Singapore Airlines creating electronic heaven for passengers

If you're tired of those frequent flyer miles becoming increasingly worthless, losing your in-flight WiFi, and the outright lack of sugar-coated peanuts, you may want to check out Singapore Airlines. Already the first airline to implement an in-flight IPTV service, SIA is now adding a touch of luxury (and gadgetry) to all three classes within its forthcoming Boeing B777-300ER and Airbus A380 aircrafts. First class customers, as expected, receive the most improved seating arrangements, as they're graced with 23-inch LCDs, complete with USB ports, power outlets, and noise-reducing headsets. Business class guests get their own 15.4-inch LCD, while economy seats rock a 10.6-inch edition. Although higher-end seats can morph into a full-fledged bed, all customers receive access to the airline's "KrisWorld" in-flight entertainment system, which boasts "over 1,000 on-demand movies, TV shows, games, and audio selections." Moreover, the snazzy monitors provide flight-wide access the built-in "Sun Microsystems StarOffice Productivity Suite," which reportedly supports "most popular file formats" for working on the go. While we're admittedly frightened to think what one of these oh-so-heavenly seats will cost, next month would probably be the perfect time to indulge in that long-overdue trip to Osaka (or Malaysia).

[John Doe @ Oct 18th 2006 10:18AM]

But what fun is flying if you don't have to stuff your carry-on in the ass of the passenger in front of you and need to break off your legs and fit then under your seat to fit in your seat?

[Wonderboy @ Oct 18th 2006 11:00AM]

Eh, I only need a comfortable seat... rather than paying an arm and a leg for a seat with an LCD screen and a movie library of their choosing, I'd much rather just pull out my 15" widescreen laptop and access a library of movies/music/ebooks/games of my own choosing. Takes a little planning ahead to have the movies you want, but that's a small price to pay to not have to pay a higher price.

[SideSwipe @ Oct 18th 2006 12:51PM]

Hear hear! I don't care how much freakin' technology they cram into a plane so long as they can finally design some coach-class seating which can accomodate my 6'5" self! Either my knees are wedged into the rear of the person in front of me or the seatback is 6" too short for me to try and lean my head back.

[OneMoreComment @ Oct 18th 2006 11:20AM]

Well in the future it looks like you might not be able to carry anything personal with all the bomb scares and terrorist attacks. Didn't they at some point forbid carrying drinks on planes?

If Singapore Airlines doesn't plan to raise its ticket prices because of all the new gadgetry then I surely wouldn't mind all the digital fun they can provide me with during flight.

[elroyo @ Oct 18th 2006 11:33AM]

had a chance to travel sia on my way over here to korea from pdx. honestly the best airline i have ever flown on and was only 700$us one way. service was excellent, food was awesome and the inflight entertainment was outstanding. nothing like playing pong with a 12 yr old asian kid to kill a 12+hr flight.

[Nick @ Oct 18th 2006 11:43AM]

Singapore airlines is already unique in having just about the most pimped coach seats I've ever ridden in. When I was working in Asia the long flights (14 hours from Seoul to Sidney) were made a lot easier with all the in seat super nintendo games and movies/TV they had (in 2004). Getting to choose between five bad movies really is a TON better than getting one. They even had an option to let you play chess for with people in other seats. That and their food is actually palitable. They also give discounts when you spend a few days in Singapore. Finally, the flight attendants are the hottest in the bussiness (their uniforms actually give asian girls an a$$). Next time your heading to asia, fly SIA!

[Brendor @ Oct 18th 2006 2:01PM]

Totally agree. On a return flight from Germany in 2003, my family & I flew SIA coach because they were (are?) a Star Alliance partner with Lufthansa, for which we were ticketed. As I recall, there were about 30 movies to choose from as well as additional game & music content. Even had jog/shuttle controls - which was usefull when the system crashed at one point in teh middle of "Confessions of a dangerous mind"

[Juan @ Oct 18th 2006 12:08PM]

"Moreover, the snazzy monitors provide flight-wide access the built-in "Sun Microsystems StarOffice Productivity Suite," which reportedly supports "most popular file formats" for working on the go."

Seriously, you've never heard of StarOffice? At least that's what I gather from the use of quotation marks and the word "reportedly." Yes, it does indeed support the most popular file formats. It's actually quite good. Lots of businesses and government offices are switching to it to save money.

