Singapore Airlines NEW First Class, Singapore to Mumbai

Introduction/Booking
New LAX Star Alliance Lounge/Tom Bradley International Terminal
Singapore A380 Suites, Los Angeles to Tokyo-Narita
ANA Suite Lounge (Satellite 4) and United Club, Tokyo-Narita
Singapore A380 Suites, Tokyo-Narita to Singapore
Singapore Changi Ambassador Transit Hotel, Terminal 3
Singapore Airlines Private Room (and a day in Singapore)
Singapore Airlines NEW Boeing 777-300ER First Class, Singapore to Mumbai

Singapore Airlines #424
Singapore (SIN) – Mumbai (BOM)
Friday, January 17th, 2014
7:55pm – 10:35pm : 5 hours, 10 minutes
Boeing 777-300ER: Seat 2A (First Class)

When I booked this flight, the new 777-300ER First Class wasn’t even a thing, so I was really excited to try Singapore Airlines newest product! The new planes began service on Singapore-London flights, and then began the Singapore-Mumbai route.

I knew from the plane’s registration that it would have the new seats, but I still let out a tiny squeal of excitement as I entered through Door 1L. The crew was also very proud of the new product, and it was the first time many of them were flying it as well.

Singapore Airlines New First Class Seat 2A

Singapore Airlines New First Class Cabin

Singapore Airlines New First Class Seat 2A

Singapore Airlines New First Class Row 2

For comparison, Seat 1A. I prefer Row 2.

One thing I liked about the new seat was the adjustable height of the tray table.

Sturdy tray table

Can move the table lower or higher

I also liked the storage available in the seat, especially the area with phone connectivity with a spot to store a mobile phone (with a closeable door). However, the door does not close all the way if you have a USB device plugged in (maybe that’s a good thing since you won’t forget your stuff as easily!).

Side storage

Side storage (yes, my lock screen is a Dreamliner).

Not quite enough clearance for a USB plug

Power outlet and HDMI port.

Headphones and literature pocket

Since the cabin does not have overhead bins, I appreciated the fact that there is ample storage under the TV monitor/foot ledge. On my A380 Suites flight, I could only store my roller, but here, I could place my roller bag, a backpack, and some shopping items as well. Also, instead of having the foot ledge be the entire width of the seat, there was a small storage area to the side.

Seat storage

Storage area.

On the side was the new IFE remote as well as LED lights and the seat control console.

New IFE remote

LED lights and headphone jack

Seat control console

Mirror next to TV

Pillow

Still a fairly wide seat

The flight attendants came by to welcome me onboard and offer a drink. I requested the 2004 Dom, but I was too excited taking photos of the cabin.

Champagne

I also went to the mini-cabin of Business Class behind to check out those seats.

Business Class Seat 11A

New Business Class

New Business Class Seat Controls

New Business Class Storage

New Business Class

New Business Class (bulkhead in mini-cabin)

Business Class bed (taken earlier in the day during my tour of the SIA Centre)

As business class passengers began to fill up that cabin, I returned to my seat and perused the menu for the flight (although I already knew what it was going to be). Flight time was blocked for about 5 hours (Singapore to Mumbai is 2,435 miles, which is shorter than New York to Los Angeles).

First Class Menu Cover

First Class Menu

Thali Menu

Dinner Menu

Dessert Menu

The only drinks that matter ;)

I kept with my Book the Cook selection.

The flight departed the gate on-time. One thing that disappointed me was that there was no Hindi announcements during the flight. Part of the charm of flying to India is getting to hear announcements in Hindi, and I’ve usually heard it even on foreign carriers. I like how the onboard announcements on Singapore flow, and especially like hearing them in Hindi (it’s good practice for once I land!).

Only subtitles on this flight.

As we taxied, I notice how private these seats are – while they don’t have doors that close, the walls do block your view of any other passengers. I wouldn’t have noticed there being other passengers had it not been for one of them laughing incessantly at a movie during the flight.

View from seat

Seat 2A from the monitor ledge.

After takeoff, the IFE was activated. It is definitely an updated system, and a decent upgrade from the old IFE.

New welcome screen.

When you select “Let’s Begin,” a introduction to the new IFE begins. The screen is touch-screen, though I found myself using the remote the most.

IFE introduction

The remote is very slick. As a member of the iPhone generation, I liked how it had an accelerometer and quick responses to my inputs.

