One of the best business class options available in the world. Having the middle seats lay flat to form a double bed makes this a great experience for families, second only to the Qatar Q-Suites.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: A Birthday at the German Christmas Market
• One of Our Favorites: The Thompson Central Park NYC
• Exploring New York City with Kids
• Cramped When Full: American Express Centurion Lounge JFK
• Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class JFK-FRA (this post)
• Taking the Train in Germany with Kids
• Review: Park Hyatt Hamburg
• Exploring Hamburg with a Family
• Enjoying the Hamburg Christmas Market
• Review: Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg Airport
• Review: British Airways A320 Club Europe Business Class
• Review: British Airways Galleries North
• Review: British Airways 777-300 Club World Business Class
• Bonus: Video Review of A Birthday at the German Christmas Market

Booking

We originally did not plan to fly this particular route. I had booked Lufthansa using their Miles & More program out of LAX. However, that plan changed when I saw Singapore released discounted award flights in the month of November on this particular route. I jumped on it, resulting in a positioning flight to NYC (and our desire to spend two nights there to break up the trip somewhat for the kids). I was also able to clear out the remaining points on Jennifer’s Singapore frequent flier account, making it a relief to not have to worry about the hard three-year cancelation policy on those points. Lufthansa’s program allows points to not expire if there is monthly activity on the card, so it’s easy to keep those points alive for another day.

For this trip, we spent 56,700 Singapore miles per person, plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. This felt like a bargain, especially with the quality of the experience, and a much better deal than the last time we flew on Singapore Airlines.

Earning Singapore Miles

Singapore Airlines are easy to collect since they are a transfer partner of every major bank currency. Some good options are the following:

• Chase Ink cards — earn up to 100k points with $15k spend in 3 months or up to 90k points with $6k spend in 3 months, an excellent offer on these cards
• American Express cards — while I do have referral links available, it’s actually a better deal to go directly to their website to apply, and using different browsers or incognito mode can draw special offers
• Capital One Venture — earn 75k points with $4k spend in 3 months, a strong offer
• Citi Premier — Citi is somewhat limited with referral bonuses but they are offering 80k points with $4k spend in 3 months, a strong offer if you apply through their website

Boarding and First Impressions

The boarding process to get on the plane felt a little disorganized. We found everyone had just joined a giant line and the person checking passports didn’t clarify who was supposed to be in the correct line. So it wasn’t until premium economy was called to board that we knew we had missed our turn.

The A380 is a huge plane and has seating on two floors. We were seated on the upper level. I always find it fun to be on the top floor since it’s not everyday that you can say you’re on the second story.

We were greeted at the door by several friendly cabin crew members, who directed us to our seats. The business class cabin is in a 1-2-1 layout. We specifically chose the middle seats since we knew the divider in between the seats could go all the way down, making it easier to help the kids when awake and turning the seats into double beds when sleeping.

We sat down and flight attendants handed out pre-departure beverages and some Marvel-branded toys for the kids.

The seat

Business class seating on the Singapore Airlines A380 has to be their most comfortable chair. It’s well-padded and comfortable, with little wear and tear. I’m a fan of the color scheme and it feels luxurious being onboard without feeling stuffy or gaudy.

The seat controls can be found along the side of the seat. While I was initially concerned about accidentally pressing the buttons unintentionally, I found it was difficult to have an accident as you have to press in a decent amount before the seat would respond to the controls.

There was ample legroom for me and I’m 5’11” (though I’m likely shrinking due to carrying the kids around so much). The one downside with the seat when it comes to legroom is that cubby where the bedding is stored. Depending on your height, you might have to sleep at a slight angle to fit your feet in that space. If you’re lucky enough to score a bulkhead seat, you won’t have that problem but sadly since we booked this flight about a month prior to departure, most of the seats were already taken.

And for those looking for mirrors at their seat, they have you covered here too. There is a little panel that pops open where you can say hello to yourself.

