Going from Singapore to New York in business class may seem like a luxurious trip, but almost one full day on the airplane can be a whole different story. The actual trip plan should have included a nearly 19-hour-long journey over the Pacific, but unexpected changes in the routing will result in a much longer adventure of going through Los Angeles for refueling and spending a bit more than 24 hours in the airplane.
In reality, the journey started in Jakarta, Indonesia, meaning that the total travel day would be even longer than the scheduled travel time between Singapore and New York. Since Singapore Airlines serves both directions of the trip in business class, the experience will allow a chance to enjoy the premium service, lie-flat seating, airport lounges, onboard meals, and the difficulties of spending so many consecutive hours in flight.
Getting to the Airport
The journey began at Jakarta Airport with the first flight departing to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. Although the traveler was already excited about the long-distance trip, one still needed to complete a short flight heading to Singapore before continuing with the journey.
The initial step in the airport ritual was checking the departures screen to confirm whether there were any changes to the gate or flight. The information on gate number 7 was correct, so everything seemed to be going well.
Since the journey was taken in business class, access to an airport lounge was included in the package. The lounge in Jakarta was spacious and offered an assortment of foods, desserts, drinks, and snacks as well. Thus, one could relax comfortably before boarding the plane for 30 minutes.
At this point, the flight was not delayed, so transferring via Singapore seemed to be smooth.
Boarding started when sunset was approaching in Jakarta. The first flight was performed using the Airbus A350 airplane, which had an unexpectedly spacious business class section.
The seat had lots of storage compartments, a large screen, charging facilities, and many other things, as well as being arranged in the 1-2-1 configuration, meaning there was enough space for each passenger.
The remarkable thing about the seat was its unusual size. A shorter flight from Jakarta to Singapore, which lasted less than two hours, could mean the passengers of the flight would expect a smaller seat. Still, in fact, the seat resembled more of a long-haul business class seat rather than that of a flight of the same length.
The meal made the short flight even more pleasant. There were three portions for the main dish for the travelers, and those who ordered chicken have received a dish with both salad and cake. The food was considered tasty, and the staff seemed friendly.
In less than one hour and 20 minutes, the plane was approaching Singapore.
Making connections and changing planes at Singapore Changi
Connecting in Singapore was a lot easier than it used to be. Instead of going through the hassle of checking in to a different terminal, the passenger arrives directly at Terminal 3.
Singapore airport looks amazing and cutting edge but finding the correct gate was indeed more difficult than imagined. To get gate A15, the traveler had to switch to the Skytrain, even though he or she was still in Terminal 3.
The SilverKris Lounge Experience
The traveler was impressed by the size of the SilverKris Lounge—a space the largest he has seen in any airport lounge. There were many large sections filled with buffet tables, bars, freshly prepared food, and other snacks.
However, its popularity was immediately evident. The lounge was packed, and finding an available armchair was quite a challenge.
The lounge did not announce boarding calls, unlike most airport lounges. Thus, travelers had to check the screens on their own if they wanted to find out about their flights.
Since passengers were fed during the Jakarta-Singapore flight, there was not much need for further meals. The buffet was, nevertheless, good looking and offered plenty of choices.
The lounge’s bathrooms offered many excellent amenities, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste. After the traveler managed to freshen up and prepare for the night ahead, it was time to go back to Gate A15.
The biggest surprise of the journey occurred next.
Instead of flying directly from Singapore to New York, travelers learned that their flight would make a stop in Los Angeles along the way.
The departure from the original non-stop itinerary of traveling from Singapore to New York took everyone by surprise.
Introduced was an explanation concerning this unexpected change in plans: an occurrence of a volcanic eruption in Russia that had caused changes to the routing of flights. Thus, the airplane was to adopt a new path and stop in Los Angeles for refueling prior to flying to New York.
Originally planned to take around 19 hours of non-stop flying, the journey was to take much longer, approximately 23 or even 24 hours, with the planned stop included.
The flight was delayed by approximately one hour at that point.