[Henry @ Oct 18th 2006 12:29PM]

Just took them to the Maldives myself -- there is no comparison. The on-demand movie thing was really cool (like having Tivo in your seat). Made the flight an enjoyable part of the trip.

[bob @ Oct 18th 2006 12:41PM]

"I'd much rather just pull out my 15" widescreen laptop"

Ever tried fitting one of those suckers on the tray in front of you,and also curious how long your battery will last on two back to back 12 hour flights... SIA is second to none for long haul.

[Wonderboy @ Oct 18th 2006 1:30PM]

Well, I've got a double capacity battery and it all fits nicely on the tray table. If I'm watching DVDs I can get through 2 before my battery starts to be worrisome. If I've ripped to the HDD I can usually get 3 movies in. And of course music takes up very little battery and ebooks aren't too hard on battery life either. I'm not a hard-core gamer, so when I play games they're also low-resource.

My own laptop and my own media will always be the best solution... for me.

[longhauler @ Oct 18th 2006 1:05PM]

SIA prices are very competitive--usually lower than say, United or BA, and a tad higher than say, MAS. I always fly SIA even if it's a little bit more expensive. You get more for your $$$. They usually have way better legroom on Economy, the food is always excellent (I look forward to meals on their flights) and service is great. As for Krisworld entertainment, they've had that since 1994/95--there used to be "only" 20+ movies to choose from and I think the screens were more in the 7 or 8-inch category.

[Roy @ Oct 18th 2006 1:06PM]

Good, but i still think emirates private cabin, being able to close the door is tops.
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0768182/L/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1124655/L/

[Jeff @ Oct 18th 2006 1:17PM]

Two things:

1. The plural of aircraft is aircraft.

2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since when does Singapore fly to Osaka? Osaka is in, you know, Japan. Not even the two Japanese airlines fly direct to Osaka from most of the United States. Or did you actually mean you want to take a trip *from Singapore* to Osaka? Do we have a lot of Singapore readers on this site?

[Ed @ Oct 18th 2006 1:36PM]

Singapore airlines has the hottest stewardesses EVER.

[AJ @ Oct 18th 2006 4:20PM]

I flew SIA first class when I lived in Singapore. The TV's are amazing, the bed is so comfortable! There are just so many little touches that make this airline the best in the world, and everything is made of such high quality materials.

[Jesse Segrist @ Oct 22nd 2006 1:47AM]

I've been on Singapore airlines several times, flying back and forth from the U.S. and India, and it is my favorite airline. I always ride coach, but it is really comfortable and not much more expensive than any other airlines, and when you fly to India, it is more than 30 hours of flying time, so the extra money to have a few more niceties to pass the time makes it well worth it.

[Loc @ Oct 18th 2006 6:30PM]

Whenever my family flies to China, we always fly SIA from SF to Hong Kong. The flight attendants are so hot!!! And even if they don't up the LCDs to 10in, they're still perfectly fine for coach class. Movies on demand kept my flight to Hong Kong (16hours) enjoyable. I even stayed up the whole trip to play the classic Mario games! (there are a lot more games, mostly from NES and SNES)
Food is so much better than the crap you get from UA. Actually Cathay Pacific is a great airline too, but the flight attendants aren't as hot as the SIA ones, and SIA has better flight record.

I can't wait to lay my eyes on those flight attendants again! >_

[aStopperBy @ Oct 20th 2006 1:34AM]

Don't count on those A380's arriving until middle to end of next year though...
And actually, I think Cathay Pacific has the better safety record http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=6962 vs http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=5344. But there both good world-class airlines

[Gerald @ Oct 18th 2006 11:23PM]

Guys, this is the official brochure I received in the mail from SIA yesterday.
I live in Singapore btw.

The New First Class
35Inch Seats
Fully Flat Beds
Adjustable Table
Tableware Designed by Givenchy
Large 23Inch LCD Screen

The New Business Class
1-2-1 forward facing layout where all seats have direct access to aisles
30Inch Seats
Fully Flat Beds
15.4Inch LCD screen

The New Economy Class
Increased knee room and legroom
Large 10.6Inch screen
Adjustable reading light
In-seat Laptop supply

Very cool stuff, you can read more at singaporeair.com!

[anthonysimilion @ Oct 19th 2006 7:31AM]

Laptop power for ECONOMY! That's what I'm talking about!