After a very enjoyable holiday in Singapore with my husband, two daughters and my parents, it was time to fly home.  This time we were booked on a Boeing 777-300 ER which would take us all the way through to Canberra with a quick fuel and pickup stop in Sydney on the way.

Airline and Flight #

Singapore Airlines SQ288

Aircraft

Boeing 777-300 ER

Airport and Terminal

Departure: Changi Airport, Singapore

Arrival: Canberra Airport, Canberra ACT, Australia

Departure Date and Time

Scheduled: Sunday 4th January 2020| 09:35 am.  The flight left 7 minutes late.

Arrival Date and Time

Scheduled: Sunday 4th January 2020| 10:35 pm.  The flight arrived 11 minutes early.

Scheduled Flying Time

7 hours 50 minutes from Singapore to Sydney and 1 hour from Sydney to Canberra.

Luggage Allowance

Carry-on:

Passengers flying Economy class are allowed free of charge one piece of carry-on luggage up to 7 kilograms  in addition to one personal item such as a laptop, camera, overcoat, handbag etc. The sum of the piece of luggage (Length + Width + Height) should not exceed 115 centimetres (45 inches). Personal items should not exceed 40 x 30 x 10 centimetres (16 x 12 x 4 inches). Passengers must be able to stow their luggage securely in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front.

Checked baggage: 

• One piece up to 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and not exceeding 158 centimetres (62 inches).
• Infants can have one piece up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) plus a fully collapsible stroller or pram and carry-cot or car seat.
• More generous allowances are made for PPS club members and KrisFlyer Gold or Star Alliance Gold members.

Fun Facts

• Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance with its main hub in Singapore
• Registered 9V-SWM, this aircraft first flew in January 2008 making it twelve years old at the time of flying.
• The airline is currently running the longest flight in the world – Newark to Singapore with a flight time of 18 hours and 45 minutes.
• The Singapore Airlines logo is a bird, inspired by a silver kris which comes from the Keris, a dagger from SE Asia featured in the region’s myth and folklore.
• Singapore Airlines was the first airline to use the A380 being the world’s largest passenger aircraft as well as the Dreamliner B787-10 and A350-900ULR.
• In 2019 the airline won the Skytrax award for World’s best airline cabin crew and came second and fourth respectively for best airline and cleanest airline.

Website

The Singapore Airlines website can be found here.  Prices on Skyscanner were cheaper than the website so we booked through a travel agent who was happy to price match.

Check-in 

Check-in for Singapore Airlines flights opens 48 to one and a half hours prior to your scheduled departure. You can check-in via one of the following ways:

1. Mobile check-in – by downloading the SingaporeAir app. You will be required to enter your booking reference number or your E-ticket number as well as your last name. It then asks you for your passport number and expiry date  You can then print or download your boarding pass. The app also allows you to select or change your seat as well as your order your meal and enter the number of bags you are checking.
2. Desktop check-in – by logging on to the Singapore Airlines website and clicking on Check-in. You must enter either your booking reference number or E-ticket number plus your last name as well as answer the same questions as per the mobile check-in. You can print your boarding pass or download it to your mobile.
3. At the airport – via the self-service kiosks or at the counter at Terminal 3.  If you are not checking luggage, you can print your boarding pass and go straight to the gate.

Singapore Airlines recommends being at the airport for international flights two and a half hours prior to departure if you have checked baggage and one and a half hours prior to departure if you don’t have checked baggage.

Seating

Layout – The Singapore Airlines B777-300 ER aircraft is a wide bodied jet with 264 seats.  These are made up of 4 Open First class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, 48 Business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration with 12 in the first cabin before door 2 and the remaining 36 in the second cabin, 28 Premium Economy class seats in a 2-4-2 configuration and 184 Economy class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. I was seated in row 47.

Seats – In each row of three seats, two were covered in a blue fabric with a blue leather headrest whilst the third was of the same fabric and pattern but in grey with a brown leather headrest.  The headrests were adjustable, sliding up and down with each end also adjustable so as to support your head better when sleeping.  Arm rests were adjustable also.  Seat pitch was 32 inches (81 centimetres) whilst seat width was 18.5 inches (48.3 centimetres).  Seat recline was 6 inches (15 centimetres).

Tray tables – These were well designed as they could be used in the half folded position when requiring a smaller surface for a drink and snack.  This left you with more room between you and the tray table. On the left was a slide open mirror and to the right, a spot to put your cup. When it came to mealtime or wanting to use a larger surface, the tray table could be fully extended.  The tray also moved backward and forward to suit.  There was also a pull down drink holder on the right alleviating the need to have the tray down at all.

Storage – Overhead storage bins were a good size and there were a number of pockets in the seat in front to store books, electronic devices etc.

Amenity Kit – Singapore Airlines does not automatically supply amenity kits in any of their classes although there are amenities available upon request.  In Economy class, this includes a small bag containing a dental kit and socks.  Eye shades, earplugs and a comb are also available.

Cabin comfort

• Pillows and blankets were on each seat upon boarding and were nice quality
• I felt the cabin air temperature was too cold on board this flight
• In the tray table there is a mirror that some passengers could find handy
• Mood lighting in the cabin helps with jet lag

In-flight Entertainment

Electronic devices

• Electronic devices can be used whilst boarding using the aerobridge but not if you’re using the tarmac to board.
• Once doors on the plane have closed you need to then switch your device to flight mode.  Devices cannot be charged upon taxiing, takeoff or landing.

