High flying
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The $850 million airplane bed revolution
The $850 million airplane bed revolution
Cynthia Drescher, CNN • Updated 8th November 2017
Singapore surprises:
Singapore Airlines has revealed it has invested $850 million dollars
into new Suites that look more like hotel rooms than airline cabins.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
(CNN) — It's been nearly 38 years since Philippine Airlines
unveiled the first fully flat bed on a commercial jet in the shape of
slim, bunk-style "Skybeds" on the first class upper deck of its Boeing
747.
That luxury
was short-lived, and airlines mostly spent the ensuing decades plotting
ways to stuff more and more passengers onto their planes, no matter the
class.
Luckily
trends change, and the past few years has seen a resurgence in airlines
providing for personal space, privacy, and -- yes -- a quality rest.
Singapore Airlines
has now revealed the latest luxury sleeps in the sky, thanks to an
investment of $850 million dollars in its aircraft interiors, bringing
about "Suites" that look more like hotel rooms, and business class seats
that convert to double beds.
Luxury suites
Double the luxury: Singapore Airline's new Business Class beds and Suites.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
If
this news triggers déjà vu, it's because the airline has been offering
double beds in its highest class of service for a decade, beginning in
2007 with the arrival of the first Airbus A380 to enter commercial
service.
"Our
original Suites were the first to offer double beds in the sky and they
are still regarded as the ultimate in premium travel," Goh Choon Phong,
chief executive at the carrier, said during the unveiling in Singapore
of the latest designs. "Not only are we retaining that feature, but now
the beds are even more plush and comfortable than before."
Singapore Airline says its Suites are the product of an $850 million investment.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
There
are six Suites at the front of the A380's upper deck, and each may be
individually closed off from the aisle by sliding, half-height doors.
Within,
a passenger is equipped with a 76-inch-long bed separate from the seat,
though the latter boasts a 270-degree swivel and 45-degree recline for
dining (with Wedgwood china), getting work done (over high-speed,
Inmarsat Global Xpress satellite Wi-Fi) and, or simply daydreaming out
the windows before it's time for rest.
A
32-inch high-definition TV, Lalique amenity kit, leather-lined storage
nooks, and a touchscreen control tablet for entertainment and lighting
complete the experience.
Focus on quality
Singapore Airlines says it wants its Suites to enhance the privacy of fliers.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
Despite
the bells and whistles, the focus for the new Suites is overwhelmingly
on providing quality time to the guest, hence the abundance of privacy.
It's a consideration frequent business travelers such as Gary DeGregorio, an executive at global technology consultancy ThoughtWorks, can well appreciate.
"Those
traveling on business in C-level roles or in the fields of sales or
consulting, need to be influencing the external and internal
stakeholders constantly, so a very focused and positive state of mind is
crucial," DeGregorio tells CNN Travel.
The result resembles a hotel room more than an airport cabin.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
"Rest
and privacy are important during long flights as typically one does not
have the luxury of time while traveling on business; privacy offers
more control over the environment, the ability to prepare work more
freely, and less psychological pressure in interaction."
The
Singapore Airlines reveal also showcased entirely new business class
seats, constructed of carbon fiber composite "similar to the kind of
material you see used in Formula One race cars," noted Goh.
Couples
seated together are now also granted the ability to combine space and
get cozy in a 78-inch-long double bed, thanks to retractable partitions
and seats that recline to fully flat.
Long-haul specialty
Singapore Airlines focuses on long-haul flights.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
By
virtue of the small size of the country -- Singapore is 276 square
miles, half the size of Los Angeles -- and with only one major
international airport, it's plain to see why Singapore Airlines operates
no domestic flights.
The
shortest route on its map is a 185-mile hop from Singapore to Kuala
Lumpur, and is often packed with passengers connecting to the Malaysian
capital from other distant destinations.
The
airline even held the world record for longest commercial flight up to
2011, when it discontinued a 19-hour nonstop from Singapore to Newark
that it plans to resurrect later in 2018.
In other words, Singapore caters for travelers on gruelingly long and involved itineraries is a specialty of Singapore Airlines.
Similar can be said for the only other two airlines boasting of double beds onboard: Etihad Airways,
which introduced the single-room First Class "Apartment" and three-room
"The Residence" accommodations onboard their A380 aircraft in 2014; and Qatar Airways, whose "Qsuite" business class debuted this year on select Boeing 777-300ER routes from Doha to London, Paris, and New York.
Tickets available
Fliers can book the new seats now.
Courtesy Singapore Airlines
Kinny
Cheng, a frequent flier who has experienced both the Etihad First Class
"Apartment" and Singapore's' previous Suites Class, tells CNN Travel
that he didn't expect anything less from the latest reveal.
"To
be fair, Singapore Airlines has had time to contemplate on how to make
their product better than the competition," he says. "And the new Suites
seem like improved, refined, and ergonomically adapted upgrades to the
spacious, top-tier premium cabins already out there."
Flights
in the new seats are already for sale, with Suites pricing from $6,600
and business class from $3,100 round-trip between Singapore and Sydney,
the first route to have the fresh interiors with flight from December 18
on an initial total of 19 Singapore Airlines A380s.
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