Singapore Air SQ631 Tokyo HND to SIN in Premium Economy
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That’s right, disloyal readers. It’s vacation time again. We gathered up our Hilton points and took a trip to Singapore and Bali. Because we’re ever so fancy, we flew Premium Economy on Singapore Airlines from Tokyo to Singapore. The flight was SQ631, a morning jaunt that leaves from Haneda Airport (HND). Here are the facts.
Getting to HND and the airport experience
Haneda is one of two major airports in the Tokyo area, the other being Narita (NRT). Choosing which of these to arrive/depart from is a major consideration when visiting Japan, as you’ll see both options from a variety of airlines. You’ll sometimes even leave from one and arrive at the other. If flying through Tokyo, make sure you don’t have a connection that bridges the airports, because it takes some doing to get from one to the other.
Living in Setagaya, HND is much closer for us, especially by train, where it takes about half the time to get there. We got up very early, and found that there were few people on the trains, so it was no big deal to transfer twice, and we got to the airport plenty early. Depending on when you leave, what airport you’re going to, and how much baggage you have, a taxi might be a decent option for some, but our trip to the airport via train this time was extremely easy.
We picked up our Mobile Wi-Fi and went to the Singapore Airlines counter. Singapore Air has an automatic check-in service that is very handy: they send you an email 48 hours before your flight with your boarding pass, and that’s it; you don’t have to do anything. However, we wanted to do some shopping on this trip, so we brought our big suitcases (well, technically my middle-sized suitcase) and checked our bags. They have an automatic counter where you can put the tags on and check your own bags at a kiosk, but it is slow because it doesn’t work well and people don’t know how to use it, so if you have the option, just go to the one that has a person there to help you.
After dropping off our bags and being given paper boarding passes we didn’t ask for or need (a theme for this trip), it was time to go through security, so we went to the security ropes. The line was longer than the ropes, so we followed it to try and find the end. It wound past the check-in counters and down the length of the terminal… and kept going… and going… and going…
The line did not end. It looped around forever. We are still there. Existence is a fallacy. Eventually we were released from the never-ending trek and found a person with a big sign signaling the end of the line. Not only was the line insanely long, but it moved SO SLOWLY. We arrived more than two hours early for our flight, and I’m glad we did, because if we hadn’t, this would have been stressful. If you listen to only one piece of advice from this post, make it this: GET TO HANEDA EARLY.
At one point, we saw a sign that estimated the wait time, like at Disneyland. It estimated a 10 minute wait. We’d already been waiting 15 minutes. I think it took us a good 45 min to get through the whole thing. They definitely need more security people at this airport. Eventually, we found our way to the gate and were let onto the plane. We were in Premium Economy, which is Group 3 with Singapore (they do First, Business, Premium Economy, and then back-to-front in Economy).
Seats on Singapore Airlines flight SQ631 in Premium Economy
Singapore Airlines SQ631 from HND to SIN is on a Boeing 777-300ER, and we were in seats 33A and 33C, in two-seat configuration on the left side of the aircraft. When I first saw the seats, I was a bit disappointed, as they looked thin, and the material didn’t look so new. However, I found my seat to be just wide enough in the butt to be comfortable, and reasonably soft too. The pitch was pretty good as well, and there was enough room at my feet so that my shoes didn’t get squished.
That said, there was an issue right away. See that little metal piece that comes down from the seat in front? While a foot could go on either side of that, a backpack cannot, which meant my treasured Lannsyne backpack had to go in the overhead bin. This was a drag for me, as I like to have access to my things. I put my Sony headphones in the seatback pocket (there are nicely two pockets so it could hold this), as well as some tissues and throat candy. But I didn’t have my eyedrops, so I chose not to sleep on this flight, and I didn’t have my Carmex, meaning I had to beg Eriko for lip lotion repeatedly.
Different parts of the plane have different setups when it comes to this little bar, but if you’re on the left side, the aisle seat will not allow you to put a large bag, so be prepared to stow it above your head. The two seatback pockets were definitely nice, and one had little dividers so there was a spot for my wallet and passport (I usually change into shorts before a flight to get comfy, so I like to put my stuff in the seatback pocket or in my backpack to avoid anything falling out). There are also two dedicated little compartments for mobile phones, which I thought was a nice touch.