About the Singapore Airlines Business Class Seat on the Long-Haul Flight
Despite the unexpected development, the experience of sitting in business class remained extraordinary.
The seating area was configured in a 1-2-1 arrangement providing an adequate personal space for each passenger. As far as the seat’s design was concerned, it was very similar to that of the business class seat on the Jakarta – Singapore flight, although this time it had additional items provided to enjoy traveling more comfortably, e.g. slippers, socks, or even a sleeping mask.
Once the plane took off, the crew assisted in turning the seats to sleeping positions. People had to lie down sideways but they felt comfortable enough despite being in the airplane’s seat.
The idea was to get as much sleep as possible before reaching Los Angeles.
Trying to Sleep on an Extremely Long Flight
It was approximately 1:00 a.m., which made sleep desirable after having flown from Jakarta.
The passenger wished for seven or eight hours of sleep.
After all, approximately eight hours of sleep could be achieved. It was not eight hours in a row and the bed was not as cozy as a regular bed. He woke up several times and even had some weird dreams.
However, having some sleep was really helpful since the flight was still on.
There were still about seven and a half hours to Los Angeles, after which the flight to New York would take another five approximately.
Breakfast, Snacks, and Other Advantages of the Flight
After waking up from sleep, the passenger refreshed himself and looked out of the airplane’s window. The airplane was still flying above the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii.
A lighter option of fresh fruits was chosen for breakfast instead of having a heavy meal. After some time, hunger struck again so a dessert including passion fruit cake, cookies, and biscuits was ordered.
The good thing about the business class was that unlike economy class, meals can be ordered at any time. The onboard menu included a variety of food items, including beef, chicken, soups, noodles, snacks, desserts, and others.
The bathroom was quite a standard for a plane, with some additional specialize shaving equipment, shaving cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste as well as the soap provided in the bathroom area.
One great unexpected plus was Wi-Fi onboard. Most of the previous flights offered Wi-Fi but without successful access. The speed was not enough to watch YouTube videos, nevertheless passengers could send messages via WhatsApp and use social media.
Flying for nearly 17 hours from Singapore to Los Angeles.
After many hours passed in the Pacific Ocean the plane finally started to descend to Los Angeles.
The flight portion from Singapore to Los Angeles has taken almost 17 hours.
The plane was in Los Angeles for around an hour as it refueled and its crew was changed.
By this time, nearly 24 hours had passed since the start of the journey and filming had begun in Jakarta.
The situation was not ordinary because, although there were no people on board, passengers were wandering about preparing for their onward trip.
Starting the Last Leg to New York
After being on the ground for approximately one and a half hours, the flight finally took off from Los Angeles.
The final stage toward New York started.
There were a few interesting details about the flight operator flying from Singapore to New York. First of all, the flight did not feature a proper economy class. Travelers were given a chance to select either business class or premium economy.
The business class seemed to be quite big, indicating the popularity of premium seats on the route.
The last peculiar detail is related to the routing. There are two main directions of the trip: westward through the Atlantic or eastward across the Pacific Ocean, and it turned out that most commonly the route through the Pacific Ocean was used.
Typically, covering distances between Singapore and New York would take about 10,000 to 12,000 miles (around 17,000 kilometers). But this trip was different since the route had to be changed, meaning the distance traveled by this flight was way longer.
Another Delicious Meal in the Air
The journey continued, and travelers had their dinner on this leg of the journey.
The meal this time consisted of roasted chicken with truffle, which was quite delicious.
Food was definitely one of the best parts of this travel experience on Singapore Airlines. Both the chicken meal on the flight from Jakarta to Singapore and the food on the long-haul flight were great.
Thanks to the variety in the menu, it was possible to grab something to eat any time, whether it was complete food or a snack.
How to Spend More Than 20 Hours in an Airplane?
Because of the lengthy flight, there was a need for entertainment.
Before each flight, the person made sure to download the latest videos to be able to watch them while being in the air.
Environmental issues also helped because they had a great entertainment library with hundreds of movies and TV shows.
