Route: Frankfurt to Singapore
Plane: A380-800
Date: Aug 10-11, 2024
Price paid: €1514 including an onward flight to Hong Kong (originally €4169)
Comfort
Window seats on the upper deck are the best seats as they have a larger sleeping surface along the wall and offer more privacy. Sit as far forward as possible to get an engine view out the window. Each seat has two USB-A charging ports and an international wall outlet.
The seat is the widest business class bed in the world and controlled by buttons near the armrest. However, the buttons aren’t very responsive, taking a hard press or two before reacting. The tray table swings out from the side and doesn’t slide forwards or backwards to adjust how close it is to you. I had trouble finding a comfortable position to use my laptop.
The tray table position is optimized for the overhead light to act as a spotlight to take good food pictures. I also had an adjustable reading light and mood lighting that helped me find things in the dark, such as my glasses and water bottle in the middle of the night.
In-flight entertainment
The large screen has a wide selection of Asian and Hollywood music, TV shows and movies. They even had BTS and Japanese drama. Neither of those appealed to me but I appreciated the multicultural selection that is typical of Singapore.
I watched a movie during dinner service and used the free in-flight Wi-Fi for suites and business class customers to get some work done while listening to Avril Lavigne with the included noise cancelling headphones.
Food
Champagne was served upon boarding. About an hour after takeoff, three chicken satay skewers were served as a canapé followed by smoked salmon with potato salad. I received an alcohol wipe before digging into the main course of sautéed prawns with garlic lemon butter sauce and more crushed potatoes. I had this meal with a Singaporean Tiger beer. I picked a simple scoop of cherry sorbet for dessert paired with a small glass of 10 year tawny port.
After seven hours of sleep, breakfast started with fresh fruit and muesli in yoghurt. My main was a sir-fried Thai rice vermicelli with shrimps and chicken. I love seafood. I had a garlic bread on the side and a mug of Milo.
Service
Flight attendants address passengers by name, there is a hot towel service before every meal, and crew are responsive to customer needs. I wish they would provide every passenger with an amenity kit without the passenger needing to request for it so they wouldn’t have to run around so much. The amenities in the toilet closet like razor and toothbrush kits are frequently out of stock. I had to go to the toilet all the way in the rear to find a tube of toothpaste.
I was delighted to find an in-flight duty free magazine, something that isn’t so common anymore even on full-service carriers. The menu was also beautifully printed with clear selections for breakfast, lunch, dinner and on-demand snacks.
