Singapore Airlines has unveiled its new economy and business class seats that we can expect it will use on its 737 MAX 8 family of aircraft. The highlight of these is, of course, the carrier’s lavish 10-seat business class cabin.
This is somewhat new for the airline, historically the carrier used to exclusively fly widebody aircraft, leaving its wholly-owned subsidiary, SilkAir, to operate narrow-body aircraft on regional routes.
Throw in the pandemic and it was decided that the two carriers would merge. This meant that SilkAir planes would need to be retrofitted to meet Singapore Airlines standards.
The planes will feature a total of 154 seats, including 10 business class seats and 144 economy class seats. With the airline stating it expects Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, and Thailand to be on the list of destinations new 737 MAX 8 aircraft will fly to.
New 737 MAX 8 Business Class
Designed by Factorydesign and produced by Thompson Aero Seating, the seats offer lie-flat comfort with the goal to provide similar comfort levels akin to longer flights the airline has said. It’s no surprise that these seats in some way mirror that of their wide-body counterparts.
The MAX 8s will have space for 10 business class passengers, in a staggard configuration with the first and third row in a 2-2 and a single row of 1-1 seats in the middle. When seated upright, the 22-inch wide seats offer passengers a spacious 44 inches of pitch. However, they can also recline into fully-flat beds, measuring 76 inches (193 cm) long.
Not surprisingly, Each seat will feature AC charging plus two USB outlets, a 16″ personal television with a touchscreen monitor, a reading light with adjustable brightness, and ample storage. The row with just a single flatbed on either side is particularly attractive, with these throne-style seats offering extra space and storage.
The general layout here is very similar to what you’ll find on most narrow-body planes offering fully flatbeds, including airlines like Aer Lingus, JetBlue, and TAP Air Portugal. Up until now, we’ve mostly seen these products on Airbus A320 family aircraft, most notably the long-range NEO variant, so it will be interesting to see this on Boeing’s 737 family aircraft too.
New 737 MAX 8 Economy Class
Even the MAX 8’s 144-seat economy class cabin looks to be an attractive prospect with Singapore Airlines. Economy class seats are designed by Collins Aerospace and are in a 3-3 configuration. Seats will feature 30″ of pitch, 18″ of width, and 5″ of recline.
Each economy passenger also has a 10-inch IFE screen at their disposal, as well as a single USB charging port.
Everything on the 737-8 cabin has been designed with a special focus on ergonomics, helping to ensure that everything is within easy reach for customers.
Internet and Connectivity
Singapore Airlines will be installing Panasonic’s X-series inflight entertainment system on Boeing 737 aircraft. This will offer the same KrisWorld entertainment content you’ll find on other Singapore Airlines aircraft.
It’s arguable how much content you can go through on such a short flight but passengers will be able to browse the selection and create a personalized playlist of movies, TV shows, and music, via the Singapore Airlines mobile app.
Singapore Airlines’ 737s will also feature Panasonic’s inflight Wi-Fi service. Pricing for this service hasn’t yet been revealed.
Conclusions
Singapore airlines manages to improve and build on expectations of elegant travel. This update comes as SilkAir has been integrated into Singapore Airlines, and in the process, the airline is also improving the inflight experience on these planes.
The new Singapore Airlines 737 Max 8 aircraft should be very popular among travellers. This significant investment by the airline demonstrates carriers commitment to maintaining their leadership position in the airline industry.