REVIEW

Flight Test 

THE PLANE

Boeing 777-300, of which Singapore Airlines has 31, with either 278 or 284 seats.

THE ROUTE

Sydney to Singapore 

THE LOYALTY SCHEME

Kris Flyer/Star Alliance

CLASS

Economy, seat 49 H

DURATION

8 hours 20 minutes

THE FREQUENCY

Four flights daily from both Melbourne and Sydney to Singapore.

THE SEAT

32-inch (81.28 cm) pitch, 17.9-inch (45 cm) to 18.5-inch (47cm) width.

I'm down the back of this older style Boeing 777 in an aisle seat with my children next to me. There's a footrest, but I can only use one side of it as there's a large control box blocking the other; this seems to be an issue with most of the aisle seats in Economy.

There's a small first class cabin with eight seats, a larger business cabin with 50 seats and behind that 226 economy seats, in a 3-3-3 layout. Unlike the newer Airbus and retrofitted Boeings in the Singapore fleet there's no USB port or power outlet on this aircraft.  

BAGGAGE

Checked bags up to a generous 30kg, plus one carry-on bag and one personal item. 

COMFORT

This is a day flight so being able to recline the seat to sleep isn't as important as it would be on a night flight. After some initial bumps out of Sydney, it's a smooth flight, if I ignore the constant taps from my eight-year old who's keen to share all details of the movies she's watching. 

ENTERTAINMENT

Singapore's Kris World entertainment system offers 80 movies, from Hollywood new releases to Bollywood hits, and 126 TV shows. Most of the latter only have two episodes of a series; I reckon the airline is in cahoots with iTunes so we'll have to download the rest when we get home. I've brought my own noise cancelling headphones which make a huge difference.

SERVICE

Attentive, warm and efficient. Singapore Airlines just knows how to do service. 

FOOD

Breakfast is served about an hour after take off; the kids get their special meals (pancakes, cereal, fruit and a hard, dry roll studded with sultanas) way before I get my noodles with pork. They're a little bland and I only see the separate container of chilli sauce after I've finished them, dammit.

Drinks are served five hours into the flight followed by lunch. The kids get penne with chicken bolognese, a small packet of chips and a gingerbread man. Happy days. "The best plane food ever, mummy" is their verdict. For grown-ups it's a choice of stir fried chicken and vegetables in dried chilli with fragrant rice or braised beef with potatoes; the chicken wins but it's not as good as the earlier noodles.

ONE MORE THING...

Of Singapore Airlines' two flights daily between Sydney and Singapore this one, in the older aircraft, tends to be less popular (and a little cheaper) than the A380. 

THE VERDICT

There's a noticeable difference between this Boeing 777-300 flight and the newer A380 aircraft. While it's not as comfortable as flying in the A380 economy class (some seats are up to 2cm narrower), and a bit cramped for the overnight flights we do in the same aircraft subsequently, the level of service and the quality of the food and wine make up for it.

Tested by Sally Webb who flew courtesy of Singapore Airlines.