When I booked this flight, the new 777-300ER First Class wasn’t even a thing, so I was really excited to try Singapore Airlines newest product! The new planes began service on Singapore-London flights, and then began the Singapore-Mumbai route.
Trip Report Series:
- Introduction/Booking
- New LAX Star Alliance Lounge/Tom Bradley International Terminal
- Singapore A380 Suites, Los Angeles to Tokyo-Narita
- ANA Suite Lounge (Satellite 4) and United Club, Tokyo-Narita
- Singapore A380 Suites, Tokyo-Narita to Singapore
- Singapore Changi Ambassador Transit Hotel, Terminal 3
- Singapore Airlines Private Room (and a day in Singapore)
- Singapore Airlines NEW Boeing 777-300ER First Class, Singapore to Mumbai
Singapore Airlines #424
Singapore (SIN) – Mumbai (BOM)
Friday, January 17th, 2014
7:55pm – 10:35pm : 5 hours, 10 minutes
Boeing 777-300ER: Seat 2A (First Class)
I knew from the plane’s registration that it would have the new seats, but I still let out a tiny squeal of excitement as I entered through Door 1L. The crew was also very proud of the new product, and it was the first time many of them were flying it as well.
One thing I liked about the new seat was the adjustable height of the tray table.
I also liked the storage available in the seat, especially the area with phone connectivity with a spot to store a mobile phone (with a closeable door). However, the door does not close all the way if you have a USB device plugged in (maybe that’s a good thing since you won’t forget your stuff as easily!).
Since the cabin does not have overhead bins, I appreciated the fact that there is ample storage under the TV monitor/foot ledge. On my A380 Suites flight, I could only store my roller, but here, I could place my roller bag, a backpack, and some shopping items as well. Also, instead of having the foot ledge be the entire width of the seat, there was a small storage area to the side.
On the side was the new IFE remote as well as LED lights and the seat control console.
The flight attendants came by to welcome me onboard and offer a drink. I requested the 2004 Dom, but I was too excited taking photos of the cabin.
I also went to the mini-cabin of Business Class behind to check out those seats.
As business class passengers began to fill up that cabin, I returned to my seat and perused the menu for the flight (although I already knew what it was going to be). Flight time was blocked for about 5 hours (Singapore to Mumbai is 2,435 miles, which is shorter than New York to Los Angeles).
I kept with my Book the Cook selection.
The flight departed the gate on-time. One thing that disappointed me was that there was no Hindi announcements during the flight. Part of the charm of flying to India is getting to hear announcements in Hindi, and I’ve usually heard it even on foreign carriers. I like how the onboard announcements on Singapore flow, and especially like hearing them in Hindi (it’s good practice for once I land!).
As we taxied, I notice how private these seats are – while they don’t have doors that close, the walls do block your view of any other passengers. I wouldn’t have noticed there being other passengers had it not been for one of them laughing incessantly at a movie during the flight.
After takeoff, the IFE was activated. It is definitely an updated system, and a decent upgrade from the old IFE.
When you select “Let’s Begin,” a introduction to the new IFE begins. The screen is touch-screen, though I found myself using the remote the most.
The remote is very slick. As a member of the iPhone generation, I liked how it had an accelerometer and quick responses to my inputs.
I really liked how you could search for entertainment options with the keyboard search on the remote screen.
While my A380 Suites flight did not have wi-fi, this flight did, and it actually worked. In fact, I wrote an initial post with photos of the new First Class using that in-flight wifi.
The charge is usually $11.95 (USD) for 1 hour, or $21.95 for 24 hours. My flight was a couple weeks before Lunar New Year, so there was a promotional pricing of $17.95 for 24 hours. I figured $18 for a 5-hour flight wasn’t too bad, especially since it was only $6 more than having it for just 1 hour, and the idea of posting from above international waters was too much to pass on.
The wifi had pretty decent speeds at around 2.30 Mbps download/0.40 Mbps upload when I tested it (like I said, I wrote that post above and submitted it while in-flight). There were instances where it didn’t work, but you could tell because an indicator on the ceiling panel would light up when there was no mobile connectivity.
Shortly after takeoff, the lights were turned back on and dinner was soon served.
After satay, linens were placed and the table set.
I skipped the salad and instead got the Indian style mushroom soup.
Since Gary has really played up the Prawn and Chicken Laksa, I decided to get that as my Book the Cook selection. I thought it was pretty good, too!
Afterward, I had a bite of dessert as well as some selections from a cheese board.
One thing I like about the adjustable table was that it gave me plenty of room to slide out of the seat during the meal service, so I could get up to visit the lavatory, for example.
After dinner, I requested to have my seat made into a bed. The crew had some initial trouble putting the meal table away, so I sat down in the middle 2 seats and checked out what the recline was like.
One thing that kind of peeved me once I got in bed was just how glossy the surfaces on the monitor on. A lot of light is reflected off of it. For example, when you push the “Do Not Disturb” button on the console, the white “2A” light on the seat turns red, and this shines off the bezel of the monitor. I know, it’s a total #FirstWorldProblem, but it’s worth bringing up.
I slept a bit in the bed, which was very comfortable. I woke up with about 45 minutes left in-flight and watched some TV shows while I finished up my wi-fi session. The cabin was soon prepared for landing.
We landed into Mumbai on-time and had a long taxi to our gate. Unfortunately, the new Terminal 2 wasn’t quite ready to accept flights (despite it being inaugurated earlier that week).
We exited through Door 2L into the old BOM terminal. The arrivals hallway from flights to immigration literally cuts through the the boarding process of several flights, since the gate area is on the right and the jetways are on the left. Maybe that’s why you have to have your boarding pass checked like every 10 steps when flying out of there.
Immigration was rather easy as there were no lines in pretty much every line (including First/Business passenger, Indian nationals, PIO/OCI). I have an OCI card (Overseas Citizen of India) since my parents were born in India – it pretty much acts as a lifetime visa for me to visit freely, but I still have to carry my extremely old passport that has my original visa in it. Having to produce 3 documents (current US passport, OCI card, old US passport with Indian visa) is just absolutely absurd, but hey, that’s India.
I quickly retrieved the checked bag I had and got through customs easily once I told the officer I came from “Amrika.” Exiting outside, I caught up with my parents who had landed on the earlier Thai flight from Bangkok. On our way out of the airport, I caught brief glimpses of the new Terminal 2.
Thanks for reading!
