Singapore Airlines 'First Class' Experience — There's Even a Double Bed on the Plane, Super Comfy!

This article is reprinted fromTripPlus

Hi everyone, I’m Pimi Zi Mike, and I’m excited to have the chance to share my first-ever experience flying Singapore Airlines First Class Suite with you all. It’s also proof that even Pimi Zi can shine—barely making it before Singapore Airlines’ Mileage Plan cancelled the 15% discount promotion for redeeming miles tickets online, I managed to book my flight. Today, I’m here to share this unforgettable journey on Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 First Class Suite that still haunts my dreams!

First of all, this free ticket is thanks to one of Taiwan’s top-tier credit cards I applied for last year — the Citi Prestige. I remember around mid-2016, when applying for this card, the annual fee for the first year was as high as NT$18,000 (original price NT$24,000). But one of the highlights was getting up to 120,000 Citi ThankYou Points as a welcome gift (or the 16,000 Studio A vouchers my mom really wanted). For every NT$30 spent using this card, you earn 3 Citi ThankYou Points—but these are not the regular ThankYou Rewards points. I won’t go into too much detail here, but it’s really hard to find such an attractive welcome offer in Taiwan. After all, the Singapore Airlines miles earned through these points, if used wisely, can more than make up for the annual fee!

Plus, using this card gives you an extra 20% bonus points for purchases made outside of Taiwan... So, I used the welcome points plus other spending to accumulate about 190,000+ Citi ThankYou Points. These can be converted to Singapore Airlines miles at a 2:1 ratio, allowing me to get on the waitlist for a First Class Suite miles ticket. I was lucky enough to get waitlisted successfully and eventually redeemed a one-way First Class Suite ticket on the golden route from New York to Frankfurt to Singapore. Today, let me start by sharing the experience from New York to Frankfurt (this segment is afifth freedom route (click me))!

The legendary golden route: New York to Frankfurt to Singapore. One-way requires 110,000 Singapore Airlines miles, and even with the 15% discount, it’s still 93,500 miles… (There’s no 15% discount anymore, unfortunately!)

If you were to pay in cash, it would cost $11,680 USD… Oh my goodness!

Here I come, the Singapore Airlines counter at New York Airport!

After checking in at the airport, the ground staff informed me that I could use the lounge operated by a Singapore Airlines partner — Virgin Atlantic Lounge. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed at the time (I’d never heard of how good the Virgin Atlantic Lounge is!), but once I got inside, I was pleasantly surprised. Also... the weather in New York that day was windy and snowy, my wool hat and gloves were all wet, which seemed similar to my previous experience onKorean Air First Class (click me). The Virgin Atlantic Lounge staff said there was a shower available, so I couldn’t wait to go in and use it!

The signage is quite novel, and the gold lettering is a nice touch

The space inside is very spacious. There’s a TV and pool table at the front right. I sat in the sofa lounge area; to the left there’s a desk area suitable for business travelers, and at the front left are the bar area and staff service area

Inside the shower room

The space is actually quite big, though the decor is a bit too plain

The toiletries—I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with the brand. But Pimi Zi was super happy to get clean and fresh after a shower and change of clothes!

After leaving the shower room, it felt like you were in a nightclub—the hallway lights keep changing colors!

After sitting down, a staff member at the Virgin Atlantic Lounge told me that everything in the lounge is ordered from a menu, and nothing on the menu costs extra. This service is really sweet because it’s customizable—you don’t have to scramble for food like carp feeding on breadcrumbs. Instead, you can just sit back and wait for your meal to be brought to your table. Since I had read a lot of TripPlus reviews, I knew how amazing Singapore Airlines in-flight meals are, so I didn’t order too much in the lounge—just a small snack, some tea, and a little something to tide me over.

Even the menu is stylish

Clubhouse Burger, delicious. Freshly made burger with hot fries, just yummy

This mushroom truffle and burrata cheese bread... wow, there’s so much. I thought it was just a small appetizer...

Raspberry tea, with a light fruity aroma

Somehow I ended up super full... Alright, time to head to the gate and see the king of the skies — the Airbus A380!

Hello darling, finally here we are!

