It was February 2020 and Young Purple was naive 🙂 . As the world started to shut down, my Mom and I were discussing a trip to Thailand we had been planning for years that was going to take place in February 2021. As of February 2020 (when we had no idea that this pandemic would last more than two years), we decided to start booking our trip.
Well, a full two years later we finally took that trip 🙂 . This was our first time leaving the US since 2019 and while there were understandably a lot of hoops to jump through to do this safely, I can say it was all worth it 🙂 . So here’s my experience on the longest flight in the world in Singapore Air Business Class. We’re going to talk about how the flight went, what it was like booking this trip and every lesson learned along the way. Let’s get into it!
PRE-FLIGHT
As I mentioned, we originally booked this trip in February 2020 and since then, it’s been understandably cancelled and changed multiple times. Airlines are trying to stay afloat and one of the ways they’re doing that is by grounding larger planes and cancelling routes.
Since we booked our original flight, which would turn out to be two years in advance, we’ve experienced a lot of those changes. However, we still wanted to book this flight because airlines were starting to greatly increase the number of points needed for these routes and we were also working against a ticking clock of when our points would expire.
In addition to the points expiration deadline, airlines are also getting rid of their luxury products. Our original flight with a similar number of points had us in enclosed First Class cabins with our own doors like the ones in Crazy Rich Asians. However, many airlines have gotten rid of their First Class cabins completely or made them unattainable to book with points. Anyway, all of these things drove our decision to continue attempting this trip.
Customer Service
I had always heard that Singapore Airlines had some of the best customer service in the business so I was astonished to learn that that amazing customer service does not extend to before you enter the airport 🙂 . As a result of all the pandemic cancellations and changes, we have had to contact Singapore Air multiple times and unfortunately never had a good experience over the phone, chat or social media.
At times when we tried to call, we would only receive a busy signal – for days.
Hey @SingaporeAir – Can you help me? I've been trying to call customer service for days and get a fast busy signal. Our flight from SIN to HKT keeps being pushed out so now we have a 27h layover for an hour flight and we would prefer a much shorter layover. Thank you in advance!
— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) October 29, 2021
Once the phone actually rang, wait times were extremely long (at least 2 hours – my step-brother spent a whole 3 hours waiting on the phone just to get a new flight assignment after the airline cancelled his flight without providing a new one). In addition, chat and social media assistance were unhelpful. For example, the Twitter team directed us to website links (that we had already read) instead of actually answering our questions.
Hi there, you may refer to https://t.co/EnwquNpUW0 to view examples of accepted certificates. If you do not meet the VTL requirements (https://t.co/EXFQAbU6r0), you may opt for non-VTL flights. Thank you.
— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) November 6, 2021
We would wait on the phone for hours and then begin speaking with an agent only to have the line hang up halfway through talking about an issue. We would then have to call back and wait another hour or more to get back where we started.
Singapore Air was changing flights left and right – adding cities to our itinerary, making the flight go the other way around the world to our destination, changing our flights to have a 48 hour layover in a city where we aren’t allowed to leave the airport – all kinds of fun stuff 🙂 .
Hi there, please get in touch with your nearest KrisFlyer Membership Services office via https://t.co/iV4aCjN7Ad for further assistance with this. Thank you.
— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) April 5, 2021
So leading up to this flight, I was completely underwhelmed with the customer service experience. However, thanks to my Mom’s amazing hard work and persistence over the phone, we were finally confirmed on a flight that didn’t have a ridiculous layover or route. We were ready to head to Thailand!
Flights Details
- When: February 2022
- Where: NYC to Singapore
- Flight: SQ23 (Vaccinated Travel Lane Flight)
- Flight Time: 18h 50mins
- Seat: 20K (Business Class)
- Distance: 9,521 miles
- Points Used: 99,000 KrisFlyer points + $13.90 taxes (Flight 1/2 – AKA this is the total amount of points we used to get from NYC to Thailand and this was the first flight of two)
WOW – I guess this is really happening next week🌏. After 5 years of planning, several pandemic cancellations for safety and 2 years intentionally staying in the US: We're branching out and flying Business Class on the longest flight in the world✈️😱🏖️. Thailand here we come🇹🇭! pic.twitter.com/No6hXzTIxZ
— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) January 25, 2022
JFK AIRPORT
Check In
We arrived at the airport 3 hours and 40 minutes earlier than our flight time. We had some drama waiting for the elevator from the AirTrain with my Mom’s checked bags. We ended up abandoning our luggage cart and just carrying everything because the people in front of us in line for the elevator had seen 4 elevators go by that were completely full.
