Singapore Airlines B777-300ER First Class SIN-FRA
Despite being the slightly older 2013 First Class Seat (instead of the A380 Suite), the hard product is still impressive and together with the usually-excellent crew service, made for a memorable virgin experience.
Singapore Airlines B777-300ER First Class SIN-FRA
Hilton Frankfurt Airport
Hilton Frankfurt City Centre
Villa Kennedy Rocco Forte
Singapore Airlines Business Class: B77-300ER Business Class FRA-SIN
With a full stomach (and a half-conscious mind from the Piper Heidseck), I made my way to the gate 30 minutes before boarding. It felt strange that I was the first person to board the flight, under the glances of other passengers at the waiting area.
Seat Selection
For my flight to Frankfurt, Singapore Airlines used the B77-300ER, which houses the “2013 F” version. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get the newest 2017 Suites, which was on the A380 planes, and apparantly was only available on the Frankfurt-Singapore route. However, this is one of the most exclusive First Class seats in the world, which has only 4 Suites in the airplane. It definitely felt intimate as I walked into the plane and greeted by the ever-friendly crew staff. The window seats (1A and 1F) are of a distance from the middle seats (1C and 1D), hence despite a lack of a closed suite door, it felt pretty exclusive and private.
My seat was at 1F, with a marvelous window seat view. Despite its age, the seat was overall really well-maintained. Its curved partition added to the seat privacy, even if you are sitting upright on the seat.
For couples, the middle seats are definitely of choice, although the seat positioning makes interaction slightly difficult with one needing to lean forward a bit. Even solo travellers may be comfortable with selecting one, as the full-height privacy divider provides significant isolation from your potential seatmate.
Seat Features and Amenity Kit
As I settled in, I dabbled around with the seat features. Right below the IFE screen is where you can find a sturdy tray table. It can be adjusted forwards and backwards, and the height could be adjusted through a button. However, this means that there may be difficulties in exiting your seat and going to the toilet during meal service. Do take note! Beside it is a multi-standard power socket and HDMI outlet.
Near your seat at the privacy curve is where you find the seat controls. It has the “Do Not Disturb” buttons, light controls and seat adjustment buttons for three aspects: seat body recline, leg rest angle and extension. The height and sensitivity was just right, and was intuitive to use.
Also located at the privacy curve is the headphone hanger. The IFE controller is located below one of the armrests, and I personally find it a bit difficult to put it back when the bed is lie-flat, as it is almost at the same level as the bed.
With regards to storage, the plane has no overhead lockers, and that is why the cabin looked really spacious, with a high ceiling. However, there are plenty of storage compartments available, with your luggage most likely be able to fit below the huge footrest below the IFE screen. There are also storage cabinets beside the footrest, and a small slot to put your small items and passport.
Singapore Airlines uses Bang & Olufsen headphones, which provide excellent noise-cancellation (I literally could not hear the engines after putting on). However, it got a bit uncomfortable after putting on for long periods, which could be a personal issue (I seem to have large and strange-shaped ears).
First Class passengers get a nice amenity kit from Lalique. I receive the male version, which consists of the following (from left): body lotion, lip balm, eau de toilette and facial mist. All amenity items are from the Encre Noire Collection. I loved the scent of the eau de toilette, which is described on the website as “showcasing dark, woody vetyver, the most sophisticated masculine note.”
Bathroom and Sleep Experience
I asked the flight attendant to assist with setting up my seat into bed mode, after having a heavy lunch (together with n glasses of champagne and wine) and needing a nap. Since I was the only First Class passenger, I had my pick of the bathrooms and not required to wait.
I changed into my Lalique-branded pajamas, which was designed exclusively for Singapore Airlines. They were very comfortable and it is my go-to sleepwear now when going on staycations or overseas travel.
Taking a look at the toilet, the size was of normal airplane size. While not as amazing as the A380 Suite toilet, the exclusivity was welcomed and there were ample bathroom amenities provided. There were eau de toilette, facial mist and body lotion of the Neroli range, while other amenities while toothbrushes and shavers were also provided in the drawer. I also appreciated the use of non-contact points like the pedal waste bin, a lifesaver for me even during the pre-COVID era.
Returning back to my seat, the bed was already set up superbly by the flight attendant, with pillows, bedding and blanket neatly arranged. Just a note that you could also manually convert it into bed mode by flipping the seat over, rather than reclining it directly with your seat controls.
The bedding was super comfortable, and it really felt like a real bed in the sky! The pillows were also just nice for my neck and had ample amounts of legroom. A small issue would be the lack of individual nozzles, which made the cabin pretty stuffy, especially after putting the blanket on.
In-Flight Entertainment
The First Class cabin IFE boasts a large 24-inch high-definition TV, which is significantly bigger than the one in the Business Class cabin (18-inch). KrisWorld offers one of the most extensive selections of movies, TV shows, music and games, and you will definitely not be bored during this 13-hour flight.
