapore Stopovers

Singapore 777-200 at Singapore

Booking a stopover in Singapore is free! Even better if you pay £20 when you buy your ticket direct with Singapore over the phone, Singapore will book you a nights accommodation, give you a free ride on the SIA bus, and throw in free access to a dozen or so attractions, like the zoo, river boat trip, and Sentosa island. All of which cost more individually.

Writing set

If you ask the crew nicely, they'll bring you a writing set, with headed paper, a set of postcards, and nice envelopes. The crew will even post letters for you. Very few people ask for this, and it's not advertised, so you may get some head scratching, but details are in the SilverKris inflight magazine, in the back pages.

Book the Cook

For Raffles (Business) class customers, Singapore allow you to book the meal you want onboard before departure. You just have to call the Reservations office or Krisflyer line 24 hours before departure, or when you book tickets. The meal choices vary - from London there are only 8 choices, whereas from Singapore you get 17 meals. The lobster thermidor is Singapore's signature dish, and very popular, however if you chosen dish arrives and you don't like it you can instead take something off the main inflight menu. You cannot book anything special for breakfast.

Renewing Krisflyer Gold

It's quite hard to keep at Krisflyer Gold level unless you fly from the UK to OZ at least 3 times a year. Recognising this, if in December if you are at Gold level, but don't even have enough points for Silver level in April, Singapore will send you an offer that if you take two return flights (of any length except from SIN to KUL or Penang) you will still stay at Gold level.

The Sydney to LHR problem

Getting from LHR to Sydney isn't too much of a problem, however getting back, there is only one flight which makes a decent connection, the 1550, arriving in LHR at 0530. Because of this, the flights will often become fully booked months in advance, and Singapore's website will say that no economy fares are available at any price. To get around this, book out of Sydney on the 0820 or 1145, and kill time in Singapore. A lot of time. A night stopover may be needed. To book choose the "Multi-City" option on the website booking page, and build your flights up one at a time.

SIA's special £555 offer

Bargain UK to Oz fares

Each November Singapore Airlines has a special deal to fly from the UK to Australia for £641 (or £555 in bad years). Tickets for this go quickly.

Naturally you get the normal KrisFlyer miles for this, and this will give you enough KrisFlyer frequent Flyer miles for a free return journey from the UK to Europe on a Star Alliance airline.

As part of the promo if you join KrisFlyer when you make your booking online, up until the 31st of December each year, and if you then redeem your miles for a journey before June (and you are a UK passport holder) you get a free return Economy Class trip to Europe with bmi British Midland. So thats two free £200 trips, for the cost of a £641 ticket. Wow. bmi also give you the miles back from these free flights to add to your Diamond club points. Double wow.

A Singapore Airlines 747, and two 777s at Singapore Changi

Singapore Airlines website

The Singapore Airlines website is a delight. Helpful, really easy to use, and updated with the latest films and even food for each flight.

The website also offers a discount of about £40 compared to calling up the Singapore Airlines UK ticket desk.

Note however that if you buy tickets through the website, you'll only be able to buy an E ticket - you have to go through a travel agent to get a real ticket. With an Eticket you must remember to bring the credit card you booked it with to the airport, or you won't get on the plane - and you'll lose your ticket.

Main Site: www.singaporeair.com

KrisFlyer club: www.krisflyer.com

Online checkin

Inflight movie guide

Singapore stopover holidays

Krisflyer miles recemption charts

Upgrading from economy to business with Kris Miles

How Krisflyer works

Fly to Oz from UK for £555

Raffles: Book the Cook

Note that all reviews and opinions on Singapore Airlines (SQ) food, service, seats, planes, upgrades, lounges, and the Krisflyer Frequent Flyer scheme is soley at my judgement. No legal liability is accepted if you take my advice.