Background and Booking
If you’ve been following my journey, you may have read my posts on Singapore Airlines’ Business Class aboard the 777 from New York to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to Singapore. To fly home, I booked a nonstop one of the world’s longest flights, the Singapore to Newark flight, on board the Singapore Airlines A350-900ULR Business Class product. Singapore Airlines also operates flights to New York (JFK) on the same aircraft type. Apologies for this post being almost a year late!
I was super excited to try this aircraft and route, as it would take over as my longest nonstop flight (before this, it was my EVA Airlines nonstop from New York to Taipei). And a fun fact: this aircraft only has Premium Economy and Business Class. How cool!
The title of world’s longest flight will be de-throned once Qantas launches nonstop flights from Sydney to both London and New York under its “Project Sunrise” program, where passengers will spend up to 22 hours in the air.
To reserve this flight, I booked it with Air Canada Aeroplan Points. I reserved my flight about 355 days in advance using Air Canada Aeroplan points. The cost was 87,500 Points with under a $100 USD in taxes/fees, but since I was low on points, I opted for the 52,500 + a little over $600 USD.
Flight Details
Singapore Airlines Flight 22
Singapore (SIN) to Newark (EWR)
Scheduled Duration: 18 hours 25 minutes
Status: On Time (30 Minutes Early)
Seat/Cabin: 14A (Business Class)
Aircraft: Airbus A350 ULR
Date of Flight: June 2025
Check-In & Lounge
My flight was leaving from Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi Airport, so I got to try out the flagship SilverKris Business Class Lounge. I was a tad bit disappointed, but it was a solid lounge that offered plenty of seating, a large buffet selection for food, and nice shower suites. You can check out my review of both the Terminal 2 and 3 SilverKris lounges here if you’d like.
It’s really interesting at Singapore Changi, you clear security at each gate, and all the shops and lounges are located in a centralized area, after you pass passport control. And of course, before passport control, you can visit the large Jewel Shopping Mall, which is great.
Boarding and First Impressions
The seats were nearly identical to the Singapore Airlines 777 Business Class Product, and the cabin looked very sleek and upscale.
Not having overhead bins in the center of the aircraft made the cabin feel quite spacious!
The flight attendants came by with a welcome drink of Bellini, orange juice, or champagne. Then warm towels were provided.
Waiting at my seat were an eyemask, socks, and slippers. Amenity kits still have to be requested, which I did, since I love the Le Labo collaboration.
The pilots let us know that the flight would be 17 hours and 35 minutes in the air. And just like that, the boarding door closed 10 minutes past our scheduled departure, and we taxied to the runway. We took off shortly after, 25 minutes after our scheduled departure time.
The Plane & Seat: Singapore Airlines A350-900ULR
The Singapore Airlines A350 ULR has just 161 seats, with 67 Business Class seats and 94 Premium Economy Seats.
The business class cabin is split up into 2 cabins, with 23 seats in the front cabin (rows 10-17), a galley and 2 lavatories in between, then 44 seats in the rear cabin (rows 19-29).
I chose seat 14A in the front cabin, since I wanted to be in a less crowded cabin.
Next to the IFE screen is a small cabinet with a cup holder below, plus a mirror on the right. To the left is a console with a controller (necessary since the screen isn’t touchscreen), along with a cubby for a water bottle and headphones, and a tray table that folds out from the armrest. By the headrest is a lamp, universal outlet, USB and HDMI ports, and another cubby. On the aisle side are the seat controls.
The IFE system is 18″ and offers plenty of content, and business class passengers also have unlimited complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi.
One thing I want to flag is that the seat is angled and slightly offset, so your body faces forward while your legs extend diagonally, which can feel a bit off. Another quirk is that the seat reclines only partially before you have to switch to full lie-flat. Having no true middle ground can be a bit inconvenient.
Supper
Shortly after reaching cruising altitude, the meal service began. I tried the Singapore Sling for a drink, and then mixed nuts came out, but they were not warm.
I had utilized the “Book the Cook” feature and pre-ordered the Beef Yakiniku, which was pretty good.