My Mom had the genius idea of pressing the down button instead of up and waiting for the empty car to go back up and that ended up working for our elevator buddies while we hit the escalator.
Anyway, when we entered the check in area, a Singapore Air representative asked us for our flight number and cabin class. We were directed to a Vaccinated Travel Lane line for Business Class and it was an understandably slow process. We were 5th in line and check in took us an hour.
I say it’s understandable because of all the documents they have to check and then confirm before letting us on the flight, which included:
- Passport
- Thai Visa/Thailand Pass
- PCR Negative Test Result
- Vaccination Card
- Return Ticket (if on another airline)
I had all of my documents organized in a manila folder with a binder clip and everything. It was so sexy Liz Lemon would be impressed 😉 .
However, despite all of our preparation, we had our first hiccup of the trip. Apparently Singapore Air has a weight limit for carry-on bags. This was never communicated in any email or information that was sent to us prior to the flight. So my partner ended up having to check his second bag that he had planned to take with him on this journey.
In Business Class, you can have 2 carry-on bags, but they have to be 7kg or 15.4 lbs or less each. AH! When my Mom and I approached the counter, we expected to have to do the same and check my second carry on bag. However, we were told they didn’t need to weigh my bags because they only did that with carry ons with wheels (like my partner’s…weird 🙂 ).
Anyway, after they called to confirm that all of our documents were real and legit, they checked that we had all of the necessary paperwork for Thailand to actually let us into the country, which I appreciated given my issues with that in the past. I can imagine this is another reason the line took so long with different people going to different countries that have different entry requirements. Anyway, after a bit, we were free to go onto the next stage of our journey.
TSA Pre-Check
We headed to the TSA Pre-Check section of the JFK security checkpoint. My Mom and I have had Pre-Check for almost a decade now and LOVE it. A few years ago, when renewing it I actually got Global Entry for free with one of my credit cards. So we sailed through security – there was no line and we had no issue with our bags.
The Lounge
Next stop: The Virgin Clubhouse Lounge!
We had a few hours before our flight boarded and I was curious to see what this lounge offered – and I was blown away. The food was absolutely delicious, there was an abundance of different kinds of seating and the service was wonderful. Our time there flew by and before we knew it, it was time to board!
THE JOURNEY
Boarding
Boarding was effortless. We arrived at the gate right when it was set to board (30 minutes before departure). Business Class was immediately announced (there isn’t a First Class on this plane) and we went through. One interesting thing that happened is that instead of checking our passport and boarding pass at the gate, they had a machine take our picture before boarding. I guess they have all my info now so I can’t commit any crimes 🙂 .
Once we got on the plane, we were directed to our seats. We settled in and I noticed that the plane only seemed about 1/4 full, which was surprising to me since most of the seats were taken when I looked at the seat selection tool online and because there had been a snowstorm a few days before that caused this route (and many others) to be cancelled. However, I wasn’t complaining with the extra space 🙂 .
The Flight
The flight attendants came around and took our drink orders and then before I knew it, we were in the air. Dinner service began and I ate myself into a small food coma 🙂 .
Something interesting that happened is that because of the pandemic Singapore Air no longer provides paper menus and instead their menu is available to download to your phone from their website. So high tech!
Once dinner was done, attendants came around and asked if we would like our seats turned into a bed and I accepted.
I snuggled up and before I knew it, I had been sleeping for 8 hours 🙂 . I had fallen asleep with a violent movie playing in the background and had some weird dreams as a result – Oops!
When I awakened, I went to the bathroom, which was stocked with toothbrushes, toothpaste, toiletries and cloth towels. The stock in there was a nice edition to what we already received in our amenity kits.
I checked on my partner who was a little behind us in Premium Economy and had a chat with my Mom who was seated right behind me. She told me that she had fallen asleep to calming sounds that she found under a Wellness section in the In Flight Entertainment – good to know that exists 🙂 .
Before I knew it, it was time for another meal service. However, despite the food being good, I sadly couldn’t finish it. My stomach wasn’t used to such a big meal right after awakening. The flight attendant who took my quarter full plate asked if I hadn’t liked it, which I assured them wasn’t the case.
Much to my surprise, we only had a few hours left of the flight at this point. I settled in, watched a few movies, sent my Accountability Beast reminders over the 100mb of free WiFi Business Class passengers receive as part of their ticket, and relaxed.
