• The Private Room
• SQ26 SIN-FRA-JFK Suites
• Luftansa Senator Lounge
• New York Marriott Marquis
• The Ritz Carlton New York Nomad
• Kimpton Eventi New York
• Conrad New York Downtown
• SQ25 JFK-FRA Business
• The Westin Grand Frankfurt
• Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
• Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
• SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites

You know that feeling when you are just about to explode with excitement but had to keep it down? Its the same thing as I skipped to my gate that fateful day in November 2022. So please excuse me if this review is just a little too much.

• Flight Timing – depart SIN 23:55 arrive FRA 06:20 – depart FRA 08:20 arrive NYC 11:15
• Flight Time – 24hours 20mins including 2hrs layover in Frankfurt
• Class of Travel – Suites (SQ website)
• Seat – 1A
• Plane Type – Airbus A380-800
• Price – Redemption using 220,000 Krisflyer Miles under the Advantage pricing

Just showing a peaceful shot of the gate which was the exact opposite of my adrenaline level that same time.

Then a picture of the jet bridge after Suites boarding was paged …

And then another jet bridge. Suites incoming! (Okay I promise I’ll stop)

WELCOME – Similarly to the 3,629,876,888 First Class reviews I’ve watched, I was warmly welcomed on board and shown to my Suite by the crew. This noob also forgot to take pictures of this part, but the crew introduced themselves and the in-flight manager made an appearance to say hi soon after too.

THE SUITE – Obviously I’ve seen too many pictures of 1A but seeing it person it still blew me away. I mean, seriously look at this! My home in the air for the next many many hours!

On that note, at the point of my redemption confirmation, I did have choice of seats to pick from. I knew that 1 is the biggestS Suite, 2 is medium, and 3 is the smallest. And the OCD in me wondered a while if row 1 will be too close to the lavatories and if I would mind that gap between the back of the seat and the wall (I know, I know). I eventually decided that I should try the biggest if its once in a lifetime. And it was this point that I thought heng ah!

After I got over the initial awe, the crew (sorry don’t remember their names by the time of writing!) asked if it’s my first time in Suites and brought me through the Suite features and functions after I told them yes. I was then offered a pre-departure drink – I decided to try Krug instead after inhaling too much Comtes at TPR. This was served with warm nuts.

I was also very quickly offered for my jacket to be stowed in my personal wardrobe (more on this later), and a set of Lalique payjamas in S size (yay). Thereafter the crew confirmed my Book The Cook orders as well.

The Suite

So first thing first – row 1 is the biggest of the Suites and you get an enormous space all to yourself, with the highly raved Poltrona Frau leather armchair fitted in the middle. The seat is comfortably plush and very well worth the rave I thought – excellent lumbar support even on its own. A small matchy pillow is placed on your seat as well. I loved the classy muted brown color of the seat, and thought the pillow provided an excellent pop of orange to the scene.

To the behind of the seat is the latch where the bed is stowed on arrival and will be so for landing as well.

At boarding, the seat is fixed to face the front of the plane but you can start customizing your favorite position after takeoff. The left arm rest of your seat opens up for this purpose. The same armrest nook also contains a handheld control for your IFE when you are on the seat – but I much prefer the ipad (more on this later) and never once used the control after checking it out at boarding.

There are 3 preset positions with further customizations of the leg rest and back rest possible once the seat is settled in the pre-sets (except the take off / landing option). For pre-sets, the seat faces either the TV, bed, or windows. I realized I never did try the window position but really liked the TV one – further adjusting the leg and back rest thereafter gave me the ultimate chilling position.

Storage / Amenities

Running along the left side of your seat is an entire length of storage compartments and useful nooks – plenty of platform and space and storage options for whatever you have. This is complemented by a separate storage nook at the bottom which looks big enough for medium size items.

Within this section is 3 fully enclosable compartments, including one with a mirror equipped in one of them. At boarding, the mirrored one is closed, while the 2 other contains your noise cancelling headphones and your amenity kit.

The noise cancelling headphones are B&O and I will just say they are awesome! They wrapped around my ears perfectly and did not feel heavy at any point. The only thing to be mindful about is where the jack is as the wire may get tangled with the seat swiveling.

The amenity kit is from Lalique and from my understanding is the female kit – it contains a miniature perfume, a facial mist, lip balm, and hand cream. I kept it as it is as I either brought my own or some are available in the lavatories too. I did really like the pink packaging – very girly.

Then at the end of this length is another medium size storage platform which would become part of the bed when set up. I used it mostly for storing the pillow when need be, and also for packing and unpacking my carry.