I don’t have a glamourous photo of the double bed offered in business class given we were in a rush to get some rest, but I think this photo helps sum it up. This was a very comfortable way to travel and the kids appreciated being able to easily snuggle up and sleep alongside us. And while it wasn’t ideal to sleep directly in between the seats due to the divider, it was easily solved by placing a jacket over the divider to add a bit of cushion.

Dining

What Singapore Airlines flight would be complete without choosing a meal from their Book the Cook program? By booking your meal in advance, you get plenty of extra options that you simply cannot select while onboard. You can always change your mind while onboard so really there’s no harm in making a choice in advance. Below is the standard menu outlining the choices on board.

Dinner was served shortly after takeoff but it did take awhile for our food to arrive as we were seated toward the back of the cabin. For dinner, we ended up choosing the child meal for the kids using the Book the Cook feature. The child meal started out with an appetizer of a slice of cold turkey and potato salad. The children weren’t too thrilled with the appetizer, and saved their appetite for the main course. The main course was a baked pasta and meatballs with broccoli. This hit the spot for Alex and he made a sizeable dent into the meal. Char, on the other hand, was a bit pickier and didn’t care for the peas in the meal. We’ll have to work on her accepting more foods at home soon.

For my meal, I also opted for the Book the Cook program and chose for myself the slow-roasted beef fillet. I was served the Hudson Valley Smoked Trout and Aerofarms Salad to start, along with a side of bread. I always feel the need to go for some garlic bread. The starter salad was good but I’ve never been a huge fan of cauliflower–I generally feel like it needs to be cooked a bit longer or replaced with broccoli.

After finishing my salad, I received the beef fillet. I found it to be tender despite being a tad too well-done for my tastes. There is a bit of a risk when choosing beef on a flight given the tendency for it to be too dry, but I didn’t find it dry at all. The starch served alongside it provided a good offset in flavor. I would get it again, though I do generally prefer the lobster thermidor when it’s an option. Sadly I could not choose it for this particular flight.

For dessert, we all chose the ice cream, which was a decent hit for the kids. I think they were not expecting the cherries in it, but they managed to make it work.

While there was a choice to be awakened early before landing to eat again, we chose to skip it, instead preferring to get some extra sleep. By the time we were done with eating, there was perhaps five hours left to get some sleep. That’s the main downside of taking a flight towards Europe from the East Coast–after eating dinner there isn’t much time for sleep. While we could have just skipped dinner to get a bit more sleep, the cabin lights weren’t dimmed until after dinner service ended.

Wi-Fi and Entertainment

I was pleasantly surprised to see business class passengers were able to get free Wi-Fi for the entire duration of the flight. It ultimately didn’t mean too much on this particular flight since I was trying to get some sleep, but it was nice being able to stay connected while I was awake.

Overall the entertainment on the plane was pretty decent. There was plenty of options to choose from for adults and kids alike and the TV is plenty large. I just wish they had more episodes available for the TV series. There were only a few episodes available of Bluey and while Char was content watching the same thing over and over, I’m not sure a normal person would agree.

Odds and Ends

I’m glad that there have been great strides in baggage technology the past few years, especially when it comes to the information available to customers. Being able to quickly see that my bags have been loaded onto the plane takes away some of the suspense that used to exist all flight of whether or not I will have to wear the same clothing for days.

Additionally, the restroom was nicely decorated with fresh flowers and thankfully the restroom was well-stocked with toothbrushes. The last time I flew in Singapore business class, they completely missed adding toothbrushes on an overnight flight, which seemed like a huge oversight. Just like last time, I came prepared with my own, but it was nice seeing some available in the restroom.

Recommendation: Yes

The A380 is a comfortable, smooth ride and it’s made even better by the excellent seat and dining known with Singapore Airlines. The fact that they also offered a discount on the flight made it too good for us to pass up, considering we were heading to Germany anyways. It’s a shame they are downgrading this flight from an A380 in mid May, but it’s understandable given all the flights available between New York and Singapore. Definitely fly this while you can!

Have you flown on Singapore Airlines A380? How was your experience?