Well, I guess this will finally check off the one remaining premium cabin of Singapore Airlines for me to review. This is the last remaining product that I technically have not tried before. These are nothing jaw-dropping but the retrofitted seats on the 737 single-aisle aircraft that SQ took over from the now-defunct Silkair. They are using this aircraft for short regional flights and those that are less premium such as Penang. I tried them once when I flew to Danang back a couple of years ago. You can check out my review of that flight here. I flew this as part of my China ticket and linked it together with my flight from Chongqing. This flight cost me just 9.50 SGD! That is quite a deal even for Penang. I have just tried SQ’s shortest flight and now it is time to try the second shortest route. You can check out my collection of SQ premium cabin reviews here. Let’s see how this flight is.

Checking In

I have already checked in ahead in Chongqing and my baggage was checked through to Penang earlier. I already got the boarding pass for both flights earlier and I simply reentered the secure area after popping out in Singapore for a bit. I spend some time checking out the various Priority Lounge options and also for a much-needed shower at the SKL.

Boarding

My flight departed at 1pm and boarding is scheduled for 12.30pm. While travelling out of Singapore Changi Airport is usually very fus free, do make sure to take some time to clear security at the individual gate. I got assigned gate F40 in Terminal 2 which is quite far. Boarding started slightly ahead of time. I was warmly greeted at the door by Bernice who then ushered me over to my seat. The load is very light today. There are only 5 pax in business class and the economy seems to be about half full.

It is nice to see this cabin again. On the first look, it seems that there is some slight improvement from the Silk Air days. The seats are also updated with Singapore Airlines upholstery and colours. Bernice soon came over with welcome drinks and hot towels. We pushed back at around 12.50pm and were airborne at 1.10pm.

Singapore Airlines 737-800NG Business Class

This is one of the older aircraft in the fleet despite it being retrofitted since the Silkair days. It looks quite different from the one that I flew from Danang, Vietnam in 2019. While these planes need to go as soon as possible, it is rather nice to see them in the SQ colours and livery. They have the same pillows and blankets across the rest of the fleet. Business class here is in a 2-2 configuration across 3 rows. This makes for a total of 12 business class seats in the front of the plane.

The seats felt a little old and dated but the padding is still comfortable enough for this short flight. In the middle of the seats, you have an armrest area with a drinks holder. They also had this little table extension that you could slide out for additional storage space. This will come in handy especially if you are sharing the seat with someone else.

Power outlets are found in the middle below the armrest. They had slippers available onboard this flight too. The table comes out from the armrest.

There is no IFE on this aircraft type but rather you have those old-school mini screens that flip down from the overhead compartments. What a nostalgia! I had a great laugh when they were showing the safety video.

The seat width is pretty good and well-padded. The legroom is also healthy and sufficient in the first row. The subsequent rows are tighter and I can see some of the passenger’s knees against the seat in front of it.

These seats are like US Domestic First Class seats. You have these really old mechanical controls to adjust the recline and leg rest.

Meal Service

Kudos to Singapore Airlines for actually offering a meal for a flight of this duration. As mentioned above, I have just experienced the service onboard the shortest flight and am keen to see how it goes on this. It is so impressive to have a full meal service on this flight. You can check out the menu here. For the month that I flew, it is a cold service given the service changes due to the SQ turbulence accident. In the previous month, I saw that they had some grilled chicken.

Similar to the KL route, no champagne is available. With how short this flight was, the crew sprang into service immediately after the seatbelt sign was turned off. Everything is served via a tray. I didn’t find the menu too attractive and went for a special meal. I got the seafood meal which ended up being a Prawn Salad.

Bernice came by with the pastry basket and I got some garlic bread. This was amazing. It was nicely heated and fresh.

The dessert was also quite nice. It is a Coconut Bavarois with Tropical Fruit Compote. Somehow after doing KL, this flight felt very long and relaxing. I had a leisurely time to enjoy my meal. The crew also offered a couple of refills and I had time to slowly savour my double brasile espresso before we prep for landing. KL was 5 mins of eating time!

Conclusion

Other than that rather modest hard product, the service was excellent. Special mention goes to Bernice. Why do I always only meet the nice crew on my short flights? Within 2 weeks, I have clocked off two of SQ’s shortest routes in their network. Check out my KL flight review here. The slightly longer flight duration makes a huge difference in the service. While the seats are alright for the short duration, they are not fitting of SQ status. The flight is as good as it gets! SQ’s second shortest flight checked! This will be a good addition to my collation of SQ Premium cabin flight review.