SIA’s S$2 billion new cabin seats draw both praise and flak
The seats in first class were well-received while the design for business class was criticised
[SINGAPORE] Singapore Airlines (SIA)’ recently unveiled cabin seats for long-haul routes got both bouquets and brickbats amid high anticipation for the products.
The carrier’s new first class seats will be introduced on the retrofitted Airbus 350 fleet for the very first time, and also on the brand-new Boeing 777-9 planes. The seats impressed with their warm and luxurious design as well as functionality.
Ben Schlappig, travel blogger behind points and premium travel site One Mile at a Time, described the first class seats as “elegant, and looks on-brand for Singapore Airlines”.
He also finds the cabin has a “very functional use of space”, while highlighting how it addressed people travelling together with its centre seats being able to turn into a double suite.
This is often forgotten in newer first class products, Schlappig said.
The new SIA first-class seats in the central section can also be synchronised to move together, adjusting into a plush two-seater sofa or a queen-size bed measuring 60 by 80 inches – the largest in commercial aviation to date.
The seat is upholstered in premium full-grain leather from luxury Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau.
Additionally, for the first time, passengers will be able to dine in groups of two to four while facing one another using foldable tables and electronically controlled ottomans that double as dining seats.
The new first class cabin was co-designed by SIA with PriestmanGoode, and the seats will be manufactured by Collins Aerospace.
SIA is rolling out these new seats on its seven existing Airbus A350-900 ultra-long-range (ULR) planes and on its 31 upcoming Boeing 777-9 fleet. Four first-class seats will be fitted onto each of the ULR planes while six will feature on each new Boeing 777-9.
Business class seats “un-SIA”
However, the comments for SIA’s new business class seats were less kind, with criticisms ranging from the colour scheme to the finishes to their smaller size.
The seat’s mineral-grey colour with cool-yellow trimmings and Nasa’s Juno space mission-inspired patterns – instead of its iconic signature batik motif – did not sit well with many. They find it lacks a premium feel and is inconsistent with not only SIA’s branding but also its other new cabin designs.
“It’s a perplexing choice… the first class and business class seats feel like they were designed for totally different airlines,” said Rhys Jones, aviation editor at frequent flyer website Head for Points. He described the business class seats as “virtually unrecognisable as a Singapore Airlines seat”.
Schlappig of One Mile at a Time said there is usually some consistency between seat finishes and wider branding, including the livery and flight attendant uniforms.
“In this case, it’s not only not aligned, but they seem at odds with one another. There’s otherwise not a hint of yellow (or neon green, or whatever that is) in Singapore Airlines’ branding.”
“What (is) so bizarre to me is how the first and business class finishes are completely mismatched, and you wouldn’t assume they belonged to the same airline,” Schlappig said.
The colour scheme drew some comparisons to the airline’s low-cost subsidiary Scoot’s premium cabin seats – “Scoot biz in SQ metal” was a term coined by one. SQ is the carrier code for SIA.
There is a created image on the Internet of the new business class seats but in the warm colours of the first class cabin, complete with SIA’s batik motif on the sliding doors.
There were comments about how the light grey finishes may show marks and scuffs quickly, while others said the console surfaces looked plasticky.
Ong Wah Li, SIA’s vice-president of product experience, explained that the airline does not subscribe to a fixed colour palette across cabins but is guided by the overall vision and experience it seeks to create for each product.
She said: “Our new business class cabin has been designed to offer a fresh and contemporary take on premium travel, with a distinctive visual identity that reflects a modern, progressive, and forward-looking design philosophy.
“While SIA’s signature warm and classic aesthetic has served us well over the years, we wanted this new product to have its own character, combining a refreshing aesthetic with a sense of sophistication and understated luxury.”
The smaller business class seat has infuriated some as well.
At 22 to 24 inches, the width of the new seat is narrower than that of existing ones, which measure between 25 and 30 inches. The pitch – the distance between a seat and the one directly in front – of 50 inches is down from at least 55 inches on SIA’s existing aircraft.
One particularly harsh comment was: “You’re telling me they had 10 years, interviewed 5,000 people and came up with a seat width reduction of 21 per cent?”
Nevertheless, the business class seats’ functional improvements over the airline’s existing seats, including a much larger and less awkwardly angled footwell when sleeping, have not escaped some airlines reviewers.
The final design for the business-class seats was approved after at least six prototypes were produced, according to The Straits Times. The seats will also feature sliding doors – a first for the airline in business class.
BMW Group’s Designworks came up with the design of the new business-class seats and cabin interior, while Recaro is the seat manufacturer.
