A fifth freedom route is when a long haul carrier operates a flight outside of its home network, primarily to utilize airplane downtime. One notable example is Singapore Airlines’ JFK to Frankfurt route. Singapore now flies this roundtrip with a Boeing 777-300ER and it provides a terrific opportunity to sample a product between the US and Europe that would usually be reserved for flights to and from Singapore. I’ve been wanting to try out this route/product for some time and a summer trip to Austria combined with a terrific Black Friday sale provided the perfect opportunity. After having flown it in both directions, you can color me impressed.
Singapore Airlines 777-300 Business Bottom Line Review
Singapore’s re-tooled, 777-300 business class is terrific. It has one of the widest business seats around, a ton of storage and a great in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. Add in excellent catering and on-pointe service and this becomes one of the best ways to get from the US to Europe (as well as being a very competitive US/Europe to Asia product). Some folks might not like the awkward seat-to-bed conversion or the angled footwells, but the significant pluses easily outweigh the minor cons. Highly-recommended.
- How we found it: Last year, Singapore had a Black Friday sale where round-trip summer fares between New York and Frankfurt could be had for $1800-$2100, a great deal for peak-season business class to Europe. My wife and I were already planning on spending a couple of weeks in Austria in July, so we found dates that worked and booked it using Amex Membership Rewards points.
- How we booked it: We paid cash and then redeemed ~123,000 American Express Membership Rewards points round-trip per-person using the Business Platinum‘s 35% bonus for business class flights. Because it was a cash fare, we also earned ~45,000 Alaska miles between the two of us by adding our Mileage Plan numbers to the reservation.
- Cash Price: ~$1,850pp round-trip (after Amex offer).
- Route: New York (JFK) – Frankfurt (FRA)
- Ground Service:
- Check-in: There are dedicated first/business class counters at both JFK and Frankfurt. Nothing special, but efficient.
- Departure Lounges: During COVID (and until July of last year), Singapore sent all of its first and business class passengers to the excellent Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in JFK. Unfortunately, that’s come to an end. The Clubhouse is now reserved for first class and suites guests, while business class passengers get either the Air India Maharaja Lounge or the Primeclass Lounge. Both are Priority Pass lounges and are small, crowded and leave much to be desired. In Frankfurt, they’ll send you to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, which was a pleasant surprise. Roomy, uncrowded, serviceable food and beverage options and individual relaxation rooms make for an appealing place to while away a couple of hours. You also have the option of using the Lufthansa Business Class lounge as well.
- Business Class Seat:
- Comfort: The 777-300ER has 48 business class seats that are arranged 1-2-1 over two cabins (one with three rows and one with nine rows). Each seat has an incredible 30″ of width, exceptional for a business seat. In fact, while we were on a ground delay, my wife and I were able to sit beside each other in the same seat. The seat is unconventional in that it doesn’t recline to a full flat bed. In “sundeck” mode, it reclines up to 25%, with a footrest that comes up as well. In order to get to lie-flat, the entire back of the seat comes forward to create an uninterrupted bed. That’s one quibble with this seat, as it’s a bit of a procedure (many folks needed flight attendants to do it) and keeps you from being able to do anything between a 25% and full recline. When in lie-flat, the bed has a ton of width (reminds me somewhat of Cathay Pacific first class), but the footwell is off to the side, giving it a sort of “lamb chop” or “lollipop” layout (Singapore calls this “Lazy Z”). It means that taller folks will have to sit and lay at an angle in order to use the footwell. Still, this is a great seat with a ton of space and a very comfortable lie-flat configuration. The Row 11 bulkhead seats have even more space as they have a full footwell and are square instead of “Lazy Z.” These are undoubtedly the seats to go after.
- Storage Space: Another way that these seats stand out is the generous table and storage space throughout. There’s a laptop-sized cubby right by your head that can be accessed in both lie-flat and chair mode and that provides plenty of room for electronics, glasses, etc. There are two additional compartments, one on the side that initially houses the headphones and bottle of water, another to the side of the IFE console. Under the ottoman area, there’s room for a shoulder/laptop bag and a designated area for shoes as well. In truth, more space than I needed.
- In-flight Entertainment (IFE): The 777 has a well-sized 18-inch LCD monitor that’s very competitive amongst other business class products (especially those that fly to Europe). Entertainment selection is very good, with a diverse mix of Hollywood, Bollywood and East Asian selections. All told, there’s over 1,800 movie and TV options and odds are that you’ll find something you like. The provided headphones are good quality and I appreciate that they provide individual fabric “muffs” that can be put around the ear portions as an additional barrier between you and other folks’ ears.
- Food and Beverage: The best food that I’ve had in a business class flight in some time. The starters in both directions were tasty, the highlight being the satay from FRA-JFK. The sea bass noodle soup that I had on the way to Frankfurt was one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever had on a plane. Just delicious. The tea and coffee selection is terrific and, while the wine and spirits menu doesn’t really jump off the page, it’s a well-chosen list for business class. Very impressed by the catering overall.
