Singapore Airlines SQ322 from Singapore to London-Heathrow Business Class Flight Review

Singapore Airlines SQ322 is a daily overnight flight from Singapore to London-Heathrow, 1 of up to 4 flights a day now. Travel has been a downer throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and perhaps absence makes the heart fonder with my almost 2 years of non-flying. I did my KL and JB VTL trips, but that was more to satisfy what I’ve missed from Malaysia in a very short period of time, with non-stop travels (and hiccups) every day. This time now, it’s time for a real holiday.

With leisure travel returning to the skies and some DBS Points stashed, I booked a ticket on Singapore Airlines SQ322 in Business Class, trying out Singapore Airlines’ Business Class for the first time in my life. My considerations for flying to London on Business Class was the higher tax payable for a premium class flying out of Heathrow if I were have booked it for my return leg, and the extra baggage allowance on Business Class so I can carry stuff for friends to the UK.

I previously said on the Restaurant A380 @Changi Business Class Experience, my first time sitting in Singapore Airlines’ Business Class seat, that I would see SQ again in Economy Class when the skies are open again. Turns out, I’m privileged to finally able to afford my first long-haul post-COVID flight in Business Class.

I booked my Singapore Airlines SQ322 from Singapore to London-Heathrow on Business Class under Business Saver for 92,000 KrisFlyer miles and S$52.30 in taxes.

Check-in at Row 6

I arrived at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 earlier than my normal routine pre-COVID of showing up with just enough time for check-in with almost no luggage. With a few pieces to carry this time, and the prospect of visiting the SilverKris Lounge while in the transit area, I arrived about 2.5 hours before departure for a comfortable check-in process.

Check-in for Singapore Airlines Business Class is at Terminal 3 Row 6. With Terminal 2 closed, Singapore Airlines now operate from a single terminal at Changi Airport. (Do note that your gate may be assigned in Terminal 1 after immigration.)

At check-in, for Singapore passport holders, you will only be asked for your vaccination status.

From Friday, 18 March 2022, 4am, all COVID-19 travel restrictions to the UK was lifted, including the passenger locator form (PLF) for arrivals into UK, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated.

My first actual Singapore Airlines Business Class boarding pass in my life.

Immigration

Immigration at Terminal 3 has been updated with Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) Automated Immigration Gates. Scan your passport, boarding pass, and face at the machine to depart Singapore.

On entering the Transit Area, my first impression was, wow travel is back. Concessions are mostly open and real passengers now stroll freely in the transit area. The “transit platoon” is also not marching any more.

SilverKris Lounge Terminal 3

As a Singapore Airlines Business Class passenger, I was invited to the SilverKris Lounge. This is on the left after immigration. Head up the set of escalators pointing to the lounges.

Click here for my Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge Changi Airport Terminal 3 lounge review.

After I was done with my light supper at the SilverKris Lounge, I continued on to the gate. Gate A5 would be just ahead, saving me a long walk.

Lotte Duty Free has Korean vibes now that passengers have returned to the transit area. More concessions at the ends of the terminal are also open now that there are lots of passengers travelling through Changi.

Gate A5

Gate A5 is located at the big gate hold room at Terminal 3 South, just at the end of the main shopping area.

Entering the gate hold room with security screening.

Boarding calls were made just as I arrived at the gate at 11.10pm, 35 minutes before departure.

Boarding

Travel is really back. It was almost a full flight with Business Class at 95% capacity.

The priority lane for Business Class and above had a crowd too, but thankfully moved quite fast.

Heading down the aerobridge. See you Singapore for a long time.

An apt restart to my long-haul travel, 9V-SKN would be flying me from Singapore to London-Heathrow. This same aircraft operated on my Restaurant A380 @Changi Business Class Experience, which was my first time sitting in a Business Class seat sans the flying.

Heading down the aerobridge.

Suites and Business Class passengers take the third aerobridge up to the upper deck of the A380.

Walking up the aerobridge.

Boarding 9V-SKN on the upper deck.

Business Class spans most of the upper deck of the A380, other than the 6 suites up at the front. The entrance leads to the big main Business Class cabin.

My seat was in the smaller rear cabin.

Seat 94K

I picked Seat 94K at the aft of the plane as it would be quieter and have less footfall.

The welcome screen on board Business Class.

Amenities are laid on the side.

A universal power socket and USB power socket is available here, along with a contactless card reader to make payments of sorts.

There is a storage cubicle in front beside the entertainment screen.

Bedding for the night flight is placed in the seat cubby.

The safety card, air sickness bag, bottle of water, headphones, and care kit are placed at the side pocket.

A side table is available for convenient storage of small items that needs to be accessed frequently, like a charging cable.

A USB charging port is also available here, along with the headphone jack.

When checking out the seat controls, I noted that additional button guards are now installed so that passengers do not activate the buttons unknowingly.

The buttons were previously just a flat piece of touch-sensitive icons which activate when a passenger (me) leans on to it, setting off a light and sound show to call for the flight attendant.

With this new button guard, bumping into the button accidentally is now thankfully more difficult, though I still consciously placed a pillow beside the controls just in case.