A bit later, a flight attendant came around to ask if we would like any drinks or snacks. I agreed and munched away while finishing a film. When my movie was done, we landed and I basically sat in shock that a 19 hour flight had gone by so fast. We exited the plane without issue and continued on our journey.
THE REVIEW
So that’s what happened, but now let’s get into the actual review portion and what I thought of the experience 🙂 .
Customer Service
The rumors are true: Singapore Air customer service is absolutely top notch. The flight attendants anticipated my needs, remembered my specific preferences and orders and all around provided excellent service.
They also kept apologizing for supposed delays when bringing food, which I didn’t even notice. Something requiring more than 30 seconds isn’t a delay in my mind 🙂 .
When we were about to leave the plane, one flight attendant presented my Mom and I with additional bottles of Perrier since we had enjoyed many during our flight (we drink it like air 🙂 ), which we thought was a sweet gesture.
Seat
Like in every aspect of my life, I love my research 🙂 and after completing this flight I was surprised to remember that many aviation nerds don’t love this Singapore Air seat based on their reviews of the product.
I personally loved it. The aviation nerds main complaint seems to be the fact that the foot well is not directly in front of the seat, but slightly to the side. I found this a comfortable configuration when I slept on my side and preferred it over the foot wells that are directly in front of the seat that make you feel like you’re sliding into a coffin. However, if you would prefer a less diagonal foot well, the bulkhead seats don’t really have this restriction.
Instead of reclining into a bed, the seat actually folds down into one, which was something I hadn’t seen before. I’m tall for a woman and I found that even without using the foot well, I could fully extend my legs when the seat was turned into a bed. This configuration also allows you to keep items on the floor instead of having to move them before turning your seat into a bed.
The seat also had an abundance of storage along with a vanity mirror. Overall, I found the seat more than comfortable to meet my needs for this long flight.
In fact, I originally assumed I would feel a little uncomfortable since I had never been on a plane for this long before and as a result brought pajamas to change into. However, I didn’t end up needing them. I wore a comfy dress with pockets that I surprisingly had no issue keeping on during the whole journey (it’s hard to find a dress that comfy – especially one for $30).
I'm rocking a dress with pockets for my 19 hour flight and 3 hours into our journey it's already been a total GAME CHANGER 😍✈️🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/JLzXUOsScU
— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) February 2, 2022
Food
I’m always shocked at the business class food offerings on international carriers. I honestly don’t understand how they can serve restaurant grade food on gorgeous plates from a galley kitchen, but being shocked by that is part of the fun 🙂 . I was very impressed with the food on this flight. Most of it was straight up delicious and made me wish I had another stomach to engage when I got full. Here were all my courses on the flight:
In addition to an abundance of delicious food, they had a wonderful wine selection if that’s your thing. I told my attendant that I was looking for a dry, red wine to pair with dinner and she delivered. It was an absolutely delicious glass of wine. I also enjoyed a yummy single malt later in the meal, which I looked up later: it goes for $95 a bottle. Wowza. I guess I have expensive tastes now 😉 !
In-Flight Entertainment
There were more entertainment options than I knew what to do with, which is definitely my preference on a long-haul flight 🙂 . When we got to our seats, I began my usual ritual of going through all of the available movies and making a list of what I wanted to watch separated by category (*cough* nerd *cough*).
However, there were over 130 movies in English on this flight, not to mention the many TV show options and even Live TV. So I had over 20 movies on my list before I even got through most of the options. I literally didn’t have the time to watch everything I wanted to during the longest flight in the world. Ridiculous 🙂 . Anyway, all that to say, I was thoroughly entertained!
CONCLUSION
So that was my experience on the longest flight in the world! Overall I had a wonderful time and was obviously so excited to finally travel safely after hunkering down for so long. Anyway, tune in next week to see what I got up to in the amazing Singapore Changi Airport and how my flight from Singapore to Thailand went. Until then!
What was your favorite flight experience?
Dang, business class doesn’t mess around. Nice write-up.
I’ve only ever flown economy, but Singapore Airlines is good regardless. I’ve done the route from Europe to Australia and various places in SE Asia a few times, and always try to go with one of the Asian airlines, as the food and service is awesome. Nothing in your review surprises me 🙂 glad you had a good time and a restful trip. Always helpful when dealing with jet lag and travel issues.
Haha it indeed does not on international carriers 🙂 . Awesome to hear they’re good regardless!
Wow. That’s amazing…. a dress with pockets!!!! Just kidding, sounds like my type of flight. Not sure if I’ll ever get to do something like that, but maybe that will need to be part of the planning. Thanks for the suggestion. Hope you enjoy the rest of the trip.
