To kick off my Indian Subcontinent Extraordinaire, I flew Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER First Class from Jakarta to Singapore. Despite being a short sub-two-hour flight, the airline exclusively offers its long-haul product between the two cities. Naturally, this extends to the airline’s First Class product – only offered on the Boeing 777-300ER – which is otherwise only available on longer flights to Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, etc.

Booking Singapore Airlines First Class

I booked this flight with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, which is the only frequent flyer currency you can use to book longer First Class flights on Singapore Airlines. Specifically, this flight was booked as the first leg of an award redemption flight between Jakarta to Mumbai. In the end, both flights cost me 58,500 miles and IDR 371,700 (~ USD 24, GBP 18) for a one-way Saver Award, which I think is very reasonable.

Check-in

This early morning 05.25 departure is Singapore Airlines’ first flight out of Jakarta of the day. I arrived at Terminal 3 just before 03.00, in time for the opening of the check-in counters. Singapore Airlines’ counters are located by Door 2 at the terminal’s kerbside.

Given the airline’s massive presence in Jakarta, it is no surprise that there are a lot of check-in counters. In fact, the airline occupies a whole row of desks on Island C at any single time. Signage for the First Class and Solitaire PPS Club desks is clearly displayed, although curiously, carpets were not rolled out for these premium lines.

Expectedly, there was no line at the dedicated First Class counter given how there was only one other person booked in First. At the desk, I was greeted by a friendly outstation agent, who courteously handled my check-in. As my connection to Mumbai was in Suites, I was even printed a Suites Boarding Pass for that sector. That’s some impressive attention to detail! Likewise, my bags were tagged as Suites as opposed to being mere First Class-tagged.

After checking in, I was offered an escort through the departure formalities. While impressive at first, the service was practically useless. In the end, this merely meant being walked to the empty security checkpoint. A bit pointless, I’d say.

Lounge

At Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Singapore Airlines passengers have access to a dedicated lounge, which I have reviewed in a previous instalment. First Class passengers, specifically, have access to the exclusive Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge, which I’ve also reviewed previously.

Boarding

After spending just over an hour at the Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge, I decided to head to the gate early. This ended up being a good decision as our flight started boarding early. Despite a printed boarding time of 05.00, boarding ended up starting at 04.50. By this time, all the times were full of people though there curiously isn’t a dedicated First Class line. As such I approached the gate agent who promptly invited me to board.

Flying us today is 9V-SWK, a Boeing 777-300ER that was delivered new to Singapore Airlines in June 2007. At the door, I was welcomed by our Indonesian purser, Novie, who walked me to my seat. 

Singapore Airlines First Class cabin

First Class features an intimate cabin consisting of a single row of four seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Each seat is decked in brown Italian leather that is clad opulently in a diamond quilt pattern. This cabin was first unveiled in 2013, coinciding with the airline’s newest design language.

Each of the four seats converts into an 82-inch (208 cm) long bed. At a width of 35 inches (89 cm), the seat is also among the widest in the sky – so much so that the previous generation of this seat garnered criticism for its hand rests being too far apart. To alleviate these issues, the airline then added new leather pillows that act like hand rests. Day blankets are also provided at the seat at boarding.

Seat details

On this flight, I was seated at 1F, the window seat located on the right-hand side of the aircraft. It was only as I settled into my seat, did it occurred to me how wide the seat was. In fact, you could easily accommodate two adults sitting side by side! Despite its lack of privacy doors, the seat feels private thanks to its surrounding high walls, allowing for a cocoon-like feel that makes the seat spacious yet cosy.

Across the seat, you’ll find a large 24-inch inch monitor, equipped with the KrisWorld entertainment system. Next to the screen is a small cover lid that reveals a lit vanity mirror. Below that is a fixed table surface, that is useful as a surface to place small items.

The dining table itself can be pulled out by a lever under this table surface. Owing to its design, however, the ottoman cannot be occupied by a second person. As such, it is sadly not possible to dine together with a seatmate, unlike many First Class products.

Under the table and next to the ottoman, you’ll find a two-tier enclosed storage compartment big enough for several books, the amenity and toiletry kits, and the provided headphones. Furthermore, on the opposite side are the universal power outlets for the seat. In addition, the space under the ottoman can be used as storage and is big enough for a carry-on.

On the side away from the aisle, you’ll find the literature pocket. You’ll also find a small glove compartment under the armrest on this side. Finally, I’ll also note that reading lamps are available on both sides of the seat.

Seat observations

In all, despite Singapore Airlines’ stellar reputation, I did feel that the seat lacks a sort of wow factor. While undoubtedly spacious and comfortable, the seat lacks features you’d commonly associate with First Class seats — face-to-face dining and doors, to name a few.

At the end of the day, the seat looks more like a glorified and oversized Business Class seat; that is not a bad thing, however, considering how plush and wide Singapore Airlines’ long-haul Business Class seats already are.

Entertainment

While waiting for boarding to be completed, I checked out the entertainment system. Together with Emirates’ ICE, Cathay’s StudioCX, and Qatar Airways’ Oryx, KrisWorld offers one of the world’s best and most extensive entertainment selections. There are pages upon pages of films both new and old, in addition to a myriad of television shows. However, considering how short the flight was, I ultimately decided to just watch the map for the entire duration of the flight.

The screen is controlled by a touchscreen remote control stowed on the aisle-side armrest. The remote control conveniently shows the flight time and optionally, the flight map when not in use. Better yet, the remote control well can be closed with a lid, thus preventing one from being waken up should the screen light up during the flight.

