Singapore Airlines operates flights from Singapore to Houston via Manchester, although the airline used Moscow for the technical stop previously. Following the cessation of flights to Sao Paulo, Houston is now the furthest destination that Singapore Airlines operates to from her home base.
The check in rows for Business Class were relatively empty as there were enough rows to accommodate the evening flights out of Singapore Changi Airport T3.
I did not spend too much time at the SilverKris lounge, which was packed to the brim. That being said, the staff were doing their utmost to replenish the food and beverages in order to keep up with the crowd.
I arrived at the boarding gate just in time for priority boarding. Business Class passengers were called forward for boarding through door 1L.
The flight was being operated by the A350-900, which features the 2013 Business Class seats, arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration.
I was also glad to have row 19, which is a bulkhead row, offering a tremendous amount of space in front of the seat. This could easily rival First Class seats on other carriers.
I had a quick look at the menu to see what was on offer for the flight. The supper menu appeared very substantial despite the departure timing out of Singapore. Breakfast would be served prior to landing in Manchester too.
I figured that it would be a little too late for alcohol, so I had a simple glass of orange juice prior to take off.
I must have dozed off because before I knew it, we were approaching our cruising altitude and the cabin crew was preparing for the supper service. To start, I had the crab meat salad with mango salsa and herb vinaigrette, together with a couple of slices of garlic bread, which I found to be very appetising indeed.
This was followed by the main course, and I had selected the pan fried sea bass fillet on capellini pasta, with bouillabaisse broth, red and yellow capsicum confit. So far, Singapore Airlines has always succeeded in the preparation of fish on board, and this time the dish was splendid as usual. The pasta was also close to the perfect al dente too.
For dessert, I had the fruity mango and lime dessert, a nice way to conclude the supper service.
I figured that some passengers might have skipped supper to turn in for the night as the cabin was quickly dimmed. The 2013 Business Class seat may be slightly narrower than the 2006 version, but after folding the seat back down to reveal the fully flat bed, there really is no difference in the level of comfort and space. If possible, try to get your hands on the bulkhead seats where you’ll have much more room for your legs when sleeping.
After sleeping for a couple of hours, I suddenly felt a little hungry, so I ordered a bowl of fishball noodles and vermicelli with minced chicken, a very comforting dish at 36000 feet.
I pretty much slept through the rest of the flight, and woke up only just in time for the breakfast service before landing, which began with a selection of sliced fresh fruits.
This was followed by some fruit yoghurt and a warm buttery croissant.
For the main course, I chose the poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, served with pan fried veal sausage, marinated tomato, creamed spinach, and potatoes. The eggs were poached close to perfection, even at altitude, which was very impressive.
The cabin crew cabin prepared the cabin for landing once the breakfast service had concluded. After a slightly bumpy descent, we touched down in Manchester pretty much on schedule. There would be a change of crew for the onward sector to Houston after a comfortable turnaround time of under 2 hours.