Haha that dress is a revelation. And yeah – we added how to get these kinds of flights to our planning. I don’t think I’d be able to do it on the fly. And thank you!
Love your recap & now I want to travel
To the Far East!! What credit card did you sign up for to get that many Singapore points with?
Thank you! I don’t even remember what credit cards since we started gathering points for this in like 2017.
Yeah their customer service is wonderful at Singapore…on the flight. I’ve only rode first class once and it was amazing. And then I tried out their business class offering and didn’t even get an amenity kit, and they kept getting my orders wrong….but I think from your post that was probably like an ‘off day’ or something.
Curious: for the 99K points did you have to blast the waitlist dates to get the flights or were you able to get a flight locked in way ahead of time?
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. I booked all of these far in advance – I’ve never done a waitlist or anything like that.
I have that dress! And fond memories of wearing it during our trip to NZ back in December 2019. The female Air NZ flight attendants were wearing dresses with the same color scheme and nearly the same pattern, so it seemed very apt! I was really impressed with the in-flight service of Singapore Airlines too. They substituted for a cancelled flight I had from Manchester, UK to Orlando once. The experience felt luxurious even though I wasn’t in Business Class.
Looking forward to hearing about the next leg of the journey and beyond! 🙂
Thank you! And that’s so cool 🙂 . I haven’t been on Air NZ yet, but might when we finally take our trip Down Under. That’s awesome Singapore’s service is great across the board. I’m so glad you’re looking forward to the rest of the journey – I just posted it.
glad you made it and that the in flight experience at least possibly made up for the SNAFUs prior to the actual trip! Love the description and details though now I sadly want to try business class. Almost any business class really! Changi airport is pretty awesome too although we were tired enough after our non-business class flights to Singapore that we almost wandered out without our luggage…
And yeah any international business class is pretty awesome. And ah! I’m glad y’all remembered your luggage, but also – of any airport that would make sure you got it back and quickly, I would bet on Changi 🙂 .
OOOOH Fancy Class is such fun!!!! Though your travails booking with that airline makes me think I might avoid them (or not count on anything being easy in These Times).
I’ve flown Fancy Class a few times – my preferred trick is to use miles to fly cattle class on the start of the trip, and Fancy Class (business or first) home, so I’m actually looking forward to the last bit of my trip.
I think my best experience was flying first class through London Heathrow with a several-hour layover. The first class lounge there was amazing and there were even gorgeous showers with rain heads and a way to put your suit out to get pressed while you were taking your shower (not that I travel in business wear!). Perhaps the neatest flight experience I ever had was a flight into London City airport where 100% of the seats were lie-flat. (a travel hacking friend turned me onto that one!)
Yeah – travel sadly isn’t easy in the These Times. I do hope they improve their telephone customer service because if they don’t I’m not going through that again either with the pandemic still raging 🙂 . And that’s a fun economy/fancy class plan. I don’t think I’ve done that before.
That sounds like a lovely lounge in London and ooooh all lie-flat seats sounds wild 🙂 !
Interesting to hear how poor the on ground customer service with Singapore was not that good, especially how good it is in the sky. Good to hear you didn’t lose those miles. Thanks to the pandemic, I have been hesitant to transfer points to other carriers where if I had to cancel I would have a bunch of miles with an airline I don’t ever fly. Right now I have been using up my United and American miles because I know I can use them again if I have to cancel a trip.
We are flying in Qatar Q-Suites to the Maldives in October. I am really looking forward to that trip. We were able to get two seats in the middle that convert into a double bed. Was able to buy 96,000 AA miles for only $400 thanks to a shopping promotion — this purchase put us over the top to be able to fly Q-Suites round trip.
How did you end up getting around the digital vaccine card issue? We live in a state without one of those and I wonder myself how I would be able to overcome that limitation.
Yeah it was weird – I was starting to think they outsource the service or something, but it was completely inconsistent with the rest of the experience including on the ground checking in.
That’s so exciting!!! We LOVE the Maldives. Prettiest water I’ve ever seen. Sounds like an amazing trip! I look forward to reading about it if you want to write about it.
My partner figured it out – luckily we didn’t actually need it because we’re transit passengers. It’s just needed to get into Singapore, not the board the plane, which is what it looked like on their website.
Can you please explain how you were able to get the flight from NYC to Singapore for 99,000 miles? Krisflyer redemption chart shows 140,000 miles for business class one way trip.
I booked this in April 2021 so I assume they’ve increased the required points like many airlines have this past year.