On top of the large 24-inch screen across the seat, First Class passengers are offered Bang and Olufsen headphones, akin to those that I use personally. As expected, these headphones were excellent and on par if not better than the Bose headphones you’d find on several other airlines.

Finally, I’ll add that there is also a shopping catalogue in the seat pocket, in addition to the inflight menu, safety card, and WiFi guide. Sadly, it looks like Singapore Airlines’ SilverKris magazine will never come back after the Covid-19 Pandemic, at least in print form.

Departure from Jakarta

As boarding went underway, I was offered my choice of pre-departure beverages. Having seen that Krug Grande Cuvée was being offered on this flight, you could already guess what I was going to get. 😉 Shortly after, I was offered a pour of the Champagne at my seat, alongside a warm towel. My Lalique flute was repeatedly topped up as boarding continued – not that that would be a problem!

Boarding wrapped up at 05.16, by which time the two boarding doors were closed. Soon after, Captain Kerry greeted us with a welcome announcement, detailing our short flight time of 1 hour and 15 minutes to Singapore. His announcement was followed by a play of the safety video.

We started pushback at 05.20, five minutes before our scheduled departure time. As we slowly taxied towards our nearby runway, we passed by the slew of early morning widebody Garuda Indonesia departures.

At 05.32, we took off from Runway 25R, ascending with the rising sun towards Singapore.

Breakfast

Six minutes after takeoff, the seatbelt signs were turned off by Captain Kerry. This quickly prompted the cabin crew to close the curtains between the cabins and prepare for the breakfast meal service. Soon after, my table was set up with a tablecloth and a glass of water to start.

For breakfast, there was a choice of three dishes, including Opor Ayam, Braised Beef Noodles, and Smoked Salmon Omelette. For your reference, the following is the menu for the flight, alongside the impressive selection of Champagne.

I ended up settling on the Smoked Salmon Omelette, as the other two dishes didn’t interest me very much. This was promptly served, alongside a side of fresh cut fruits and breakfast rolls and pastries. Naturally, I also had a cheeky flute of Krug to go with the meal. 😉 I also had a pain au chocolate on the side, which was flaky and fresh.

The omelette was likewise lovely and a lot nicer than your typical airline omelette. Given its description as a ‘smoked salmon omelette’, I was confused seeing that the dish appeared to be devoid of any smoked salmon. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that a filet of hot smoked salmon has been incorporated into the omelette. While unorthodox, I was happy to see that it complemented the eggs very nicely. I likewise liked the grilled vegetables, which was fresh and light.

Lavatory

After the meal, I went to check out the lavatory to refresh myself. Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ERs feature two lavatories reserved for First Class. Both washrooms are located in front of the cabin by the galley. Unsurprisingly, the lavatories are much nicer than your average aeroplane washroom, thanks to the chrome-trimmings and mirror clad walls.

In addition, the toilet itself doubles as a seat with a padded bench that you can unstow from the wall. This is particularly useful when you need to change into a pair of pyjamas on a longer flight.

I’ll also note that Lalique-branded eau de toilette, facial mist, and body lotion are provided on the side, alongside cloth hand towels.

Bedding

With 40 minutes to go after the meal, Novie offered to make the bed for me. A full turn-down service on a sub-2 hour flight? Only on Singapore Airlines! Like their Business Class seats, the First Class seat converts into a bed by being flipped over. This reveals a bed surface that has to be set up with a mattress pad and sheets. Novie graciously took care of all of these and prepared a fully decked bed in less than a couple of minutes. 

The bed was comfortable and plush – a world over the comfort levels of a Business Class seat. The duvet and bedding were superb and fitting for a world-class First Class product. While I didn’t end up getting any sleep, I appreciate Novie’s attention to detail having noticed how exhausted I looked. 

Service

As you could probably deduce from my review, the service on this flight was nothing short of impressive. As you would expect from Singapore Airlines, the service from Novie and the crew was warm and polished. Despite the short flight time, Novie made sure to pay attention and anticipate my needs before I even requested anything. This included offering to turn down my seat for a quick nap after the meal having seen how tired I looked.

Arrival in Singapore

About 50 minutes into the flight, the captain announced we were starting our descent to Singapore Changi Airport. Thankfully, it was another 20 minutes before the seatbelt signs were turned on and for the cabin to be prepared for landing. If only this flight were a little bit longer! 😉

Exactly 15 minutes before our estimated arrival time, the captain announced that we were on our final approach. With that, the cabin crew were instructed to sit down. At this time, the lovely Singapore Airlines landing music was played subtly in the background.

We touched down smoothly on Runway 02L at 07.53, 17 minutes before our scheduled arrival time. It took another seven minutes before we arrived at our gate at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3.

While South East Asia flights typically depart and arrive in Terminal 2, certain flights from Jakarta arrive in Terminal 3 to simplify the aircraft’s repositioning for its next flight. Again, bear in mind that Jakarta flights are special in the way that they only get long-haul configured aircraft.

As I disembarked, I thanked Novie and the rest of the crew for the excellent flight.

Verdict

Overall, I had an exceptional flight between Jakarta and Singapore in Singapore Airlines First Class. Despite how short this flight is, Singapore Airlines offers a fully First Class experience. On top of the excellent service, entertainment system, and soft offerings, the seat is simply world-class. As such, this has to be one of the most comfortable sub-two-hour flights available anywhere in the world. I mean, where else can you get a fully set-up bed on a flight this short? While I probably wouldn’t book this flight outright, this is an excellent offering on the part of Singapore Airlines – particularly for passengers connecting to other destinations in First Class.

Read more from this trip here!