Items on the on-board menu included
- Seared Fillet of Barramundi with Red Capsicum-Almond Puree
- Pork Jowl with Caraway and Au Jus
- Singapore Style Roasted Chicken Rice with Oriental Vegetables
First, the Hot Smoked Salmon starter came out along with breads and a Namelaka Chocolate Cake for dessert.
Then, the main course of the Beef Yakiniku came out.
The lights turned off about 1.5 hours after takeoff. This was a good time to catch some shut-eye, as it was 1 am local time.
The flight attendant proactively offered to make my bed. There were two extra pillows when the bed was made and a mattress pad. Such a comfortable setup, and for a flight that is this long, a good night’s rest is so important for me.
I was able to sleep really well, and made it til the lunch service 7 hours later. The lights came on at this point.
Midflight Lunch
The lunch started with a canapé of Singapore Chicken Satay.
Again, as on my other flights, I was disappointed by the Chicken Satay.
Then, the appetiser was Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna, which was pretty good.
The main courses onboard included:
- Beef Cheek in Red Wine Sauce
- Seafood Hor Fun
- Yerachi Ketti Kolambu, Brinjal Pachadi, Lauki Dal Masala, Basmati
- Pan Roasted Chicken Thigh
For dessert, the options were:
- Mascarpone Cream Cake
- Sticky Date Pudding
- Cheese Platter
- Selection of Sliced Fresh Fruits
For lunch, I had pre-ordered the Lobster Thermidor with Fondant Potato via “Book the Cook”. I’ve heard many people say that I needed to try the lobster on board Singapore Airlines.
The lobster was alright, I had actually preferred the lobster I had on EVA Air more.
After some dessert to end my meal, I decided to watch some movies, and the lights were turned off about 2 hours later (7 hours before our arrival).
Lavatories
The A350-900 ULR has an unusual layout quirk worth noting: there are no lavatories at the front of the aircraft. The occupancy signs visible from the first row of business class actually refer to lavatories behind the cabin, not ahead, which caused genuine confusion, with multiple passengers (myself included) wandering toward the cockpit looking for a restroom that wasn’t there.
Compounding this, lavatory access was a persistent bottleneck throughout the flight. The forward business cabin shares just two lavatories, located behind it. The aft cabin has two more between it and Premium Economy, but those passengers seated toward the front of the aft cabin naturally drift forward, creating competition for the same two bathrooms. The result: there was almost always a line. So maybe, sitting in the aft cabin is better, toward the back, for lavatory access? Unless the Premium Economy passengers in the front go use the aft business lavatories…
On the plus side, the lavs were clean and had many amenities like dental kits and combs.
Before Landing
A refreshment service and light meal were provided before landing.
Options included:
- A selection of bee hoon or kway teow with a choice of: Fish balls, minced chicken
- Vegetarian Noodles Soup
- Singapore Carrot Cake with Prawns
- Soup of the Day
- Turkey Bacon BLT
- Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle
- Fresh Fruit
I got the Kway Teow, and it was decent.
One hour before landing, the lights came on. The crew came around with snacks like chips and M&M’s. They also had a snack list in the menu that you could request from the cabin crew.
Snacks Available
- Assorted Buns and Muffins
- Almond and Cashew Mixed Nuts
- Gourmet Potato Chip
- Cookies – Assorted Flavours
- Berry Trail Mix
- Flavoured Corn Chips/Crackers
- Chocolate Bar
- Gourmet Flavoured Mixed Nuts and Crunchy Granola Bites
- Gourmet Flavoured Popcorn
We touched down 30 minutes ahead of schedule, which was 5:30 am local time. Global Entry was quick, and the bags took 15 minutes after I cleared customs to get to the belt.
I felt quite rested, so a win in my books for a 17+ hour flight!
The Verdict
Overall, I had a great time on the Singapore Airlines A350-900ULR Business Class Product from Singapore to New York. One of the world’s longest flights, and I was able to get a lot of quality sleep, which I really valued. There were some quirks here and there, particularly in the seating design & lavatories, but overall it was relatively pleasant, and I would fly Singapore Airlines again in the future.
Have you flown on the Singapore Airlines A350 Business Class before? How was your experience? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
