Singapore Airlines operates out of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China’s third busiest airport. I was all set for this red-eye flight, and was glad to see empty rows at the Business Class check in area for Singapore Airlines. It was evidently not going to be a full flight that night.
With time to spare, I headed to the Premium Lounge after check in to enjoy some light refreshments before boarding. Due to the sheer number of flights operating out of Guangzhou that evening, the lounge experience was slightly ruined due to the crowds present. It didn’t help that the lounge was also accessible by Priority Pass holders.
At around 45 mins prior to the scheduled departure time, I headed to the gate in preparation for boarding.
The queues were clearly signposted to allow priority boarding for Business Class, PPS Club, KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Star Alliance Gold members.
Boarding commenced on time, and before long I was all settled in my seat in row 11, right at the front of the Business Class cabin.
This flight was operated by the A330-300, which features the not-so-ideal regional Business Class seat. Arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration, not all passengers will enjoy direct aisle access.
However, I was fortunate to enjoy this slightly refurbished version of the Business Class cabin, with the original light brown leather being replaced with leather bearing darker tones.
Supper was served on this flight, and the selection was pretty decent for a red-eye flight of only a few hours in duration.
Also found on my seat was a pair of noise cancelling headphones, which was probably the best part of the inflight entertainment system in the aging A330-300 fleet.
The cabin crew also proceeded to serve some pre-takeoff drinks. Notice the excess legroom that you’ll get to enjoy when you pick the bulkhead row onboard this aircraft.
After an on-time pushback and departure, we soon reached our cruising altitude, following which the cabin crew served some after-takeoff drinks and peanuts.
Let’s take a closer look at this seat, which will be gradually replaced by the more updated 2018 regional Business Class seat onboard aircraft serving medium haul flights in the Singapore Airlines fleet. The intuitive main seat controls and IFE control are found on the armrest, which can be accessed easily.
In the ‘lie flat’ mode, the entire seat extends downward and forward, to reveal an inclined lie flat seat. In this mode, the seat is not entire lie flat, but remains slightly inclined. Therefore, passengers may feel like they’re sliding downwards occasionally when lying on the seat. Thankfully on this short flight, I didn’t intend to get any sleep to it didn’t bother me that much.
The supper meal service commenced with Chardonnay poached prawns with shaved fennel, served with citrus dressing.
For the main course, I selected the grilled tournedo of beef with creamy forest mushroom sauce, served with seasonal vegetables and roasted potatoes. The meal was more than enough for supper.
As this was a relatively short flight, I only managed to catch a short film before we began our approach into Singapore.
If everything goes according to plan, we should see fewer of this version of the regional Business Class seat in the Singapore Airlines fleet in the months and years to come. Indeed, having an all aisle access Business Class cabin is the gold standard these days, which is exactly what the 2018 regional Business Class cabin is currently offering onboard the B787-10 and regional A350-900 aircraft.