There were quite a few people boarding!

On the New York to Frankfurt segment, I was seated in 3F. Since the middle seat was occupied and there were some space constraints in the aisle, I couldn’t get a better photo of the seat

As a proud member of the 181 Club, let me give you a sense of scale with my body

The seat is really spacious

But I felt the armrests were a bit cramped, unlike the Korean Air first class I’ve flown before—Kosmo Suite 2.0, which fit my body so well.

Premium Bose noise-canceling headphones.

The blanket also gave off a very high-end vibe.

A men’s toiletry kit from Salvatore Ferragamo, fully stocked with amenities and even perfume.

Even the menu cover is leather—Singapore Airlines has really put a lot of thought into the first-class cabin.

When booking was completed, I used "Book the Cook" to select meals. For both legs of the journey, I ordered lobster!! My family thought it was absurd—"Do you think the flight attendant will steam it once and deep-fry it the next? Why not just get steak?" I said: Because lobster is harder to come by...

Pajamas—I really like this understated dark iron-gray velvet style.

Slippers and eye mask.

This is how they look on—I couldn’t avoid it, so I just went ahead and took the photo.

The toiletries in the lavatory are also from Salvatore Ferragamo.

To the right of the mirror, there’s a comb and disposable cups, and even sanitary pads for women—it’s really thoughtful.

On the left, there are small towels, hand wipes, facial tissues, razors, and other amenities.

Toothbrush and toothpaste are all neatly packed in a box, with plenty of space for a water cup and other items.

On the toilet side, there’s a large fold-out board for changing diapers for kids.

In-flight magazines.

The New York–Frankfurt route takes about seven hours, so after dinner, I had to quickly catch some sleep.

The controller interface displays the estimated flight duration.

The screen is huge, and the movies are recent too—"La La Land" and "Manchester by the Sea" were both amazing.

Confirming the meal selection.

It seems no plane is complete without peanuts.

The famous Krug champagne—the flight attendant generously let me take a photo with the whole bottle. It was my first time trying Krug, and the taste was rich, instantly unleashing the full flavor of champagne onto your taste buds—so good!!

● ETtoday News Cloud reminds you: Don’t drink and drive, and don’t drive after drinking.

This is the pork rib and bamboo fungus soup—a light and sweet broth, quite nice. But I forgot to turn on the dining light for these shots, so a few of the later photos came out a bit... well, you’ll see as we go on, readers will gradually understand...

Salad—pretty decent.

Here comes the lobster!!

Close-up shot—the texture is super springy, and the garlic crust just adds aroma without overpowering the seafood’s natural flavor—though the portion could be a bit bigger.

Ice cream with chocolate mousse—such an indulgent dessert. It’s truly on par with high-end restaurant quality.

After dinner, getting ready to rest. Of course, everyone knows that the most famous feature of the Singapore Airlines A380 first-class suite is the double seat in the middle, which can be converted into a large double bed. But since I was traveling alone, even if I wanted to try it, I didn’t know how to ask politely!! Just then, I spotted the middle double seats in the second row were empty? So I got a mischievous idea and politely asked the flight attendant: "I’m not a great sleeper and tend to toss and turn—if the two connected seats in the second row up front are definitely empty, would it be possible for me to move there during sleeping time?" The flight attendant politely said she’d check with the purser, and within two minutes, she came back with a kind "YES!" Oh my goodness, my dream came true!! Check out the photo—I slept for about five hours!!

I still can’t believe it—it felt like a dream.

No rose petals or flight attendant companionship, but for an ordinary guy like me, it was more than enough.

If the two middle seats are both occupied but the passengers don't know each other, I'm really curious—will the curtain in between be pulled down after they lie flat...?

After sleeping for a while, I was kindly reminded by the flight attendant and quickly returned to my original seat. I changed clothes, tidied up, and got ready to transfer at Frankfurt Airport before continuing the second leg of my journey. I'll leave that as a cliffhanger for now—the Frankfurt to Singapore segment is just as amazing, too. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned for my upcoming experience sharing.

I heard Frankfurt Airport is Lufthansa's home turf, and it really lives up to the reputation.

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