After going for some novelty on the way to Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka Air Business Class, it is back to the norm to head home. I will be flying back with Singapore Airlines. The timing isn’t ideal, given that the flight departs at 12.50am. It will be a very lacklustre premium cabin experience. You can have an entire day before heading to the airport in the late evening. I issued my ticket during the monthly Spontaneous Sale. I paid 30,100 Miles and around 81.20 SGD in taxes. It is quite sweet considering the 30% off. With the late-after-midnight departure, the meals will be very simple. This is also a flight operated with regional seats, which are less ideal. They are my least favourite. I have reviewed these seats multiple times. You can find my previous review here. Additionally, please visit my collection of SQ Premium Class reviews here. 

Checking In

I got to the airport at around 9.50pm or so. It is about a 45-minute ride from the city area. I booked an airport transfer from Trip.com, which was easy enough. The ride was clean and smooth. Security is very tight over here at Colombo Airport. There is one security checkpoint before you enter the terminal, and then another one before you enter the check-in desk area. You will have to show your air tickets or reservations before you are allowed access. Singapore Airlines uses check-in counter 21. It is nicely segregated into various lines, and then we were helped by a friendly guy at the business class counters. It was very fast, and we soon had our boarding pass in hand. There is no line for immigration. Business Class passengers can also use the priority lines. 

There is no line ahead for immigration, and then we can also use the priority line for business class passengers. We spent most of the time at the Araliya Lounge, where business class passengers were invited. The lounge is in a very convenient location since it is right opposite the gate that we are using. The lounge is quite a nice place and better than the terminal area.   

Boarding Process

Boarding was assigned for 12.20am. Do remember to allow some time for it, as there is another security check at the door. This makes it a total of 3 security checks over here at Colombo Airport. It is quite a hassle, to be honest. There is a segregated seating area for business class and passengers requiring assistance. Boarding ends up starting with business class passengers and PPS Club members.  

I was warmly welcomed by the IFM at the door and then ushered over to my seat by the crew working my aisle. While on the ground, the crew came by with welcome drinks and to take meal orders. There isn’t any BTC available for this route. Somehow, for this flight, you cannot even pre-select your meal online from the in-flight menu. The crew that was working my aisle was very senior and excellent. We pushed back at around 12.40am and were airborne shortly after. It is pretty crowded in business class. 

Singapore Airlines 787 Regional Business Class

I shall not dwell too much on the hardware and the seats since I have reviewed this product countless times. You can find some of my recent reviews of this cabin here. The hardware is also very similar to the one onboard the A350 Medium Haul. I will just include some pictures of my seats here. You can find my full collection of SQ Premium cabins reviews here. I will include some pictures of my seats here.

Meal Service

For this flight, it will be a sleeper service. This is one of the more lacklustre meal services on Singapore Airlines. It will be a very watered-down meal for breakfast and sleeper service. As mentioned above, somehow, meal selections can’t be chosen online for this flight. You can check out the menu for this flight here. Given the short flight duration, the crew sprang into service once the seat belt signs were turned off. The meal service started around 30 minutes after takeoff. The meal service was done via a tray, but surprisingly, they had done it course by course. I had the Smoked Salmon with Guacamole and Grilled Vegetables. The crew also came by with some pastries, and as per usual, I got the garlic bread.

For my main course, I chose the Negambo Fish Curry with Katarolu Rice, Polos Moju and Banana Blossom Seeni Sambal. The curry goes so well with blue pea flower rice. The flavours are excellent. I mopped it all off despite being so full and the late hour. This is one of the best spicy dishes I’ve had on board. 

The Kithul Cheesecake is pretty good too, but rather heavy on caramel. The meal service ended with around 2 hours to go.  

Conclusion

A fairly standard SQ premium cabin flight. It certainly went by in no time. It is a very short flight and departs at a godforsaken hour. I did enjoy the meals and the service, which is on the better side. While not my favourite, the regional seats are sufficient for this duration. It is very nice to jump on a Spontaneous Escape promotion rate when it fits your plan. This sums up my Big 30! Stay tuned for the next trip report.