A surprising twist of event took me to Seoul and since I only had a limited time in Seoul, I would love to maximise the time I had in Seoul. I did manage to get Saver Class tickets about 2 weeks out which was a surprise. That led me to extend my trip and swing by Seoul for 4 nights. I also got seats on the red eye out and SQ605 which departs at 11.15pm works best for travellers, especially if you are only here for a short time. These tickets cost me 52,000 miles and 29.10 SGD in taxes and fees. These tickets are in line with the National Day Holiday which makes it even more precious. I have reviewed these seats multiple times. I will just do a short recap and share on the soft product! These are not the best SQ business class seats and it certainly doesn”t excite me. I did manage to get bulkhead seats which will help things. I am more excited to be checking out the brand-new SKL here!

Checking In

I took the express train from Seoul Station which took around 50 mins. Do reserve this in advance as we learned it the hard way previously. They are way more comfortable than the commuter trains. From the station, it is about a 10-minute walk to the check-in desks. We arrived at around 9pm. Singapore Airlines check-in counters are between the middle and the right-hand side of the terminal. It is a pretty central location. There was a staggering amount of people in the queue. Thankfully business lines stay mostly empty. We breeze past the security and immigration lines. It is quite a walk from here to the SKL but thankfully the gate is nearby.

Boarding Process

Boarding is scheduled for 11.15pm. It is just a short walk away from the lounge. The economy is very full from the lines but business on the other hand looks to be rather light. It is only about 25% full and I hope the service is very personalised on the flight. Boarding started slightly ahead of time with PPS and Business Class passengers invited to board first as well as people with special assistance. I was one of the first to board and got really good pictures of the aircraft. I was warmly welcomed by the crew at the door before being ushered me to my seat. I was then offered an amenity kit and a welcome drink. Lovely to get my hands on the new colour.

I went with Champagne. Shona also came back to reconfirm my meal orders and I got the Salmon Steak from the Book The Cook menu. Check out my Book The Cook Dictionary over here. Boarding was rather prompt and we were underway soon. We started pushback at around 11.40 and were around airborne by midnight.

Singapore Airlines A350 Regional Business Class

I have reviewed this tons of times and it’s increasingly frustrating to see that Singapore Airlines is using these seats to so many places even for mid-haul flights of 6 to 7 hours. They are uncomfortable for long flights and have red eyes. This should be kept to true regionals of 3 to 4 hours. Even Perth at 5 hours is a stretch. I don’t like it as it does not come with a proper turndown service. I will not share much as I have flown it multiple times. This is from one of my older reviews.

The best seats to go for are the bulkhead seats in Row 11, they provide slightly more space. Do note that the seat alternates 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. The legroom and entrance to the seat are extremely narrow.

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.

We pushed back slightly late and departed smoothly. Wi-Fi is available on the flight and business class passengers have unlimited allowance. I won’t want to fly these on red-eye flights. I hate that there isn’t proper turndown service with a mattress topper. The bathrooms are constantly well maintained, as per the usual on SQ. They have an assortment of amenities stocked inside from Penhaligon’s amenities to toothbrushes and shaver. All that you might need can be found inside. I am a huge fan of the Penhaligon’s facial mist while in the air. 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.

The best seats on this aircraft would be the bulkhead seats the bulkhead seats on Row 11 and row 19. The extra space will be very helpful. 

Meal Service

You can find a physical menu on the seat. Shortly after leveling off the crew sprang into service. The meal service started right off given the short flights. You can find the menu for the flight here. I went with the Salmon Steak from the BTC menu. Service was done via a tray. The sleeper service is one of the most lacklustre ones. I got some sake to go with the meal. I was still famished after the meal service and resorted to having some chips. To be fair, the crew did come by with a pastry basket but it felt weird having a croissant at this hour.

My mum had the Stir-fried Pork Belly with Ginger Spring Onion Sauce which she enjoyed.

The main were alright but this is hands down one of the most underwhelming meals I had in my life. It was the first SQ premium cabin meal onboard and I still felt hungry.

Conclusion

Seoul is one of the longest routes that SQ is using these aircraft on. I am not a fan of the regional seats. I have flown Singapore Airlines plenty of time and besides the wow experience on First Class recently, this set of crew were rather basic. They were unmemorable. I certainly had more polished ones in the past. I did not feel exceptionally welcomed by the IFM and I think this sets the mood and standard for the flight. we also got in at an unbearable 4.30am. I am just glad to be out and back home to take a proper shower and sleep. It is still a comfortable way to fly but something needs to be done for these sleeper services. If you are taking this flight out of Seoul, load up on food at the lounge. With that, this brings a conclusion to my Seoul adventures.