Review: Alone in Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Melbourne to Singapore (SQ218)
After 2 years in Australia, it was finally time to go home. During the first year we managed to collect 296.000 KrisFlyer Miles. Mainly through sign up bonuses, grocery shopping and credit card spend. So when the booking window for Singapore Airline awards opened, we were prepared. We initially only booked a business class ticket to Frankfurt, but changed the routing a couple of times and in the end paid around AUD 600 in fees for 2 tickets MEL-SIN-LHR in Suites with an 11 day stopover in Singapore. We also booked a connecting flight to Bali in Singapore Airlines business class on the day of our arrival in Singapore.
Luggage and Check-in
As we were moving, we had quite a bit of luggage and Singapore Airlines is not the most generous airline when it comes to their baggage allowance. As a Suites passenger you are entitled to 50 kg of checked bags, but due to our connection to Bali in business class on a separate ticket, we would only have an official allowance of 40 kg. We also got an additional 15 kg as Virgin Australia Gold members. Furthermore we were worried about the 32 kg hard limit due to health and safety concerns. So we tried to max out the allowance, repeatedly repacking and weighing at home. Our new 150l North Face duffel bags proved to be a valuable asset in achieving this with their sheer size and a low weight. Officially they are a bit to big for regular check-in baggage, but you can always squeeze a soft bag and there are even straps to tighten the bags on the outside.
We then turned up at Melbourne airport with our four bags of check-in luggage bursting to the limit plus some hand luggage. And check-in was a total breeze. The bags weighed between 30.5 and 32.4 kg and the agent checked us through to Bali with no issues whatsoever. She apparently connected our tickets and called someone to approve the weight. The business class boarding pass also had a first class lounge invitation for Singapore.
Lounge
As Suites passengers, we had access to the first class section of the Singapore Airlines lounge in Melbourne. While we had the lounge to ourselves, we were not impressed. It was a rather small space without windows. From time to time someone checked on us. I ordered some Singapore Noodles and had a glass of Macallan 12, which were both quite good.
Boarding
Our flight was delayed by 45 minutes and the new departure time was 0:50. We were informed when the flight was ready for boarding and made our way to the gate. Without any wait we entered the plane via the dedicated Suites bridge. We read reviews and watched a lot of Youtube videos before, but we were still blown away after seeing the cabin. The crew greeted us and escorted us to our seats 3D and 3F in the middle. They also informed us, that we are the only passengers in Suites class on the flight, and that we could choose any seat we liked. #privatejet
While exploring our home in the sky for the next 8 hours, we got an amenity kit, blue pajamas and a glass of Krug 2004. Normally I prefer wine over champagne, but I could get used to this one. We later compared it to the 2009 Dom Perignon, which was also good, but couldn’t compete with the Krug.
Flight
Shortly after take-off I had my Book the Cook beef steak with green peppercorn sauce for supper. As is was a sleeper service, there were no appetizers or deserts. I paired that with a well aged french red wine. Unfortunately it came out freezing cold. Our flight attendant promised to keep the bottle out to gain some temperature, but given the late night departure and some pre-departure leaving drinks with friends, we skipped alcohol for the rest of the flight.
During dinner, we watched an episode of Suits on my laptop, so we didn’t use the IFE. We were informed that it had some issues though, because they had to cancel a media upload due to departure timing issues and it showed some boot screens in between.
During dinner the crew prepared the double bed in the front suites 2D/2F. We changed into our pajamas and had a quick look around the first class cabin. As this was our first A380 flight, we were curious and checked out the stairs and took some pictures. Our flight attendant promptly offered us a private tour of the aircraft. While interesting, it was also a bit awkward to be on a VIP tour through the business and economy class section of the plane in pajamas and slippers. #firstclassproblems
After our short stroll, we went straight to bed for a good night sleep. The bed was pretty comfortable even for my 6'2 frame. There was a pretty hard divider in the middle though, which took away from the double bed feel. We especially valued the abundance of storage next to the bed. Our main flight attendant checked if everything was alright and, as I was a bit warm, reduced the cabin temperature for us.
We woke up around 1 1/2 hours before landing in Singapore. Because of our 10 hour layover in Changi airport and access to the Private Room, we skipped breakfast on the flight and just changed back into out original seats for a cup of coffee.
Conclusion
It was an amazing experience and the best way to get from Melbourne to Singapore. The departure time is just a bit too late and the flight time a bit to short for a truly relaxed overnight stay. We were served by three flight attendants. Two were very welcoming, while the third one was a bit reserved. We are now looking forward to our SQ308 day flight from Singapore to London next week.
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