Finally have a bit of time to write a review on the SIN-NYC-SIN flights I took in the last month so here goes! Flew SIN-JFK and EWR-SIN with Singapore airlines, both in premium economy.
SIN-JFK/JFK-SIN - longest nonstop commercial flight at 9533 miles
SIN-EWR/EWR-SIN - second longest nonstop commercial flight at 9529 miles
Both around 18 hours long
Both operated by Singapore airlines using A350-900 ULR aircraft - only 7 of these in existence. These are configured to fly ultra long haul, with extra fuel tanks. They also only have business and premium economy, although the pricing of premium economy sometimes compares very well to economy on other flights on this route.
The A350-900 ULR. Always love seeing that curved wingtip on the A350s...
Airports
Singapore Changi Terminal 3 (departure/arrival) - great airport experience as usual (I am very biased since this is my home airport). I don't think I waited more than 5 minutes anywhere (check in, immigration, security) except at baggage claim on arrival where the wait was maybe 10 minutes.
Obligatory photograph of the waterfall at Changi Jewel (my own photograph though not from this trip)
Changi Terminal 3 departures
JFK Terminal 4 (arrival) - not sure if this is due to an airport renovation but the plane was parked at a remote stand, I had a bit of a shock stepping out of a warm plane into freezing weather as had been expecting an aerobidge into the terminal! But the buses to the terminal were waiting right outside so didn't have to spend too long in the cold.
EWR Terminal B (departure) - check in and security were extremely quick. But there isn't much to do after TSA screening in the section of terminal - only remember one small shop, one small restaurant/bar, couple of Illy coffee vending machines.
Seats
There are 6 solo seats right at the back of the plane - I paid to select these and they were definitely worth the seat selection cost. They come with direct aisle access, a window, and a personal storage bin right next to the seat.
The seats were pretty comfortable. I thought they felt quite similar to United Premium Plus (and nicer than ANA premium economy). Enough leg room for me. Came with a blanket and pillow which were both fairly comfortable.
Solo seat. The storage bin next to the seat is large enough to fit carry-on sized bags (that would normally go in the overhead compartment).
In flight entertainment and WiFi
Pretty good selection of movies and TV shows.
Noise cancelling headphones were provided, but I found them too heavy/hot for me, so stuck with my AirPods Pro on noise cancellation mode. Unfortunately no direct bluetooth connection available so I had to use an AirFly Pro which worked quite well.
Noise cancellation headphones provided
There is supposed to be free unlimited WiFi on board (including premium economy as long as you are a Krisflyer member). Unfortunately this was not working for one of my flights. It worked for the other flight and was fast enough for me to do a bit of browsing on the internet and use Whatsapp and Instagram.
Food
There is a feature called 'book the cook' that's available in premium economy up to 24 or 48 hours before the flight. Each flight had 2 main meals, and I could select from a pretty long list what I wanted for each meal. Early on in the flight one of the flight crew would come around and confirm that I'd done 'book the cook'. For each meal service they served all the 'book the cook' meals before the regular meal service, so I always got my meal early! I was mostly pretty happy with the meals. There was also Haagen Daaz ice cream that was given out after the first meal on each flight.
In addition to the 2 main meals there was also a refreshment of hot pizza that was given out at some point during the flight. I missed it on one flight (might have been sleeping). It was OK but I wasn't a huge fan of that sort of pizza.
There were also drinks and snacks available throughout the flight.
Drinks - included champagne and other alcohol. They also handed everyone a bottle of water near the start of the flight, and went through the cabin regularly with cups of water/juice. I went past the galley a few times and got a few cups of tea throughout the flights.
Snacks - there was a trolley just outside the galley with snacks that I could help myself to. Quite a variety including Kit Kats, granola bars, dried cranberries, crisps/chips (various types), popcorn. At one point I saw some sandwiches too but don't remember what sort of sandwiches they were.
I definitely didn't go hungry on this flight!
One of the 4 meals I had. Premium economy meals are getting an upgrade next month (with nicer silverware and more food options!) so will probably look nicer soon...
Other things
Amenity kits - available on request. Comes in a pouch (that I rather like and will use for other things). Has vaseline, toothbrush/toothpaste, and socks. These are also getting an upgrade next month so will probably look different soon.
Cabin crew - excellent, and really made the flights extremely good flights.
Flight route - very interesting routes as they are obviously avoiding certain airspaces. For SIN-JFK it went north, to the east of Taiwan/Japan, and continued on until it reached Alaska, and continued over Alaska/Canada to NYC. For EWR-SIN it went east over the Atlantic, over France, and continued over Europe to Turkey to India to Singapore. Apparently in the past it used to take a somewhat more direct route...
I got around 19000 Krisflyer miles for flying this route - will go a nice way towards my next redemption flight. (In fact got a bit more than that due to status bonus, and also got some points in the Singapore airlines Kris+ app worth around S$60 due to various promotions.)
Overall
18 hours is definitely a very long flight, but I really enjoyed the flight experience and would be happy to take these flights again...
