Seeing The World In Steps is back once again in the air and as per the norm, on board Singapore Airlines! It’s always nice to be back! This time around I will be flying the regional business class to Bali. I have flown the exact route and flight prior and would be keen to see how things have changed since COVID. It is pretty last minute that I have decided to head to Bali and I am lucky to get a business class saver ticket. Demand is super high for Bali tickets nowadays. I had pushed back my Istanbul plans back once again to June. With that here, I come Singapore Airlines Business Class from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali. I book my ticket using 19,000 Miles and 52.30 SGD in taxes. Not the best use for miles but oh well. Check out my flight experience. 

Checking In

I arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 3 at around 11am, way ahead of my departure time which is in the evening. Business Class passengers have their dedicated check in counters at Row 6. Despite having multiple dedicated check in counters, it still took quite some time. This is a gauge of the pent up demand for travelling right now. It is rather nice to see air travel and Singapore business being back to the good old days. It took me close to 20 mins to check in. The longest wait ever I have experienced at Singapore Changi Airport. Check in was smooth and all I had to show was my pre-departure PCR test results to the staff.

Boarding Process 

Boarding started around 3.40pm and I was at the gate roughly 5 minutes before boarding. My facial expression says everything. It is been a long time since I saw such a crowded gate that was packed to the brim. This was a fully full 787, by comparison, there are only 70 or so people onboard my 777 to Frankfurt. Boarding starts with families with infants who are invited to board first then business class and PPS passengers. I was the first to board and that really helps in getting some empty pictures of the cabin.  

Singapore Airlines Regional Business Class

It was a smooth boarding and I was warmly welcomed aboard by the crew. The regional business class seats always look so sleek but they are so narrow when you are in them. I find it less comfortable in them. I prefer the old seats and they were a gem to fly on, even for short-haul routes to places like Hong Kong. I felt that the cabin was very warm on the ground and even the crew echo my concerns. The lack of individual air nozzle certainly didn’t help things.

Later on, the inflight manager came by to welcome me as well which was a nice touch in Business Class. Weirdly, he was wearing a gold tie, did Singapore Airlines have a new ranking system or something? and he is labelled as the inflight supervisor. The crew working my aisle was alright! SQ standard is always good! But not a spectacular set like some of my previous flights. Amenities kits are no longer provided although it was noted that this was a short regional flight. The flight was about 80% full. Welcome drinks are offered on request and I got a glass of champagne. I do miss them pouring the champagne right by the seat! Which is such a classy way of serving! Singapore Airlines currently serve the Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage Champagne. It is nice to have a vintage pour for a business class flight. Here is a picture from one of my previous flights!

I am not a fan of the seats and if you are flying in Business the best seats to go for are the bulkhead seats in Row 11, they provide slightly more space. Do note that the seat alternate between being closer to the aisle and closer to the window. The one that is closer to the window offers more privacy. Even in the middle couple seats, there are the true couple seats where you are just right next to each other and some are far away from one another. You can find these seats on the regional variant of the 350 and the 787. Of course, they are perfectly decent for a short 2.40 mins flight but I can’t imagine flying this to Perth or Japan in this.

The screen was of a good size and Singapore Airlines Inflight Entertainment, Krisworld is world-class! The screen is a touch screen and if not you can control it with the remote located to the side as well. Below the screen, is where the table can be found and you slide it out. 

There is a small cubicle on the side of the seat where the platform provides you with some additional storage space. The cabinet here houses the power outlets and you can find two USB outlets as well as a power socket that takes in all sorts of plugs. A care kit and a set of headphones are left here. SQ provides decent headphones in business class but it definitely could be improved to a better noise-cancelling one. 

The length of the bed and space for the leg to stretch were good even when the seat is in bed mode. One perk of this seat is that it could be converted into bed mode directly instead of having to get up and flip it over to convert it. I am not a fan of the 3 point seat belts that we have to wear upon take-off and landing for these seats. 

We push back slightly late and departed smoothly. Wifi is available on the flight but sadly the Boingo account is no longer working and business class passengers are only entitled to 100MB of allowance which is just right for this flight length. It is insufficient for longer flights. 

Bathrooms

There wasn’t much to mention for the bathrooms, just the usual typical aircraft ones. You do have an assortment of amenities stocked inside from Penhaligon’s amenities to toothbrush and shaver. All that you might need can be found inside. I am a huge fan of the Penhaligon’s facial mist when flying. They are so hydrating. Given how packed it was in Business Class, there might be a wait at times but the place was still well maintained by the crew at all times.

Meal Service

Book the cook is extremely limited nowadays and especially after the flight duration limitation of 4 hours for most choices. I went on to get the Boon Tong Kee to give it a try. Check out the menu for the flight here! If you would like the full menu and wine list, you can click here! 

The crew jump straight into service once we level off and they were in a rush given how short the flight is! Meals were served all on a tray and drinks were offered. I got a SilverKris Sling to start with and check out this view! It took quite some time to arrive even though my meal was already served. 

The awesome view out of the window kept me entertained instead.

The Boon Tong Kee chicken rice does seem like a popular choice onboard and many people pre-ordered them. The dish was extremely bad and I did not like it at all. It did not resemble anything of the actual chicken rice. The presentation was absolutely crap, it looks like my chicken rice committed suicide on the dish. It was served with chicken rice chili, dark sauce and ginger sauce. The chilli wasn’t the usual chicken rice chili and the rice was mushy. I just had a few bites before leaving it as it is. Later on, the crew came by with a bread basket, I got my usual garlic bread and even that was stale. You also get an egg salad with some salmon and potatoes as well as a Sticky Date Pudding with butterscotch sauce. Even the dessert sounds sad but that is already the most delicious thing on the tray! 

This is by far the worst meal I have had onboard Singapore Airlines. They do need to do something about this. This can’t be the standard on Singapore Airlines. Service end of with a bottle of water. 

Conclusion

Soon enough it was about time to land in Denpasar, I got no idea why but it seems that the flight was much shorter than it is, even when compared to the one 2 years back. About 20 mins to arrival, the cabin was prepped for landing. The flight was alright, nothing to fault but nothing spectacular as well. Well I’m fortunate to be able to fly in business class but this is definitely not worth the premium for a flight this short. SQ meals are getting really bad these days, especially on regional routes and I do hope that they improve them as soon as possible. We landed around 6.50pm and now it is time to experience the arrival process! Let’s hope it’s not too long of a wait and it will be smooth. With that! Let’s get to Bali!!!!