Gadgets / Electronics

The same area is also where you can find what I think is one of the more important feature of the Suite: your in-flight tablet docked for charging – it does everything form controlling your IFE, lighting controls, flight info / map, checking messages, and power controls. I found this function super useful for the entire flight whichever spot I am, though I was cautioned that the battery tends to drain quickly and it is best to place it back on the dock when not in use.

Electronics in this area includes a running length of controls – lighting permutations, TV swivel angle (more on that later), window shades control, D&N, and call button. I liked the preset options for the lights (‘night, low, medium, high’) as it saved me from having to manually adjust them on the tablet. The buttons are very sensitive and using them was a breeze.

Under this section is also where your headphone jack is, a contactless payment block, and several charging ports (USB, 3-pin, and HDMI).

Screens / IFE

When the seat is in its takeoff /landing position, at eye level in this position is your secondary screen which is what you’ll be forced to face during takeoff and landing. During takeoff, the only options on this screen is the safety video and any flight related info (non-IFE stuff) but during landing, you can ask the crew to toggle your IFE to this screen to continue those last bits of your show as your landing position means you can’t face your main screen. [Below this screen is a small compartment which looked like it is for random literature – this is where you’ll find the sick bag if need be but hopefully you won’t]

Which brings us to the 32″ HD touchscreen main screen – it’s not the biggest in current market but trust me it is big enough to provide entertainment whichever spot you are in. At resting, it is positioned facing the bed but it can be swiveled out to exactly face the seat when it is in the TV facing position. It is also touchscreen so there are times I find it easier to toggle stuff there versus plucking out the tablet.

For In-Flight Entertaiment, Krisworld has never failed me. They consistently have so many new and popular choices (variety, language, genre all taken care of) that I found enough stuff to entertainment me during all of my waking hours – rewatching Avengers is never tiring!

Wonder why I didn’t take better pics of it opps.

Other Stuff:

Window Shades

Special mention to the electronic window shades which was easy to toggle via the controls and the day/night options were useful especially during daylight hours when you want some light but not all. And of course, I didn’t take some pics of it (sorry).

Tray Table

The tray table in the Suite is nestled in a side table (console?) near the entrance of the Suite – this spot doubles up for drink placement, menu holder, and a small vase of fresh flowers as an elegant deco to the space. Sorry I didn’t take any pics of how the massive tray comes out but when out, I appreciated that it leaves quite a bit of wriggle room even when seated.

This same structure also has a USB port below the countertop which provides options for charging for ease of managing cables.

Wardrobe

And of course I also cannot forget to mention my own personal wardrobe in the Suite! It was more spacious than I thought! I could stow 3 clothing items with no issues + my carry on. The wardrobe also door opens up to reveal a mirror and a compartment containing your socks, slippers, and eye shades.

Wi-Fi

I remember the times when taking a flight means taking a break from your device(s) but you’ll have no such break in Suites! Suite passengers get unlimited Wi-Fi and you connect via hitting on the “Krisworld” network found in your wifi list and enter your details (email, seat number) for verification when prompted on the pop-up page. I found the wifi speed more than adequate for texting and sending pics / videos, with the only troublesome thing being having to redo the verification step after being idle on my device for a while.

LAVATORIES

One of the more talked about thing being in Suites is the A380 lavatories. I mean there are different opinions about how SQ did not install a shower since space is not an issue but to each its own. I personally prefer not having to decide as taking a shower in an aircraft is a bucket list, yes, but it is a whole logistical affair especially for ladies. You have no idea.

There are 2 lavatories located at the front of the cabin for passengers so there was never a wait. Both were kept immaculate throughout my flight – I really really REALLY liked not having to stress about dirty toilets on a flight.

The bigger lavatory is honestly massive and the biggest aircraft lavatory I’ve used. There’s meant to be 2 sections to this space – the first being the sink with a giant mirror to check your flaws complemented by plenty of countertop space. Beside this is a storage compartment equipped with Lalique body lotion, face mist, and freshener(?) for your use if you don’t feel like using those in your amenity kit.

Right behind this is a dressing table. That’s right – a dressing table. It comes equipped with 2 mirrors, a tabletop with amenities (dental kit, comb, shaver etc) in its pull out drawer below, and a chair for you to park yourself while beautifying yourself. This spot faces a full length mirror for you to check yourself if you feel a need to look your 100% before facing the world.