The Business Class seat on the A380 is very private with the shell around the seat.

Even though there are no doors (effectively making it a suite), you are not able to view your neighbours and their entertainment screens when properly seated unless you half-stand up from your seat, which I think is awesome.

Each Business Class seat has 2 windows, though effectively you are only able to look out from 1.

Notably, there are no overhead racks over the window seats.

Overhead bins are located above the middle twin seats, which is sufficient for everyone anyway since there are less seats to share in between each bin.

The view out of my window just before pushback.

The generous legroom on board Business Class.

Singapore Airlines offers noise-cancelling headphones on Business Class. These have additional covers now for hygiene reasons.

Place the covers over the headphones before using them.

The main spotlight menu on the KrisWorld entertainment system.

Upon pushback, the safety video was played. Haven’t watched this from on board an aircraft for a while.

Pushing back from the gate onto the taxiway.

Lights were dimmed after the safety video in preparation for takeoff.

Taxiing to Runway 02L.

Goodbye Singapore, see you in a long while.

Taking off from Changi Airport just as rain started to pour.

Flying through and out of the Singapore rain.

Not much view can be seen after takeoff with the rain, so here’s a small section of flying over Malaysia first while services start to flow.

Business Class Toilet

There are 4 Business Class toilets in the middle of the cabin.

The toilet is expectedly very clean.

A large Hollywood-style mirror with a zoom-in vanity mirror is the main focus of the toilet.

Penhaligon’s toiletries are available beside the sink.

Tissues and paper towels are available by the side of the mirror.

An amenity drawer is placed beside the mirror.

The amenity drawer was well stocked with hair brushes, shavers, shaving cream, and toothbrushes.

Another amenity drawer is placed beside the toilet bowl.

This has air sickness bags and sanitary pads.

A flower is placed at eye level for aesthetics.

There’s also a baby changing table above the toilet bowl.

Post-Takeoff Drink

After takeoff, the cabin crew came around with welcome drinks, of which orders were placed while the aircraft was still at the gate, along with confirmation of meal orders.

Notably, nuts are back on Singapore Airlines with almonds and cashews.

Supper

Shortly after the drinks service, the trolley came round for Supper.

Hot Smoked Salmon Salad

Supper started with an appetiser of Hot Smoked Salmon Salad. This was, however, served cold.

The cold appetiser course came with the cover which I had to remove myself. Still in COVID times after all.

The smoked salmon held the smoky flavour despite it being quite cooked, and went well with the dijon herb dressing provided on the side.

Bread Basket

The bread basket came along, and I requested for garlic bread and a soft roll, along with some olive oil.

SilverKris Sling

I then ordered a SilverKris Sling cocktail, which is not available is Economy Class. This consists of gin, orange liqueur, orange juice and pineapple juice, topped with Champagne.

The SilverKris Sling was very strong for me for a drink before bed. Oops. But nevertheless, it tasted quite good and refreshing if it were for an afternoon drink.

Beef Steak

For my main course, I ordered the Book the Cook Beef Steak. This was served without the foil cover as it was piping hot.

The Beef Steak was described as charcoal grilled beef tenderloin, creamy polenta, red wine sauce with seasonal vegetables.

On first impression, I was quite pleased that the steak was small as I wasn’t too hungry at 1am Singapore time.

Cutting the steak, it was a medium well to well done, but did not taste as dry as the Grilled Beef Fillet I had on the Restaurant A380. This was still springy even though the beef was almost fully cooked, and the red wine sauce helped with the moisture needed for taste in the air.

Sticky Date Pudding

The meal ended with a Sticky Date Pudding.

The butterscotch sauce on the side was a nice complement to the Sticky Date Pudding, and made for a sweet treat before bed.

Turndown Service

After the lights were dimmed, I tried to lower my seat all the way flat but it didn’t work. Nevertheless, I called a stewardess regarding this and after pulling the seat down manually, she proceeded to lay the bedding on for me as well.

My first flight sleeping flat on an actual flatbed seat.

My sleep was very pleasant, reminding me of the turndown service on board the Special Express 25 Isan Mankha from Bangkok Hua Lamphong to Nong Khai. I think I slept in 4 hour blocks, with just a short toilet break in between thanks to the drinks I had from the SilverKris Lounge and on board.

In the morning, the purple hues slowly came around to wake everyone from their slumber in time for breakfast.

This matches with the slow sunrise from outside the aircraft too.

Breakfast

Breakfast was served about 2 hours before landing.

The trolley came by with breakfast starters of fresh fruits, Bircher Muesli, and Fruit Yoghurt.

Fresh Fruits

I wasn’t interested in the two other items, so I opted to skip them. Just fruits to start the early morning first.

Bread Basket

The break basket came along again, but garlic bread was not available in the morning. I got a croissant instead.

Detouring around various countries in Europe.

Lobster Thermidor

For breakfast, I ordered the Book the Cook Lobster Thermidor, as one does for breakfast.

The Lobster Thermidor was served in its shell, with easy bite-sized pieces of meat cooked in a rich cream sauce.

