A Special Singapore Airlines Business Class 787 Fukuoka to Singapore

This Singapore Airlines Business Class 787 Fukuoka to Singapore flight would be the end my cherry blossom tour in Japan and I needed to get to Malaysia. 

While searching for the best routing (Air Asia X was one of those going via Osaka) I found a Singapore business flight going from FUK! This was not only a quicker option but with the lure of trying out a new product on SQ’s 787-10 was enough to book and plan my trip around it!

A few days prior to departure I came across the news that Singapore Airlines were also grounding the new 787-10s due to ongoing Rolls Royce engine issues. I had my fingers crossed they would not be swapping the one on this flight for an old A330! Turned out luck was on our side this time 🙂

Flight details

Route: Fukuoka – Singapore
Flight no: SQ655
Date: 09-04-2019
Departure time: 10:00
Arrival time: 15:20
Aircraft: 787-10 (9V-SCE)

Check in

Fukuoka airport is quite close to the city centre, Hakata. I hopped on the subway for a short ride, though that gets you to the domestic terminal. There are shuttle bus services for international passengers from the domestic terminal.

Once I was in the airport, this was far from the smoothest check in. Singapore Airlines check-in was all the way in the other end of the terminal, but once I got there, weirdly it was only exit for passengers who had already checked in, so I had to go around the building to get through to the check in area!

Finally when I got to the check in, my bags were weighed, formalities about how long I intended to stay in Malaysia (not sure if I was asked this question because I had already spend about a month there before coming to Japan, anyway I’ve been to Malaysia like 7/8 times before and never been asked this at check-in)

Within a few minutes my boarding passes were printed along with a lounge invitation.

Lounge

The lounge itself was not well signposted either and took me a while to locate! I have reviewed this separately here. In summary, it was a decent lounge, though perhaps not on the same level as Singapore’s flagship SilverKris lounges

Boarding Singapore Airlines Business Class 787 Fukuoka

There were no announcements from the lounge for boarding. I made my way down about 30 minutes before before the flight time…

Boarding was well organised otherwise with the typical PPS CLUB/Business Class passengers having their own designated priority lanes..

I managed to catch a glimpse of our aircraft taking us to Singapore, and as it turned out, was the very first 787-10 flight from Fukuoka! Thus there was a few photo ops, which I was also asked to part-take in (feel free to check out those pics on Insta as I seem to have lost it transferring to my laptop! )

I was greeted at the door by two crew members, one whom escorted me to seat 14A. I was addressed by my last name and did so for the remainder of the flight.

Most business passengers were already boarding with a hive of activity in the cabin at that point.

Singapore 787 Seat & Cabin

Staff were already busy in action serving welcome drinks as I was boarding..

The seat is impressive for an aircraft that is designed for mid haul sectors for up-to 8 hours. It’s elegant and with brown earthy accents, and cocoon like shells.

This is a newly introduced business class product. First rolled out with delivery of this largest Dreamliner variant last year.

The aircraft consists of 36 business seats spread across the front two cabins in a 1-2-1 layout.

Already in my seat were some slippers, blanket, eye shades and earplugs. SQ does provide more substantial amenities for longer flights.

Early impressions were the seat felt narrow for a 1-2-1 config, especially when compared to SQs very wide 2006/2013J products, but even the old A330s feel more spacious. From what I could tell, this is in large part due to the entertainment console taking so much space!

While the product is very modern and high tech, I’m not sure some of the finishes will age well, since this was only a 10 month old aircraft and the seats looked quite worn already.

This could have been intentional, as I recall watching a documentary about the design of the new Singapore Suites, where the designer mentioned SQ had specifically requested to put in creases in the seats! Oh well, there you go 🙂

Other areas of the seat shows great attention to detail, with suede-like patterned stitching around the seat, lighting and seat controls also embedded in panel wrapping up the seat for privacy, hook for placing headphones when not in use.

A small mirror also pulls out by the side of the console storage box.

The staggered arrangements also increases the sense of privacy. If you are unsure which seat to pick, you can find the seat map here. The odd numbered seats are closest to the windows so you may prefer that for just a little more privacy especially on night flights !

