British Airways or Singapore Airlines?

[december2020]

We have a bit of a once in a lifetime trip to SE Asia and looking to book business class flights and unsure which way to go. I know this is a first world problem.

It is either Singapore Airlines on a A350.
I know the reputation is out of this world, the seats however need to be manually converted into lie-flat mode. From reading online reviews, this came up consistently as a con, which made me hesitate.

The other is British Airways.
Flying out would be the 777 new Club Suites (which I've travelled in before with work) but the flight back is the higgledy piggledy A380, which looks quite cumbersome.

I just booked the British Airways flights and now hesitating on whether I should go with Singapore Airlines. I have about 20 hours to cancel and get my money back and pick the other flight.

So this poll and all your reviews and insight is very much appreciated and needed in urgency!

Have you changed your booking yet OP? I opened this thread to say Singapore.

Hate BA.

SQ all the way. Even if they use an older plane the service will more than make up for it. BA these days is just another budget carrier.

Singapore have been excellent every time I have flown with them.

I flew Australia to UK and back recently in Singapore premium economy and I wasn’t blown away by the service. They did the minimum, brought the meal and one round of drinks. I’d assume business class would be better service.

I'm surprised by the level of hate for BA here. I've flown BA Business a lot and found the service very good. I've flown Singapore too, but it was a while ago and I cannot remember what the seats were like. The service was also good.

I have just cancelled my BA flights!
And hoping to rebook with Singapore Airlines today + Scoot flights.

The BA Airbus Business Class feels a little off putting as well. And they charge for picking seats!

+1

I've flown 4 BA business class flights to the US this year (2 return trips) + 1 delta, 1 AA and 1 Virgin, and BA trumps them all IMO.

Planes were A350 and 777, all with new suites layout, which was much improved on the old layout. Service was good too.

I've never travelled BC with any of the Asian carriers (my company is american), so I can't comment on those - maybe they are so much better.

Since you using SQ and Scoot to travel to others parts in SE Asia which means multiple destinations, it would be good to be SQ. Once our flight was delayed but SQ sorted it all out in Changi Airport. SQ business class is very different to premium economy, in case you want to order your menu before flight, bags allowances, fast track departure in UK.

We LOVED Singapore. BA Business was uncomfortable bed as it was rock hard. Rude staff, awful. Singapore were great in every way.

A bit of a tangent question (apologies)!

I am looking at booking flights today (now with Singapore Airlines) and I can't decide which itinerary would be better for SE Asia (price is pretty much the same, so price isn't a factor in the decision).

Option 1:
5-6 day stint in Singapore
5-6 day stint in another part of SE Asia
Home with a 6 hour layover at Changi

Option 2:
3 day stint in Singapore
5-6 day stint in another part of SE Asia
3 day stint in Singapore
Home, no layovers but more 'airport runs'.

I cannot speak highly enough of Singapore Airlines. Many years ago we took a family trip to NZ and we left a much loved soft toy on the plane on the London-Singapore leg. The crew on the next flight when we discovered what had happened tracked it down and it arrived at our hotel the next day, in a box wrapped in a little white towel with a note saying "I was just having a little adventure".
Also, BA are terrible. A budget airline masquerading as a premium experience. At least Ryanair are up front about it.

A budget airline masquerading as a premium experience. At least Ryanair are up front about it.

TBF to BA as a whole on the shorthaul side of things BA are operating in the same very unregulated market at Ryanair and the other LoCos…and if you work at it you can get often travel more cheaply on BA than on some of the LoCos but that means the customer service isn’5 what it was twenty or thirty years ago..it can’t be.

Long haul is a different game with it’s own problems, but I’d agree that BA customer service can be frustratingly inconsistent at times and I’d also agree with many that SQ have always had a good reputation. That said even they have been known to be very sub par at times.

OTOH since going via the Gulf got mentioned it has to be said that pretty much everybody operating between Europe and the far East/australasia are competing with one or two airlines who may well have a significant commercial advantage by virtue of where they are based and resultant employee and other costs.

I’d say option 1. Whilst Changi is an easy airport to get to/from, it’s still time consuming.

Agree with that, option 2 also involves extra cycles of packing/unpacking etc.

I was just going to say this re paying for BA seats! Absolutely disgraceful going the cost of the flights. I booked with Etihad instead for the wow factor.

DD flew BA business class recently. She didn't mind that she had to manually turn her seat into a bed but she was sooooooooo disappointed with the food (dire) and service. She says she will avoid BA where possible from now on!

Either works, I would choose the best times for you. I would avoid virgin like the plague though if an option, just been with them and they make BA seem amazing!

If you are travelling to the US - BA are the best of a bad bunch .
If you go east - Qatar knock everyone else out of the park .
Unfortunately BA has become tired , crew look a mess and don't provide the customer service they should , trying to speak to anyone at BA is a nightmare and I have Gold Status .
BA act as if they are still in the days when they were a flagship brand and charge accordingly.. but they have really lost their way and can't compete.

Option 1, SQ in Changi airport have great lounge with free food, charger, Wi-Fi and shower options and there is an airport spa for massage or nail salon and shopping at cheaper price, no VAT. So 6 hours would fly by.

The Boeing 777 is the Dreamliner that is having horrible problems with near crashes due to faulty parts. Hard avoid. Airbus is a much safer plane.

Never flown business but would never choose BA over Singapore. Madness IMO

Rubbish post
Dreamliners are 787s. They have issues with the engines so some are grounded and there have been no “near crashes”.’ 777s have been flying safely for decades.

that all said, Airbuses are almost always nicer

They have issues with the engines

And to be even clearer, the issues are 'shortage of engine parts' issues, not 'failures of the engine' issues.

787s are lovely planes to fly in

Thanks for clarifying quite correct