It’s probably my first time having Lonster for breakfast, but while I was trying to adapt my body clock to UK time already, I realised that it’s also time for lunch in Singapore, so that’s fine I guess?

Scrambled Eggs with Chicken Sausage

I ordered an additional western breakfast of Scrambled Eggs with Chicken Sausage if there was an extra portion available. The stewardess mentioned that there was, but it wasn’t good today and checked with me if I still wanted it. I gave it a shot anyway.

The scrambled eggs were unfortunately overcooked with the grey explicitly showing. The rest of the sides turned out okay, but I guess the main part of scrambled eggs marred the dish. At least I had my Lobster Thermidor earlier already and this was just a secondary snack of sorts.

As it was breakfast service, no dessert was offered after the main course.

Singapore Airlines Business Class Amenity Kit

After the breakfast service, I requested for the amenity kit and a Singapore Sling.

The Penhaligon’s for Singapore Airlines Business Class Amenity Kit consisted of a Penhaligon’s Quercus Hand Lotion, Penhaligon’s Quercus Facial Mist, and Penhaligon’s Quercus Lip Balm. The Penhaligon’s Luna Perfume Oil was not in my amenity kit, maybe it has been removed.

Singapore Sling

And of course, a Singapore Sling to end off the flight on a sweet note. A must drink on Singapore Airlines.

The side mirror helps me to see if I’m refreshed enough for the early start to the UK.

Flying over England with the sun out already at 6am.

The cabin lights were brightened in preparation for landing.

I was hoping for a direct westward landing into Heathrow so that I would have a view of the city before arrival, but unfortunately this was not meant to be.

Flying over the residential area of Finchley.

Lots of ground fog in the morning.

The approach was so foggy that I was wondering if we needed to go around.

Thankfully, the fog cleared just before approaching the runway.

My Singapore Airlines SQ322 flight arrived at London-Heathrow at 6.22am – 27 minutes delayed from schedule. This was due to headwinds and the extended flying route taken.

Exiting the runway to the taxiway.

How ironic to finally be able to spot Malaysia Airlines’ 9M-MAC in Malaysia Negaraku Livery after 2 years, all the way here at Heathrow.

Turning in to the satellite terminal of Terminal 2.

Passing by 9M-MAC.

Another long-time-no-see of Thai Airways International’s HS-TKZ. THAI has been a rare Pokémon in Singapore ever since COVID-19 started.

Gate B42

Turning into Gate B42.

Entering the parking bay with a view of Malaysia Airlines and THAI.

Safely parked at Gate B42.

Disembarkation was really fast, probably because there’s so much space between seats on the aisle.

Heading up the aerobridge into Heathrow Airport.

Thank you 9V-SKN for evolving from a restaurant to my first long-haul flight after COVID.

Upon arrival at the terminal building, I did what some staff have done – remove my mask. As of 18 March 2022 4am – almost 2.5 hours before my arrival – Heathrow Airport has dropped face mask rules in line with the UK’s scrapping of restrictions on COVID and travel.

Gate B42 is unfortunately the last gate on the satellite terminal, so here begins the long trek to immigration.

Looking back at 9V-SKN.

The arrivals journey is well mapped out at Heathrow.

Taking the travellator to the centre of the satellite terminal.

Heading down to the underground walkway to the main terminal building.

Passing by an empty departure transit area, but most passengers were at the gate waiting to board their outgoing flight already in this early morning.

Heading left to the underpass.

A long stretch of walkway begins to the main terminal building.

Singaporean passport holders can use e-Passport gates in the UK.

Passport Control

However, the e-Passport gates had so many people that I thought joining the queues for the manual counter could be faster.

Indeed, travel has returned in this part of the world.

The immigration queue took me slightly more than an hour to clear. even with no additional COVID-related checks.

From Friday, 18 March 2022, 4am, all COVID-19 travel restrictions to the UK was lifted, including the passenger locator form (PLF) for arrivals into UK, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated.

Baggage Reclaim

Baggage reclaim for mySQ322 flight was at Belt 8. By now, the belt had stopped moving and all remaining bags had been moved off on to the floor to prepare for the next flight.

Bulky items were collected at the end of the baggage reclaim hall.

Heading on to customs towards the exit to freedom.

Arrival Hall

Customs was extremely quick to clear with no one checking me, and I’m out in the open like it’s 2019 again.

Heading out of the arrival hall.

Greeted by Slipstream upon stepping out of the terminal.

The weather was nice and cold, with fog coming out of everyone’s mouth as they breathe.

From here, onward connections are served by lifts which will be slow to serve with the sheer amount of crowd needing them with baggage.

Conclusion

Overall, a very pleasant flight on board Singapore Airlines’ Business Class. While I didn’t experience a long day service as I was sleeping for more than half the time, the sleep was also part of the wonders of Business Class with a lie-flat seat allowing me to lie down properly on a plane for the first time in my life, rather than straddling across 3 seats in Economy Class.

I don’t have much to compare to for this review as this is my first ever Singapore Airlines’ Business Class flight in my life, but yes, this time, I will definitely see Singapore Airlines again back in Economy Class when returning to Singapore, like what I previously said for Restaurant A380, as my miles have now dried up.