What can I look forward to when I fly in Economy Class?

The full details about SQ’s economy class offering are on the website. On the home page, choose 'The Experience' tab. You can view the different aspects of the Economy Class experience by clicking on one of the following headings: (1) Cabin Ambience; (2) Dining (after which you click on Cabin Cuisine); or (3) Amenities. Each of these will have a link for that aspect of travelling in SQ's economy class.

Here is a summary of the things that set SQ apart from most airlines:

• Ability to select your seat at the time you book. Currently this option is available if you book throught the website. There were plans to extend this to other bookings (such as those done through TAs), but we haven't seen the plans bear fruit.
  
• Ability to check in online 48 hours before your flight (except if your flight departs from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Colombo, Kolkata or Mumbai). When you check in online, you can also change your seat. This is a good time to check whether you can grab one of the coveted exit row seats.
  
  In addition, check-in via SMS are available for flights operated by Singapore Airlines departing from Auckland, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Chennai, Christchurch, Dhaka, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Penang, Singapore and Taipei. Details can be found here.
  
• KrisWorld and Wisemen 3000: one of the two most extensive selections of video and audio entertainment in the air (the other being that of EK). All long-haul flights have AVOD (audio-video-on-demand). The Wisemen 3000 also allows you to put together your own playlist from the collection of CDs available. For videogame fanatics, KrisWorld offers up to 36 Nintendo games.
  
  Here’s a tip about using the remote control for Wisemen 3000: to use the fast-forward function, press the fast-forward button once, and when you’re ready to see where that action has taken you, press the fast-forward button twice (in quick succession). The fast-forwarding seems to happen in discrete increments, so it takes practice to get a sense of how long you need to fast-forward before you’ve safely skipped the ads or anti-DVT tips in front of all the features. You’ll see how far you’ve gone because the timer will appear when you double-click to re-start the feature.
  
  To skip backwards to the section you’d like to see again, first press the rewind button, and then press the fast forward button once to resume playing.
  
• Service from the Singapore Girls: courteous, professional, efficient. (The Singapore Boys tend to remain the galley for economy class service, and emerge only when it’s time to persuade you to do some on-board shopping.) I will also add ‘warm’ to my list of adjectives, although a favorite complaint from some flyers is that service can be ‘robotic’. Regulars of this forum tend to disagree with such an assessment; read StarG’s explanation about how the perception of robotic service may arise.
  
• Clean toilets throughout the flight! This might sound trivial, but you’ll be amazed just how much you’ll appreciate this aspect towards the end of a long-haul flight with a full cabin. SQ cleanliness has eliminated my dread of freshening up (as much as a cattle-class passenger can look refreshed after a 10+ hour flight) at the end of my flights to Asia.
  
• KrisShop: This catalog of dutyfree goods is amazing. To look over some of the items on offer before your flight, look here. Note that some items are available only through mail order, so even if you place your order onboard, you'll have to wait for delivery. Make sure to keep your receipt if you’re a KrisFlyer member. I’ve occasionally had to chase KrisFlyer up for my miles (S$1 = 1 mile) after my on-board shopping sprees.
  
• Little touches that create the feeling that you aren’t experiencing the average economy class flight: (1) hot towels at the start of your flight and before the meals; (2) an attractive menu to tell you about the food and drinks on your flight; (3) a nice selection of mixed drinks (alcoholic and virgin) that you can request at any point. Speaking of drinks, here are recommendations from other FTers (hint: try the Singapore Sling ).
  
• Connexion: soon to be rolled out across SQ flights, this broadband Internet access is currently available on LHR, JFK and SYD flights. You have to pay for access, but you can choose whether you want to pay for the entire flight, for a shorter block, or by the minute. You need only four things to get started: a wireless-enabled laptop, a username, a password, and a credit card. Launch the wireless connection, follow simple on-screen instructions, and you're set to email and surf the Internet at a speed that is often imperceptibly different from broadband access on land (others, however, have reported patchy connections, particularly when the demand is high on a particular flight). During a SIN-LHR flight, my connection was never broken. In economy class in the nonstops, the limit to your enjoyment is set by two things: (1) how long your battery can power your laptop, and (2) your patience with the cramped working conditions
  
• Coming soon: live TV broadcasts through your laptop’s wireless modem

[Note: SQ will roll out new cabin designs beginning Dec 2006. See this thread for details.]

Which seats in economy class are the best?

The standard references for seat recommendations are www.seatguru.com and www.seatexpert.com. On SQ as on other airlines, the conventional economy class mantra holds: “Exit row, good”. Be mindful, however, that the exit door may encroach upon the window seat’s leg space.

FTers’ views can be read here and here. Savage25 summarizes favored seats here, while Keithl lists the seats to avoid here.



Is Executive Economy worth the extra money?

There are some people who like breaking up the journey from the US to SE Asia by stepping onto the airport at ICN, NRT, TPE, HKG or FRA. Others may find that the timing of the nonstops doesn’t suit their schedules as well as that of flights with intermediate stops.

But for most FTers, the extra space, the extra service, and the shorter total flight time are worthy reasons for shelling out more money. For a list of the differences, see the definition of ‘Executive Economy’ in the glossary. You can find the official description of Executive Economy class at www.executiveeconomy.com.


If you’re still of two minds, here is a discussion about the merits of Executive Economy.

I think it’s safe to say that the consensus response to the question is a strong ‘YES’.