Located in the next section is the toilet with a fancy leather seat cover. There is a platform to place your stuff while you do your business, though I wonder why as you have the entire space to yourself. This faces another mirror (seriously how many mirrors does this space need?) with a ledge on which lay a vase of fresh flower.

The “smaller” lavatory is not actually small – it’s still a more than decent size even though its “only” 1 section equipped with the same fancy fittings – toilet with leather seat cover, sink with a huge mirror, Lalique amenities. In replacement of the dressing table, there is instead a sitting platform. I actually don’t remember where the dental kits, combs, etc are in this space but I’m quite sure they are somewhere.

MEAL SERVICE

After takeoff, I changed into the super comfy pajamas to prepare for meal service – the size and material fitted nicely on my 160cm frame and retained just enough heat to be comfortable throughout the flight.

SIN-FRA Meals

This leg covers 2 main meal services – Supper and Breakfast – with a list of Delectable being available throughout the flight. The in-flight menu was made available in the app 24hrs prior to flight so you can start strategizing your eats then.

The supper food menu looked very nice indeed though I decided early on that I would go with Book The Cook.

Drinks wise, I only have snapshots from the physical in-flight menu so pardon the quality. I actually drank mostly Comtes. Heh.

My table was laid out with precise attention and the feasting begins!

A bread basket was offered and even though I am still anti-carb, I had to try the much raved about garlic bread right? So yes, I took one and had one bite – it was decent enough I thought?

Next up is of course the caviar! This is actually my first time eating caviar “properly” and I was super excited! The 30mg of Kaluga Caviar was presented its jar, accompanied by a whole array of condiments: blinis, egg white, creme fraiche, boiled and chopped egg whites and yolk. And for the longest time, SQ did not have the Mother of Pearl spoon to go with this atas starter and that caused wrath of alot of caviar-ists. But now they do! But alas, I was given a broken piece a first but of course very quickly replaced when notified. I kind of mixed everything together and ate them like that – because who cares if its the right or wrong way when you are eating this in a SQ Suite.

My choice of main is the Lobster Thermidor – the recipe was reinvented few months back with the goal being making it a healthier dish in mind – and am happy to report that it works for me! The crustacean was fresh and the flavors were fantastic, though the accompanying veg were a tad too soft for my liking. I tried to pair this with a Riesling but it was not my cup of tea. Then I tried the Chardonnay but I didn’t like it either.

For dessert, I picked the bitter chocolate tart which was excellent, and I paired it with an Illy Classic Roast. Awesome combination.

Okay, and then I had the cheese platter. Just because.

THE BED

After meal service was complete, I washed up in the big fancy lavatory and came back to see that my bed has been made. Wanted to take pictures of the process but ah wells. Essentially the bed is pulled up from the space between the wall and the back of your seat and folds out to a platform – the crew will then start padding it with the mattress, blankets, pillows etc. Their attention to details is evident here as each of their fold is so precise – and the end product is then of course an immaculately laid out bed in the sky. You get 2 pillows to play with, and you are gently reminded to keep your seatbelt on when sleeping as well.

I mean, how often do you get a bed AND a seat to yourself in First Class?

However, I tried watching TV in bed but I didn’t find enough head support for this even with 2 pillows so I gave up and went back to the seat to binge somemore before crawling into bed to rest. As comfy as it is, I only managed to sleep for 2-3 hours before I got up again. I think as I get older, I don’t sleep as well on flights anymore, even in Suites. Or maybe it’s the combination of the pajamas + blanket being too warm for me?

I was feeling peckish and browsed through the Delectables menu but it was all very carb heavy so I decided to ask for assorted nuts instead. Of course together with another glass of Comtes.

I spent the next hour bingeing on IFE and before I knew it, breakfast was served. Yay! But boo when I realized it also meant we were 3.5 hours to landing. Time passes too quickly in Suites. Damn it.

For breakfast, you also had a full variety of selection!

Again, my table was laid with precision and the bread basket came along which I rejected this time.

I picked a blueberry yoghurt bowl as my starter – it was refreshing and I liked how light it was after all those eating earlier on.

For my main, I booked The Cook for a Braised Beef Cheeks which was okay-ish – I did regret switching out my first choice of Nasu Dengaku (some meatless selection) but ah wells.

I ended the meal with a fruit platter which I asked to be served last.

For the last hours of this leg, I tried to enjoy as much as I can while inhaling the last few glasses of Comtes.