Communication

• To use inflight texting or data roaming, your mobile service provider must have a roaming agreement with Singapore Airlines’ connectivity provider OnAir or AeroMobile.  Roaming charges are determined by your mobile server provider and will appear in your phone bill.  Turn off auto roaming so extra charges aren’t incurred.  A leaflet inside the seat pocket in front contains instructions.

Power

• On Singapore Airlines’ B777-300ER, Economy class passengers have two universal power outlets between each row of three seats.  There is a headphone jack to the left of the seat in front, below the screen.  To the right of this is an old style iPod port and two other USB and charge ports.

In the Seat Pocket

• In the seat pocket you will find the following Singapore Airlines material:

1. KrisShop magazine for duty free shopping
2. SilverKris KrisWorld magazine
3. KrisWorld Inflight entertainment magazine
4. Card on sending texts or data roaming
5. Aircraft safety card

WiFi

• Wifi is available to Economy class passengers for a fee with the rate depending on what they need it for and how long they want.  For more details see here.

Entertainment System

• In Economy class on Singapore Airlines’ B777-300 ER,  each passenger has their own 10.5 inch ( cm) touch screen monitor with a remote that pops out just below it.  The KrisFlyer system offers over 1000 entertainment options.  Entertainment options are:

1. Movies
2. TV
3. Music (over 800 albums)
4. Games & Apps (flight path, connecting gate etc)
5. Inflight connectivity
6. MyKrisWorld (if you sign in as a KrisFlyer member, you’ll be able to save settings and preferences)
7. SilkAir Studio (provides access to additional content)
8. Silkwinds (monthly inflight magazine)

Safety Demonstration

Updated in 2019, Singapore Airlines’ safety video goes for nearly six minutes.  The video is typically Singaporian in that it is no nonsense, proper and aesthetically pleasing.  The video demonstrates the safety aspects not from inside the plane but in some of Singapore’s own indoor and outdoor attractions.  I thought it was quite good and never tire of seeing those beautiful Singapore women in their attractive costumes, matching shoes and perfect hair do’s.

Catering

Menus

The menu on Singapore Airlines is an attractive booklet made from good quality thick paper.  As it was early January, the cover was an eye catching Christmas theme of holly, pine cones, cupcakes and biscuits on the snow spelling out Ho Ho Ho.

Food/Drinks

On the flight from Singapore to Sydney, a complimentary lunch and snack were served whilst a bottle of water and a biscuit were given out on the leg from Sydney to Canberra.  Complimentary alcoholic beverages are also served in Economy on Singapore Airlines.

• 09:39 am – Warm face towels were handed out followed by the menus about half an hour later.

• 10:30am – Bags of Peas and Crackers were given out to accompany the drinks that were on their way.  I chose a Baileys with milk on ice.

• 11:30am – Lunch was served.  This was a choice between Fish Fillet in Tomato Coriander sauce with sauteed vegetables and parsley potatoes and Beef with Ginger and Spring Onions served with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice.  Accompanying the meal was a Cajun Spiced Chicken Salad, a bread roll and butter, a dried cracker with Cheddar cheese and a cup of water.  Drinks were also served.  However as the beef dish had just run out I was offered a pork dish from the Premium Economy menu.

• 11:40am – After the lunch dishes were cleared away, a Singapore Chendol ice cream tub by Udders was served followed by tea and coffee.  I enjoyed the interesting flavour and it made a nice change from the usual flavours served on board an airline.

• 3:25pm – A snack was served which was a choice between a chicken or vegetarian pizza.  It was quite tasty and helped warm me up.

• 10:00pm – After landing in Sydney at 8:18 we re-boarded our same aircraft after it had refuelled and been cleaned for the Sydney passengers flying out to Singapore via Canberra.  On this short leg we were served a 40g packet of biscuits containing two gluten free chocolate cookies from Snowy Mountains Cookies in Jindabyne.  They both tasted good.

Restroom

Staff on Singapore Airlines do an excellent job keeping the restrooms clean and despite them not always looking perfect, I found them to be much better than many other airlines we’ve flown with.

Service

The service is is reliably good on Singapore Airlines and the staff were friendly and efficient  on this flight.  When my meal of choice was not available it was nice of the crew to offer me a meal from the Premium Economy menu.  Drinks are offered regularly on Singapore Airlines and the hot hand towels are always appreciated.

Pros

• Flight left close to on time and arrived early
• Plenty of drinks offered throughout the flight
• Alcoholic beverages are complimentary to Economy passengers
• Good quality hot face washers were handed out prior to meals
• Restrooms were kept very clean throughout the flight
• Staff on Singapore Airlines always look so lovely in their attractive uniforms and perfect hair do’s.
• We were able to fly into Canberra on the 777-300 ER via Sydney instead of having to catch a smaller plane.

Cons

• The plane was twelve years old and showing it’s age
• The temperature on board was too cold

Conclusion

I would happily choose to fly Singapore Airlines again, especially now that they offer flights out of my home town in Canberra.  The service is excellent, the food is generally good and cabin crew do a great job keeping the restrooms clean.  Just make sure you dress warmly as the cabin temperature can leave you feeling a bit cold.