Singapore Airlines operated close to 50 Boeing 777-200s almost a decade ago, but today the numbers have significantly dwindled to just eight in the active fleet at the time of writing; three 777-200s and four 777-200ERs.
Those four extended range versions feature the airline’s oldest Business Class seat currently in service, the huge 30″-wide model introduced in 2006 and also still widely used on the airline’s older Airbus A380 aircraft, where it boasts a 34″ width.
We took a trip to Hong Kong and back to try them out.
Flight details
Outbound
- Flight: SQ868 Singapore Changi T3 to Hong Kong
- Class: Business
- Seats: 11D & 11F
- Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-200ER
- Aircraft Registration: 9V-SVC
- Aircraft Age: 17.9 years
- Date: July 2019
- Departure / Arrival: 19:55 / 23:50
- Flight Time: 3h 55m
- Cost: 30,500 KrisFlyer miles + S$49.80 per person
Inbound
- Flight: SQ857 Hong Kong to Singapore Changi T3
- Class: Business
- Seats: 15K & 16K
- Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-200ER
- Aircraft Registration: 9V-SVE
- Aircraft Age: 17.6 years
- Date: July 2019
- Departure / Arrival: 09:05 / 13:00
- Flight Time: 3h 55m
- Cost: 30,500 KrisFlyer miles + HKD330 (S$57.80) per person
This review is a combination of our experiences on both these flights, which is why you’ll notice some photos taken at night (SIN-HKG) and others during the day (HKG-SIN).
2006 Business Class
Over 1,000 of the 2006 Business Class seats are still in service with Singapore Airlines at the time of writing (December 2019). At 30-34 inches armrest-to-armrest they are commonly known as some of the widest airline seats in the sky, and yes that includes most First Class offerings.
The seats are being gradually phased out by SIA as older aircraft leave the fleet, in the case of 777-200ERs, or (very slowly!) retrofitted with newer versions, in the case of the A380s.
That said, it will be a few more years before they are gone, especially with the slow pace of A380 refits.
Seat selection
We originally chose a middle seat pair at row 15, however four days prior to departure at the “minus 96-hour” point we logged on and managed to secure the bulkhead row seats 11D/F, previously reserved for selection by PPS Club members.
You can see which seats Singapore Airlines blocks for advance selection and whether you can usually get your hands on them at either 96 hours or 48 hours before departure by checking our comprehensive guide here.
We chose the 11D/F pair as there’s a little more room in the bulkhead row.
Check-in
We checked in around 4 hours before departure at the Jewel Early Check-in Lounge, as we then wanted to review the Changi Lounge directly opposite using our Priority Pass. You can read that review here.