HARDWARE ISSUES

I wasn’t expecting hardware issues on a SQ Suite but things happen I guess. Midway through the flight, the lighting control panel beside the seat decided that 1A should be completely dark – it would reset the Suite to no lights at all after I’ve pressed my desired mode: low, medium etc. This happened a few times and the crew probably thought I was playing with my lights at this point, so they came over to ask if they can help. They eventually resolved the issue by resetting the system from the main control panel outside the Suite and it worked.

SERVICE

Service was great, as it should be on SQ Suites so no surprises here. I am nonetheless impressed at how well trained the crew is and how attentive they are – I was very well looked after and hardly needed to actively request for things because they anticipated my needs enough and constantly offered assistance / more food & drinks.

The in-flight Manager also came by to bid farewell and gave me a pair of SQ bears for keepsake.

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The landing procedure commenced shortly thereafter and I was reminded to clear out all belongings as the cabins would be refreshed for the FRA-JFK sector. I was so sad to leave my cosy heaven but was actually glad to be able to stretch my legs for abit. 2hrs layover is hardly a torture after all, and I wanted to check out the Luftansa Senator Lounge – a separate review coming up!

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The layover was uneventful, and I floated back to the boarding gate ahead of time. There is a separate section for Suite passengers to sit in – just head right up to the roped off area near the front of the gate and present your boarding pass to be let in. I have to admit that being able to do that feels awesome.

Boarding was on time and I bounced back to my newly refreshed 1A in no time. A new set of crew welcomed me back on board and I settled in quickly. There were a few things that were different this time round.

The Lalique amenity kit they use for this route was the unisex version – less girly but in classy black and white. In it contains room spray, body lotion, lip balm, and a bar soap.

Comtes was not available on the ground so Dom Perignon was offered instead – this is the balance stock the airline has after Emirates secured exclusive rights to serve the bubbles on their flights. Perhaps it’s person preferences but I much prefer the Comtes. #firstworldproblem.

Lastly, I was offered a new set of pajamas, but this time, the crew asked if I would like “a S or a M?”. Have I eaten that much during the last leg?? Hah.

FRA-JFK Meals

This leg covers Lunch and Refreshments – with again a Delectables menu available throughout the flight.

Meal service commenced soon after boarding as after all, it’s only a 7-hour flight. (SOB).

Canapes were the ever-popular chicken satay which were completely delicious, including the peanut sauce. I’ve only recently read that SQ closely guards the recipe and makes sure quality is consistent by preparing it in one place and freeze dry before sending to other hubs. Wa.

For Starters, I deiced to try the Seared Sea Scallops with Carrot Cream sauce – wrong choice. Cold seared scallops are just…weird. Not a fan of the dish at all. The crew noticed that I didn’t touch alot of it and asked if everything is alright, and offered to serve me the caviar if I so prefer – I requested for it to be served about 2hrs prior to landing just to, you know, spread everything out.

In an attempt to dilute my disappointment, I tried to pair this with 3 types of the reds on offer – and I didn’t like all of them. I’m sure they are not cheap but since I’m not a connoisseur, I’ll just follow my tastebuds.

I went with Book The Cook’s Wholesome Red Lentil Souffle with Farro Salad as my main – and my goodness was it a great choice! This meatless option was super tasty and deliciously light – I was only sad that I could not finish it as I was stuffed at this point. I switched back to my favorite Comtes for this dish.

For dessert, I picked the Chocolate and Coffee Tart – it was not to my liking with it tasting neither chocolate nor coffee. A good quality chocolate or coffee ice cream could have been better.

I asked for my bed to be made thereafter and this time, I was there to witness just how much work it took. Especially with me still sitting in my seat as the crew insisted that I need not move. Color me impressed.

I spent the next few hours chilling in my Suite and 2 hours prior to landing right on the dot, my caviar was served. Yay.

HARDWARE ISSUES

Hardware issues struck again on this leg. My in-flight tablet decided to die midway through the flight and it took the crew to re-set it before it worked again.

SERVICE

Service on this flight was similarly excellent with everything I can ask for. Crew was attentively, politely enthusiastic, and simply great. I am sometimes fussy but honestly I have nothing to fuss about here. Or is that why they plied me with bubbles?

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ENDING THOUGHTS OF A SQ SUITES NEWBIE

To say I was sad to land is an understatement. I mean I was onwards to a next stage of my bucket list trip and obviously I was bid a fond farewell but wow. Just wow. Being able to experience a SQ Suite for 22 hours is pure indulgence. Maybe my words can’t express how wow-ed I was feeling because this is what happens when you write about it after being beaten back to the reality of a minion life. I can only say now I get why the rich are not stressed about flying – I mean why would you?!

Onwards to New York 🙂