With over a hundred weekly flights to Singapore from seven Australian cities, Singapore Airlines is a natural choice for Velocity Frequent Flyer members travelling to Southeast Asia. From its Singapore hub, the Star Alliance member also offers connecting flights to almost 70 other cities across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and North America.

On a recent trip to Singapore, I decided to fly Qantas out of Australia and Singapore Airlines in the other direction. I did this because I wanted to compare the two airlines’ Economy Class products.

So, was Singapore Airlines a great way to fly? Find out in this review of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 Economy Class service from Singapore to Sydney!

Flight Details

Flight number	SQ211
Route	Singapore (SIN) to Sydney (SYD)
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-300ER
Class of travel	Economy
Seat number	53G
On-time performance	We arrived 10 minutes early
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I booked this flight using my Velocity Frequent Flyer points. I paid 29,000 Velocity points + $146.46 in taxes & carrier charges for a one-way Economy Reward Seat from Singapore to Sydney.

Paid one-way Economy airfares from Singapore to Sydney on Singapore Airlines normally start from around AUD876, although you can get a better price by booking a return ticket.

Airport Experience

Flying out of Singapore’s Changi Airport is always a delight. Thanks to my Star Alliance Gold status, I was able to use the priority check-in counter and there was no line at all. Within a few minutes, I was in the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge.

Singapore Airlines has some great lounges at Changi Airport for customers flying in Business or First Class. However, if you have KrisFlyer, Velocity or Star Alliance Gold status and you’re flying Singapore Airlines in Economy, you only get access to the inferior KrisFlyer Gold Lounge.

The KrisFlyer Gold Lounge received a makeover a few years ago, and it’s certainly a lot better than it used to be. For starters, you no longer need to exit the lounge to use the toilets.

There was a decent buffet breakfast selection including hot and cold drinks, dumplings, sandwiches and – my personal favourite – laksa. There were also plenty of seats available when I visited around 8.30am, although I believe this lounge can get very crowded in the late evening.

The KrisFlyer Gold Lounge is perfectly serviceable and pleasant. But given a choice, I do prefer both of the Qantas lounges in Singapore.

As is always the case in Singapore, security screening was completed at the boarding gate. There was a bit of a line and no priority queue available. After clearing security, drinking water was available in the gate area but no toilets.

Boarding started on time with priority boarding called first. Complimentary headphones were available for Economy Class passengers to pick up in the aerobridge (although, I didn’t need any as I carry my own Bose noise-cancelling headphones).

When I reached my section of the aircraft, a flight attendant checked my boarding pass and showed me to my seat.

The Hard Product

My seat on today’s completely full daytime flight to Sydney was 53G, an aisle seat towards the back of the Economy cabin. This was the closest seat to the front of the plane that I was able to select in advance, having booked this flight using Velocity points.

Many airlines use a 3-4-3 Economy Class configuration on their Boeing 777s. But Singapore Airlines still offers a spacious 3-3-3 seating layout. I definitely noticed that both the seats and aisles were wider than on other airlines with 10-abreast seating.

The seat itself was very comfortable and the legroom was also good.

Singapore Airlines offers a modern in-flight entertainment system. There was a large TV screen on the back of every seat with a huge library of on-demand entertainment including movies, TV shows, games and music. I spent a lot of the flight binge-watching The Simpsons!

The KrisWorld entertainment system even included four live TV channels including BBC News, CNN and a sports channel. The Matildas happened to be playing on the day of my flight, and most passengers were glued to the game!

Free Wi-Fi is also available for all passengers. However, you need to have a KrisFlyer number linked to your booking to access the complimentary Wi-Fi in Economy or Premium Economy. My United MileagePlus number was on my boarding pass (so that I could use my Star Alliance Gold benefits), which meant I couldn’t access the free Wi-Fi. I still could have paid for access, but didn’t bother.

With so many in-flight entertainment options, I wasn’t bored. I was also comfortable, even though it was a completely full flight. The Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER would have to have one of the nicest long-haul Economy Class products out there!

The Soft Product

Just like on Qantas, Singapore Airlines provided a pillow and blanket to all passengers. Various other amenities were also available on request.

This was the menu on SQ211:

And this was the drinks list and in-flight amenities available:

The cabin crew offered juice and water after take-off. This was followed by a refreshment service with pizza in a box, served with drinks. I couldn’t say no to a complimentary Singapore Sling!

The flight attendants regularly came through the aisle during the cruise with water. They were also quick to respond to any requests with a smile.

Before landing, a late lunch was served. Of the three options, I chose the braised chicken with noodles. This was a very good Economy Class meal with various accompaniments and a full choice of drinks.

The flight arrived in Sydney early, on the back of a strong tailwind. This was despite the pilots intentionally departing Singapore a bit behind schedule so as not to arrive too early.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.