However, I do notice that some recent movies were not in the IFE for this flight, such as Matrix Resurrections and Eternals (both in which I was looking to watch on this trip). Nevertheless, I did get to catch up on my super-lagged movie cache with Shang Chi and Spiderman, which was also pretty satisfying.
Wi-Fi
First Class Cabin passengers get to enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi for the duration of the flight, which was overall functional for instant messaging and e-mails, but nothing more than that. Coverage is patchy at certain points of the flight, which is expected for a 13-hour flight across continents.
Food
Upon settling onto my seat, the cabin crew immediately started to ask which pre-departure drink I would like, and no prizes for guessing my choice (Dom *ahem Perignon).
Singapore Airlines has eliminated physical menus and transitioned to softcopy ones. You can access it through your Singapore Airlines app, or you can pre-search before your flight here.
For this flight, there is a lunch and “light dinner” available (not exactly light though, although satisfying it is) as main meals.
About 15 minutes after take-off, lunch commenced with their signature satay and lavosh (from the bread basket), which is very delicious, and matched with my 2nd glass of Dom Perignon. Next came the appetizer, chilled malossol caviar. A Google search revealed that malossol translates to “little salt” and describes the production process, apparently it is also used to differentiate its grade from ordinary caviar. Using a mother-of-pearl spoon for the first-time, a huge scoop of the caviar paired with the condiments was absolutely fantastic, with a sip of Dom Perignon the perfect ending to this dish.
I also had the Cream of Green Peas, in which for a non-green pea lover like me, was surprisingly rich and creamy for my taste.
Just before the main dish, I had a switch to the Tattinger, which was equally nice but still preferred the former. I ordered the Dum Biryani from Book-The-Cook, but at this point I was 3/4 full from the appetizers (and champagne). In summary, the meat could have been more tender for my liking, but it could be due to its preparation method in the sky?
Just curious, I also ordered Song Fa Bak Kut Teh (albeit without the meat), and I would have to say that it was similar to the one on the ground. Do let me know if the meat was as good in the comments!
For dessert (and with a bloated stomach), I had the raspberry cream cake, and at this point, I realized that I had a second stomach for desserts. It was pretty delicious, with the sourness of the raspberry complimentary to the sweetness of the cake and ice-cream, and finished it all.
In the middle of the journey, the sun was setting and it gave for fantastic views outside the plane.
In the middle of the journey, I had a food crave after waking up from my short nap. I ordered a Foccacia Bread and a Guatemala Coffee to keep myself awake. Both were pretty satisfying.
Soon it was time for dinner! Meal service started about 1.5 hours before landing. For the appetizer, I had Prawns on Nicolse Salad, which tasted quite fresh for an airline-catered dish. Good start!
One interesting feature was that one of the flight attendants, Daniel, also served as the in-flight sommellier! I only know about this when asking about recommendations on the champagne or wine type to pair with. He recommended an Australian white wine, the 2017 Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay, Piccadilly Valley to pair with my Book-The-Cook dish, the must-try lobster thermidor. The wine was a really great pick, the taste was exquisite and an unexpected discovery in my wine shortlist.
Back to the lobster thermidor, the presentation method differed from my last experience 3 years ago, in which the lobster meat was presented in its shell. Nevertheless, the taste was still fantastic as per memory, the lobster meat being succulent and tasty.
Wanting to try another dish, I tried the Braised Steamed Cod fish with Kung Pao sauce and Ee Fu noodles. I much preferred the lobster thermidor, as the Kung Pao sauce was not as spicy as I would have liked it to, and felt that it did not go well with the Ee Fu noodles.
To top it off, I had the Chocolate and Raspberry Cake for dessert, which was a delight and was not too sweet.
Crew Service
Call me a "tortoise on the mountain" (or suaku as it is commonly known), but it was novel for me to experience First Class service, and noticed the vast difference in service compared to my previous Business Class flight. The flight attendants were really attentive right from the start, from the fine details (e.g. noticing that I had woke up from my nap and immediately offering a snack or coffee, without even needing to ask). They were also friendly and always served with a smile. The in-flight manager, Kenny also made effort when he came into the cabin to chit-chat and asked whether is there anything him and his crew can make my trip memorable.
I was also presented with the iconic Singapore Airlines bear mascot as a souvenir. Hopefully I will get to collect the other coloured ones in the near future!
Special shoutout to Fiona, Daniel and Kenny for the great service!
The plane landed on time at 8.30pm, and my footsteps were reluctant and I disembarked the plane and started on my first night in Frankfurt…..
Conclusion
Although disappointed that I did not get to try out the A380 suites, my first experience on the Singapore Airlines 2013 First Class seat proved to be nothing short of memorable, and despite its age, it is still a great seat, and first-timers should give this seat a try too.