Remote

I really liked how you could search for entertainment options with the keyboard search on the remote screen.

Turn into portrait to search movies/TV shows/music

Searching for a movie.

While my A380 Suites flight did not have wi-fi, this flight did, and it actually worked. In fact, I wrote an initial post with photos of the new First Class using that in-flight wifi.

The charge is usually $11.95 (USD) for 1 hour, or $21.95 for 24 hours. My flight was a couple weeks before Lunar New Year, so there was a promotional pricing of $17.95 for 24 hours. I figured $18 for a 5-hour flight wasn’t too bad, especially since it was only $6 more than having it for just 1 hour, and the idea of posting from above international waters was too much to pass on.

The wifi had pretty decent speeds at around 2.30 Mbps download/0.40 Mbps upload when I tested it (like I said, I wrote that post above and submitted it while in-flight). There were instances where it didn’t work, but you could tell because an indicator on the ceiling panel would light up when there was no mobile connectivity.

In-flight Wifi Pricing

No internet when that light is on.

Hacked this trip

Shortly after takeoff, the lights were turned back on and dinner was soon served.

20 minutes into the flight

More satay!

After satay, linens were placed and the table set.

Table setting.

Crab cakes

I skipped the salad and instead got the Indian style mushroom soup.

Mushroom soup.

Since Gary has really played up the Prawn and Chicken Laksa, I decided to get that as my Book the Cook selection. I thought it was pretty good, too!

Prawn Chicken Laksa

Afterward, I had a bite of dessert as well as some selections from a cheese board.

Warm cherry crumble

Cheese and fruit plate

One thing I like about the adjustable table was that it gave me plenty of room to slide out of the seat during the meal service, so I could get up to visit the lavatory, for example.

Vanity mirror in the First Class lavatory

Lavatory amentities

Not quite as spacious as the Suites lavatory

After dinner, I requested to have my seat made into a bed. The crew had some initial trouble putting the meal table away, so I sat down in the middle 2 seats and checked out what the recline was like.

Middle 2 seats in row 2.

The legrest comes up a decent amount and the seat slides back fairly well. It’s definitely better than the old first class.

Bed

Bed (taken during SIA Centre Tour)

One thing that kind of peeved me once I got in bed was just how glossy the surfaces on the monitor on. A lot of light is reflected off of it. For example, when you push the “Do Not Disturb” button on the console, the white “2A” light on the seat turns red, and this shines off the bezel of the monitor. I know, it’s a total #FirstWorldProblem, but it’s worth bringing up.

Do Not Disturb does the opposite.

I slept a bit in the bed, which was very comfortable. I woke up with about 45 minutes left in-flight and watched some TV shows while I finished up my wi-fi session. The cabin was soon prepared for landing.

First Cabin in-flight

Route from SIN to BOM

Approach into Mumbai

Landing into Mumbai. Better than the 4:30am arrival I had on my last Singapore AIrlines flight here.

We landed into Mumbai on-time and had a long taxi to our gate. Unfortunately, the new Terminal 2 wasn’t quite ready to accept flights (despite it being inaugurated earlier that week).

Air India 747 and the new Terminal 2 in the background

Jet Airways and Malaysia Airlines jets

Thai flight my folks flew in on an hour before.

United 777-200 from Newark.

Cathay, SWISS, Thai, Malaysia tails at BOM

We exited through Door 2L into the old BOM terminal. The arrivals hallway from flights to immigration literally cuts through the the boarding process of several flights, since the gate area is on the right and the jetways are on the left. Maybe that’s why you have to have your boarding pass checked like every 10 steps when flying out of there.

Arrivals and departures, because why not?

The extensive duty free selection of whiskeys before baggage claim.

The extensive duty free selection of whiskys before baggage claim.

Immigration was rather easy as there were no lines in pretty much every line (including First/Business passenger, Indian nationals, PIO/OCI). I have an OCI card (Overseas Citizen of India) since my parents were born in India – it pretty much acts as a lifetime visa for me to visit freely, but I still have to carry my extremely old passport that has my original visa in it. Having to produce 3 documents (current US passport, OCI card, old US passport with Indian visa) is just absolutely absurd, but hey, that’s India.

I quickly retrieved the checked bag I had and got through customs easily once I told the officer I came from “Amrika.” Exiting outside, I caught up with my parents who had landed on the earlier Thai flight from Bangkok. On our way out of the airport, I caught brief glimpses of the new Terminal 2.