Height of Luxury? Singapore Airlines Flies Highest
There were no Jacuzzis or bowling alleys. No casinos or gyms. But the chilled bottle of Champagne perched on an elegantly laid-out double bed said it all.
Singapore Airline launched last April in Toulouse (France) the interior of their new” super- first “class A380 superjumbo double decker jet, a vast change, according to the Airline in the level of quality of bringing to an end a decade’s anticipation of what the airline has always said would mark comfort in long-haul air travel.
This “Orient Express of the skies” (with a 20-hour flight from San Francisco to Seoul and then on to Singapore starting today), fully encloses fully twelve private “suites” that occupy the front half of the plane’s lower deck. Designed by famous French yaght designer Jean-Jacques Coste which signify to the ‘golden age’ of flying boats in the thirties and forties.
Designed to maximize privacy, these partitioned nooks are each fitted with fully adjustable leather seats and a separate bed that folds out with a full-sized mattress, draped in crisp cream-colored linens designed by Givenchy. Perhaps the greatest feature of the Skysuite is the turn down service. When you are ready to sleep, fresh bed linen and a down-filled duvet will be laid out by the cabin crew, and you will be provided with a Givenchy-designed pajama suit, soft eye-shades and sockettes.
The two middle suites can be further transformed into doubles for couples.In a demure hint at the plane’s honeymoon possibilities, the carrier had decked out one double bed with Champagne and scattered the duvet with red rose petals. The bed’s two seat belts — in case of unexpected turbulence — were discreetly hidden below the bedding.
The cabins will be getting a gadget galore, including a 23-inch flat-screen TV, with a choice of 100 films and 180 TV programmes, and 700 CDs. In all, the A380 will have 471 seats, the 12 suites, 60 in business class and 399 in economy. Passengers will pay £1,991 for a suite, one-way between Singapore to Sydney. Economy-class passengers in the A380 would pay £320 for the journey.
Food service in First Class offers all the luxury choices you would expect: Dom Perignon, premium chilled Malossol caviar, chicken Satay, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, and a selection of special teas.
It is the flexibility of the food service that makes it great. Using the Singapore Airlines Book the Cook service, First Class passengers can order their main course in advance.
Services commenced today, the 25th of October on the Singapore-Sydney route , with a London to Singapore service to be introduced early next year.
Petter Hegre's