- Service: Excellent in both directions; warm but not intrusive. Meals were served promptly, beverages where consistently refilled and checked. Flight attendants remembered requests and were aware of setting-up and tearing down beds in a timely fashion. On the return flight, we had a seven-hour delay, including four hours on board the aircraft at the gate. The crew handled it with aplomb given the circumstances, providing beverages, food (they served the first course after about 90 minutes while we were waiting) and consistent updates.
- Cabin Ambiance/Temperature Control: It’s a classy-looking cabin with two distinct business class areas. There’s a “mini-cabin” of twelve seats (three rows) directly behind first class and a larger, 36-seat cabin further aft. The mini-cabin feels very private due to the size, but its back row (14) is directly in front of the main service galley and was quite noisy throughout the night. I’d avoid that row on an overnight flight. The cabin temperature was comfortable in both directions, even though seats do not have their own air nozzles.
- Internet: Available free of charge to first and business class passengers throughout the entire flight. Speed wasn’t great and it didn’t really support streaming or downloads.
- Amenity Kit: None, but the products that are normally included (face mask, lotion, toothbrush, etc) can be requested from the crew.
- Would I choose to fly it again? Absolutely. It’s an excellent product overall that provides a unique and comfortable way to get to Europe. A distinct step up from the business class of most US and European carriers.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Well-priced lie-flat points/cash option to Europe from US
- Incredibly spacious seat with an amazing 30″ of width
- Copious in-seat storage
- Excellent IFE system in both screen quality and content selection
- Service is consistent, warm and efficient
- Superlative catering
- The duvet and pillows are terrific
Cons
- Seats don’t offer continuous recline and require a somewhat awkward conversion to lie-flat mode
- Footwells requires that average-to-tall guests sit and lay at an angle in order to use them
- WiFi speed is quite slow (although provided free of charge)
- Below-average lounge options in JFK
Image Gallery
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class
Cabin
Middle Seats
Window Seat
Singapore Airlines Business Class Food and Beverage Menus
JFK-Frankfurt Food Menu
Frankfurt-JFK Food Menu
Beverage Menu (both directions)
Singapore Airlines Business Class Food and Beverage
Hi Tim,
I am wondering,
Is it possible to stack an Amex Offer while using Pay with Points, and is that what you did here? I know your card is still charged when using Pay with Points but then you are immediately credited back the same amount which I thought would invalidate any Amex Offer.
If it is possible, then when getting the 35% rebate, do you have to use your Business Platinum for the charge or can you use any of your other cards or even a family member’s card to book to take advantage of an Amex Offer?
I would appreciate your help and thanks!
Flew Sydney to Cape Town and food was terrible. Booked half with booka cook and other random on the day. Wasn’t impressed at all. Service was non existed unless calling for a drink. Only start of flight and meal times offered drinks. Bed great.
Sorry but, after going through all the motions to turn the seat into a bed, the bed itself is very hard. I don’t mind if it is a day flight but I will not fly them if sleep is a priority,
Have flown both of SQ’s fifth freedom US-Europe flights, and this specific product IAH-MAN. Both fantastic experiences.
I will say I don’t understand why some people hate the footwell of this product for sleeping. If you prefer to sleep with your entire body straight-on, why not just angle it diagonally into the footwell? The seat’s wide enough at the point where you set your head down, and it’s not like you sleep facing entirely forwards in a lot of business class products anyways…
You mentioned that you get 35% point back from Amex
Is Singapore Airline is part of the airlines that you are required to pick annually or is there a work around?
I don’t think you need to pick a specific airline for the business class ticket purchase to get the 35% rebate. You do for economy ticket.
@Qi Wan is correct. Amex rebate is for your chosen airline in coach, but you can book any airline for business/first and get the rebate.
thanks good to know
I tries this route as well last summer it was top notch I felt that the flight was too short
this is a great flight. We took it July 15 from FRA to JFK. I echo everything you’ve said. I’d also add that the crew was top notch and worked the entire flight – never an empty cup, etc.
They forgot one of our group’s entrees that we preordered with book the cook. Proactively, they offered a $150 credit to the onboard shopping magazine and worked with us to let us know what items they had onboard now.
For a counterperspective, Lufthansa miscatered our flight over in J (ran out of appetizers, mains, and didn’t have ice cream at all) and just said, “we are sorry.”
I flew MAN-IAH in 2019 on the Airbus. It was wonderful until I got to Houston with an angry customs agent insisting I didn’t fly from Manchester on Singapore airlines. Idiot.
bonus for Singapore: Many of the flight attendants are totally gorgeous.
seats/storage space looks similar to recent KLM flight we took from JFK-AMS. Much better than United Polaris, which had narrow seats and virtually no storage space on flight from BER-JFK recently.
Awesome. We landed three seats MAN to IAH next week a few days ago (getting back for EU is hard) with 70k air Canada points plus $350. I’m super looking forward to this flight on the a350-900!
try to switch your seats to 11 within 24 hours of departure.
Don’t follow?
I see, do they block row 11 until checkin? Better in bulk head? Would love to be at the front of the plane. In row 21 right now which is a great view of just the wing.
Yes. Row 11 is blocked until 24 hours before check in. I successfully changed to it prior to my flight. I’m 5-11 and glad I made the switch. If your party is short, it probably doesn’t matter.