I recently flew from London to Hanoi via Singapore with Singapore Airlines. The main leg of this trip was on the massive Airbus A380. Overall, I was very impressed by the quality of the Singapore Airlines Economy hard product (seats) and soft product (service). However, the food was well below average, which on a 13 hour flight is a hugely important factor. For that I would say there are better airlines to fly long haul economy. But Singapore Airlines are still a great choice if you find a good deal and want a comfy seat. Feel free to watch my Youtube review too!
Heathrow Airport & Check-in
London Heathrow’s Terminal 2, also called “The Queen’s Terminal” was originally constructed in 1955. It was then demolished an reopened in 2014 and is, in my opinion, one of better airport terminals in Europe. Terminal 2 is predominantly used by Star Alliance Airlines. Singapore Airlines operate 4 daily flights to Heathrow, two being on Airbus A380s and two on Boeing 777-300ERs. My flight, SQ317, was on the Airbus A380 scheduled to depart at 10:55am.
Whilst the terminal buildings for the most part is very modern and spacious, the bag drop area was definitely not. It seems like they didn’t design it to house this many airlines, so the Singapore Airlines Economy desks didn’t have nearly enough space for me and the almost 500 other people on our flight. Because of that we ended up waiting almost half an hour to drop off our bags. After that though security was a breeze and we made it to Gate B42 in the satellite terminal.
The flight did end up boarding a bit late so our departure time was 30 minutes late. That wasn’t really an issue though and we ended up arriving ahead of schedule in Singapore.
The Plane & Seat
As I’m sure most people know the Airbus A380 is the world’s largest commercial airliner with two floors the entire length of the aircraft. Singapore Airlines use the lower floor for Economy and Premium Economy whilst the upper level is Business and First Class. Singapore Airlines fit 471 seats into this monster. I made a bit of a mistake by choosing to sit right at the back in seats 72K and 72J. Whilst the wing view was great, being at the back of teh plane meant we were last to be served food and had to wait for everyone else to get off the plane first.
The Singapore Airlines Economy seat is definitely one of the best economy seats I’ve ever sat in. with a 32″ pitch they have some of the best leg room in the industry. The cushioning is also extremely comfortable with an adjustable headrest the supports your neck. A nice firm pillow is also provided which I used to support my back. The blanket is also soft and large enough to completely cover me. My favourite economy seats have been Japan Airlines and Oman Air, both in a 787, and this compares well to those.
Despite being 12 years old this Airbus A380’s cabin felt very new and clean so I imagine it has been refurbished relatively recently. The only negative of the A380 is that the windows are extremely small, seemingly half the size of an A350 or 787 window.
Singapore Airlines’ inflight entertainment system was also excellent. There is a massive range of both new and old movies and tv. The entertainment is also from all over the world with Hollywood, European, Bollywood, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and more. There’s also a USB port in every seat and 2 universal power sockets for every 3 seats. Finally the seat has good storage with a compartmentalised pocket and a small storage nook under the tv.
Food
Sadly the Singapore Airlines Economy food was the low point of the trip. For me, food is one of the most important aspects of a flight. Especially when you’re spending 13 hours+ on the plane. Both our main meals on this flight were bland and poorly cooked. They’d also run out of our first choice on the lunch service so we had to make do with a poor second choice. Whilst the mains were bad though, the desserts, bread and cheese and crackers were good. And I tried the Singapore Airlines signature cocktail, the Singapore Sling, which was good too.
I will acknowledge that this poor food could have just been a London-specific catering issue. Whilst still very average, the food on the return flight from Singapore was a bit better. And the food to/from Vietnam was tasty. It is just disappointing to be stuck on a plane for so long and not really have any satisfying food options. Despite all that though I can say that the cabin crew serving the food were very friendly and helpful.
Lastly, a small selection of snacks are available throughout the flight. In the past this has been in the form of a snack tray you can help yourself to in the galley. Post-Covid however they seem to have gotten rid of this and you have to ask one of the cabin crew. They will then deliver it to your seat. Not many people seem to know this service exists though. I ordered two muffins and when it was brought to my seat I got a lot of confused and jealous looks from nearby passengers.
Services and Other Stuff
I can’t really complain about any aspects of the flight besides the food. Throughout the flight the toilets were kept spotless and well stocked with amenities such as a toothbrush kit.
Every single one of the cabin crew I encountered seemed genuinely friendly and as if they wanted to help. I didn’t really have too much to ask of them. But one nice gesture was that after we couldn’t get our first meal choice, they made sure to give us our first choice for breakfast. They also delivered some muffins to my seat when I asked so that was nice too. Lastly their iconic uniform is a nice change from the bland monotone colours of most airlines.
Final Thoughts
Singapore Airlines are definitely one of the best airlines in the world in my opinion. The seat, service and overall quality was top notch. The only thing that keeps me from fully endorsing them was the abysmal food on this flight. Whilst it could just be a Heathrow catering issue, I wasn’t overly impressed by the food on other legs of my journey either. I did fly Business Class from Saigon to Singapore though and that food was admittedly excellent. The Airbus A380 is definitely a brilliant aircraft two, with a spacious cabin and the smoothest ride of any airliner out there.
I paid £870 for the Economy Standard flight for my multi-city trip from LHR-SIN, SIN-HAN, SGN-SIN and finally SIN-LHR. That ended up being extremely good value with many other Asian and Middle Eastern airlines costing over £1,000 for the equivalent dates and times. So if you’re thinking about flying to, or connecting via, Singapore I would definitely consider Singapore Airlines. I just hope they do something to improve the quality of the food service.
More from me…
Please feel free to check out other related posts I’ve written:
- Iberia’s Airbus A350 Business Class – Lie flat seats on a short haul flight in Europe
- British Airways Club Europe London to Geneva – Another “business class” short haul flight
- Norse Atlantic Airways Premium from London to Oslo – Another unique widebody flight within Europe
And if you fancy earning some fantastic rewards and Avios points through American Express, please use my referral links below:
- The Platinum Card – You Receive 50,000 Membership Reward points after spending £3,000 in the first 3 months: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEGgRA5?CPID=100493012
- British Airways Card: You Receive 8,000 Avios after spending £1,000 in the first 3 months: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEG42lN?CPID=100503089