One thing I did note was how uncomfortable the harness type seats were. This annoyance is carried through to several new Business class seat types recently!

Departure

Fukuoka is a smallish airport, we left the gates early at 9.55am. While we were on taxi, the flight safety video was played. This is quite unique as the video was essentially showcasing bits of Singapore as we were taken through the various safety aspects on tour 🙂

I had not flown SQ for a while so thought it was cute.

Singapore Airlines Business Class 787 Fukuoka Service

On boarding I was offered a welcome drink along with hot towel.

After take-off further drinks were offered, with a fairly extensive choice. Champagne included Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve.

Meal choices were taken at that point and I really liked the sound of the Sakura inspired menu from the Kyoto based chef, so went for that. Full menu options below.

About 25 minutes into the flight, the canapé was served, which is a signature Singapore chicken/beef satay with cucumber and peanut sauce.

Satay was tasty! As always with Singapore Airlines.

There seemed to be a long gap between this and the rest of the meal service. This made sense for the departure time since presumably people just had breakfast in the lounge.

About an hour and 30 minutes into the flight, the main appetiser was served.

Superbly presented no less! Shortly after followed my the main

Again, acing the presentation element with little dishes in a bento box!

Have to admit, when there is so many little dishes with so many ingredients, its all too easy to lose track of what you are eating! The dishes were fresh, but very on the mild side. It certainly was not one of those dishes bursting with flavours.

Furthermore, I’m actually not the biggest fan of eel. But I was sold on the package rather than the specific fishes within it.

The crew came by several times to check up all was Ok and top up the champagne. I was asked when I wanted the dessert, which is handy in case you wanted more time to digest!

Yummy! About half hour later, I asked if I wanted any cheese, like I could resist!?

Along the meal I had the sake which was very strong, I barely had half of it! I could have switched to port at this point to go with the cheese, but I passed for some tea instead. After a few weeks in Japan I needed an Earl Gray fix!

The meal service ran for over 2 hours. After which there 2 further round of hot towels.

Entertainment & Programming

The main screen is a high definition glory providing crisp pictures and together with the noise cancelling headphones, even crisper sound. Unfortunately I found those very earphones started to hurting my ears towards the end of the flight. Its a gripe I have with many a headphones provided even by top airlines in First Class.

Choices of movies and TV programmes to watch were many and varied, as were the audio selection, including a mixture of current and classics.

Last but not least, the flight tracker app is always my default mode when I cannot chose something to watch, or when I have music in the background.

Bed mode

About an hour after the meal service, I was ready to try out this Business Class bed..

For reasons unknown the bed (in 14A at least) did not go completely flat, unless I was actually lying in it, which prompted me to question of this is indeed a feature or a bug? I meant to ask a flight attendant later, but forgot!

Anyway so this is what it looks like in bed mode.

Due to the armrest being flush with the seat, the width does increase slightly for more comfort.

I napped about 30 minutes (wasn’t really tired). In that time, I did still feel somewhat constrained in the feet area due to the narrow chubby hole.

Still, this is magnitudes better than the awkward angled foot chubby on some other SQ business seats!

Bulkhead seats

If the above feet restriction is a big concern for you, the bulkhead seats seem to provide ample space to move around your legs. These seats also provide extra storage options

Final thoughts

By and large, this flight provided all the comfort and service you could need in a 6 hour flight. The hard product is excellent for the route served. The cabin is quite visually striking and looks super stylish and naturally a huge improvement over the older A330 seats. The narrow width of the seat is really the only negative I can think of.

The food and drink choices were extensive and varied, there was simply not enough time to enjoy it all.  Yes, the food quality could be enhanced, but it was more than adequate. The presentations and delivery of the meals were impeccable.

As probably with others experiences, what really sets Singapore flights is the crew! From their impeccable standards of grooming and uniform to their manners.

Beyond the regular, what really impressed me was how each and every one of them seemed to address me by name, even when I was not seated in my seat! They execute their duties with professionalism, grace and a friendly face oozing enthusiasm throughout the flight.