Interestingly enough, the entertainment system was controlled not by touch screen but with the help of remote control.
It featured not only movies but also music and live television shows. For example, the author was happy to find one of her childhood favourite movies The Lion King*.
However, after travelling for more than 20 hours, the trip had begun to feel tiresome.
More Than 24 Hours in One Airplane Seat
The numbers had become incredible.
After boarding the plane in Singapore, the passengers spent about an hour waiting for the departure and then flew to Los Angeles for about 17 hours. After that they had a layover for around 1 and a half hours during the next flight to New York for about 5 more hours.
Thus, the total time spent in one airplane seat was about 24 and a half hours.
And this figure did not take into consideration the Jakarta-Singapore part of the trip.
There was no doubt this was one of the longest travel days in one’s life.
With only around 3 hours of flight to New York, the journey was coming to an end.
Finally Arriving in New York City
After putting on a nice T-shirt, washing her face and
Immigration was the last worry everyone had.
After the plane landed, people spent almost 45 minutes going through the whole arrival process. After the long flight, it was quite hard to bear waiting that long, especially while standing in the immigration line.
The fabulous moment came.
When getting closer to New York City, the famous skyline was already spotted from afar.
For those who were inspired by New York right after childhood, it was a very special moment to see the famous skyline for the first time.
Finally, the long-awaited arrival to the country had happened.
The Journey Isn’t Completed
The passengers haven’t reached Manhattan yet.
The airport turned out to be in New Jersey, which means that there was one more journey to do to get to the hotel.
At this point in time, it has taken about 31 hours since the filming started at the airport in Jakarta.
The original schedule said that the plane would arrive approximately at 6 a.m., while the real arrival time turned out to be about six or seven hours later than planned.
However, even with all the delays and unexpected detours, the business class service has got an excellent evaluation.
Was Flying Singapore Airlines Business Class Worth It?
Passengers had a really great flying experience.
The service of the cabin crew was very good, the seat was very big, and thanks to the fact that a passenger could turn their seat into a bed, the long trip became much more easy.
One of the main pluses of Business class is obviously the privacy.
The Business class seat allows a passenger to have his/her own space that resembles a small cabin.
The quality of food was also great, and the variety of food, snacks, desserts, and drinks also helped throughout the long journey.
However, the biggest disadvantage was not the airline itself, but rather the length of the flight and the change of the route.
It was tough after spending around 24 hours on the plane.
What was the cost of the entire trip?
A very interesting detail of the trip was the ticket price.
Normally, a roundtrip Business class ticket from Singapore to New York costs about $7000-$8000.
However, the traveler did not pay that much.
Flight prices were not only monitored month after month but also checked everyday, which meant that there were price changes every day. Moreover, different flights and durations of flights were used since the airfare could vary by the nature of the trip.
Eventually, the net result of all the experiments was a return business class ticket, which included a route:
Jakarta → Singapore → New York → Singapore → Jakarta, bought at about $3,500.
All the sectors were business class, so the price was considered very good.
An Amazing Trip With a Surprising Final.
The initial idea was quite simple: to take a flight from Singapore to New York without interruptions.
However, it turned out to be far more complicated.
One of the large volcanic eruptions affected the route, which made the plane fly to Los Angeles to refuel, which led to a greater travel distance. As a result, the arrival time was postponed for hours, while the total travel time was not less than twenty-four hours.
After experiencing all of that, the trip still turned out to be something totally amazing as it restored the possibility of seeing New York after dreaming of this city since childhood.
Films like Home Alone 2 and the show How I Met Your Mother contributed to the love of New York in the eyes of many people. Therefore, seeing Manhattan’s skyline was a great reward after a long trip.
But another exciting moment awaited us.
Even though this trip wasn’t considered a real non-stop Singapore-New York trip as planned, the same thing would happen in the opposite direction in a few weeks.
Hence, we will still have the chance to experience this flight at some point in the future.
But for now, we were heading to Manhattan, and Times Square was waiting for us.
