Today saw Singapore Airlines reveal a brand new Regional Business Class product, fitted in its 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft, which will become the backbone of its regional network. Not shy of innovation and luxury, Singapore Airlines has invested US$350 million to equip their initial 20 787-10s with the new and impressive products.
Flying routes up to 8 hours, these business class seats may seem like an over-delivery on passengers expectations, but due to a clever LOPA arrangement and an importance of offering a point of difference from their competitors, the airline has impressed passengers with a ground-breaking regional-specific product.
Not dissimilar from their new A380 business class product, the new business class seat cocoons the passenger in a shell of technology. Manufactured by Stelia Aerospace, the new fully-flat bed regional Business Class seats on the 787-10s are arranged in a forward-facing 1-2-1 staggered configuration to provide every customer direct aisle access.
With each seat able to recline directly into a 76” fully-flat bed, Business Class customers can rest in more comfort, even on the shortest flights. Customers will have more options to relax in their seat while being entertained by KrisWorld, SIA’s award-winning in-flight entertainment system, on their personal 18” full high-definition touchscreen monitor, powered by Panasonic’s latest eX3 system.
The airline has provided a range of honeymoon seat pairs (although not as magical as the A380 seats, as the partition doesn’t fully descent below the seat pad) and a myriad of single seats. Due to the seat pitch, seat egress is quite tight unless situated on an ‘aisle’ seat, and those closer to the windows will be slightly harder to enter and exit.
That said, most passengers will be happy to have this level of privacy and comfort on a relatively short flight, and the airline has seemingly struck the right chord between comfort and LOPA affordability.
Although the seats will feel smaller than a long-haul product they may have just stepped off, with the clever lowering of the armrests, the seats will have a maximum width of 29″ around the shoulder line, and the foot well is larger than most.
Customers can also look forward to other features to enhance their travelling experience, such as a huge sturdy table, ample stowage space for personal items, a business panel with in-seat power supply and USB ports, and integrated reading light unit with adjustable lighting intensity.
Osaka and Perth will be the first scheduled destinations to be served by the new 787-10s, from May 2018. Prior to the launch of these regular services, the aircraft will be operated on selected flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur for crew training purposes. “The introduction of the new cabin products on our Boeing 787-10 fleet reinforces our unwavering commitment to product leadership, one of the key pillars of our brand promise,” said SIA CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong.
TheDesignAir 