The TV screen is a touchscreen, but Premium Economy also gets a little remote. This is nice when you’re selecting a show, but the remote stores in a strange position, making it very easy to bump the call and light buttons with your leg. I accidentally turned on the light and called the FA before the flight. There are USB ports for charging devices, but you’re not allowed to charge them during takeoff and landing.
Singapore Airlines offers an impressive array of TV shows and movies. Sadly, most of them do not have Japanese subtitles, so there weren’t a lot of things Eriko and I could watch together. We watched Bugonia, and then I settled in to try Severance; usually, airlines only have maybe four episodes of a show, but this one had the entire season, and I was able to binge it across our flights on this trip. Good job on that one, Singapore. Eriko found that some movies had Japanese dubbing, but not subtitles. I suggested movies to her that I thought would make her cry. She watched Wonder and bawled like a baby.
Here’s another drawback to the Singapore Air experience: TOO MANY ANNOUNCEMENTS. They tell you things you absolutely do not need to know. I can see that the seatbelt sign is off. I don’t need you interrupting my show to tell me. And then they do it again in Japanese. And sometimes AGAIN in Chinese. Plus, there’s two minutes of ads preceding every video. All that added up to a lot of interruptions to my entertainment. Are those ads lowering the price of my ticket? I googled the salary of Singapore Air’s CEO and it turns out he only makes like $5 million a year, which I’m guessing is low for an airline CEO, so maybe they truly are passing the savings on to me.
Food on Singapore Airlines in Premium Economy from Tokyo to Singapore
In the center console between the two seats, there’s a little nook at the front containing two bottles of water. I liked this, because it meant I didn’t have to ask for water from the FA. We were also given a snack mix that contained only almonds and cashews, the best nuts of the standard nut mix.
This was a morning-to-afternoon-flight, so we were served lunch. Singapore Airlines offers something called “Book the Cook,” which is available to First and Business Class passengers as well as Premium Economy for flight longer than 1.5 hours. You can select from a bunch of meal options on their website. I got unagi and egg over rice because I looooove unagi, and Eriko got Buta no Shogayaki (pork). There were also Western and Singaporean options, a lot to choose from.
Unfortunately, my food was delivered without cutlery, so I couldn’t touch it for a while. I had to just sit there and wait until they brought me the tools of eating. The unagi and egg were delicious, but it definitely could have used eel sauce. It also came with a shrimp salad that I didn’t touch (my weak tummy didn’t trust the seafood), some soba noodles, and a decent dessert. Eriko said her shogayaki was good but not great. Not amazing food, but I’m definitely glad we had the option for Book the Cook.
It took a loooooong time to clear the trays. They suspended service during some turbulence, which meant we had to sit there with trays in front of us for a significant portion of the flight. Maybe don’t start service when there’s turbulence? I would rather have waited to eat than be stuck with the tray for so long.
Overall, the flight was uneventful and comfy. I watched my show, Eriko slept and cried, and we felt pretty good upon arrival. Singapore immigration is painless, BUT ONLY IF you fill out an online immigration card ahead of time. If you don’t, it might take a while. For us, it was just a trip through that automatic gate where you scan your passport and show your face. After only a few minutes, we’d gotten our bags and were off to enjoy Singapore.
Verdict: should you fly Premium Economy from HND to SIN on Singapore Airlines?
Because of the sheer number of flights from Tokyo to Singapore, there are actually some reasonable fares on Singapore Airlines, despite its status as a premium carrier. It would have cost us around $500 to fly in Economy for this trip, $1,000 for Premium Economy, and $2,000 for Business (non-refundable). Scared of that non-refundable thing, we avoided Business. But was it worth paying double for Premium Economy?
One downside was that there is no dedicated bathroom for Premium Economy class, so if you want to use the facilities (which I have to frequently), you have to walk aaaaaalll the way back and wait a while until the lone bathroom is free. The service wasn’t amazing by Singapore Air standards, and the food/seats were decent but not incredible.
That said, when we arrived in Singapore, we felt refreshed and ready to see the city. We weren’t sore. Our butts felt fine. You really can’t put a price on that. Well, you can, and their price was $1,000. For a nearly 7-hour flight to begin a long-awaited vacation, I was glad we’d spent the extra money. We’re old, and Economy seats can be a bummer. We can’t always afford Premium Economy, but if we take this flight again, I hope it’s still affordable, because I absolutely would choose this fare class again.
