Hi all
Planning in advance for mid next year when we hope to travel to Singapore with a 7 month old baby.
Just wondering whether it will be a better experience flying with Singapore Airlines premium economy (can't seem to redeem my Velocity points for any business seats) or to go with Jetstar business.
Thanks
Yes both airlines have it. Scoot doesn't, even for Scoot Plus
More likely to actually arrive in Singapore with SIA.
Which ever one has bassinet available. Even SIA economy is ok with bassinet.
Definitely SIA premium economy
I would even take SIA economy over Jetstar Business
Free booze in Singapore economy for international flights.
Including Singapore Slings!
Knowing JetStar's record of tardiness go with SIA for sure. We travelled from Melbourne to Singapore 2 months ago with our 8 month old and apart from the fact he disliked the bassinet we were still relatively comfortable.
Thanks all
I've tried Jetstar Biz Mel-SG and it was surprisingly great. Not as good as the non jetstar biz class, but definitely better than your premium economy with the rest.
is this full flat bed?
I would just go for SIA economy given the choice. We fly SIA regularly with our young children in both economy & business & the crew are always outstanding in any class. If you are travelling with a infant then you can request the Bassinet seats. If you try to get on the A380 flights then SIA usually block three rows of the 4 middle seats behind the forward bulkhead for families that may get separated. Check in staff will most likely move you to one of these rows if you ask. Premium is nice but the armrest do not come up so it can be hard for young children to lay down if they don't like the bassinet. Business is nice but can be a hassle due to the seats being further apart & in a cocoon style which means its harder to keep an eye on the kids. If they play up then they just end up sharing our seats anyway.
Travelling with a 7 month old is stressful enough, without adding Jetstar into the equation
Hi shockrave,
We travelled recently with our 8 month old at the time to Singapore with Singapore Airlines, premium economy going there, economy coming back, both with the bassinet seat booked. Can’t comment on what Jetstar business is like but I thought I’d share our experience.
Although the premium economy seat was a bit nicer, to be honest it wasn’t much different to economy, especially as there’s lots of legroom up front. Most of the time we were just stressing about how to manage the baby so the differences between premium economy and economy were not really noticed. But for us being in something above economy for the first time, it did feel nicer somewhat.
Be mindful that when the seatbelt sign is on, the baby can’t be in the bassinet. So it was particularly annoying whenever we were finally able to put our baby to sleep but all of a sudden the seat belt sign turned on. Therefore, for both our flights, much of the time we just used the bassinet for storage.
On the flight home although it was 3-3-3 vs 2-4-2 going there, because I had the seat next to me free, it was actually more comfortable in economy than premium economy. And the flight time coming home was about 1-1.5 hrs faster which made the experience better overall.
Hope you have a great trip!
Taking sleeping baby out of the bassinet for turbulence or seatbelt sign was a pain, recently did it on a longhaul from Europe.
My recommendation is still get the bulkhead and bassinet but keep your carrier like ergobaby handy.
Thanks for the detailed comments. Did you find the priority check in and boarding for the premium economy as being worth it?
If you check in online then bag drop is much the same in any class. They usually call families needing assistance before First / Business with SQ so you will be most likely be one of the first on the plane anyway. SQ crew are very friendly & will assist with luggage / folding prams. One of the great things with SQ is consistency on every flight as where many other airlines are hit & miss. Totally agree with the turbulence as we had the same recently & had to keep removing our baby from the bassinet. This is where economy is better as baby can lay down across laps as where premium they cant due to armrests.
Got it thanks
Any thoughts on flight times that's better? I can see three SIA flights - 9.35am, 3.40pm and 11.35pm
@shockrave: 3.40pm would be best for European connections but if Singapore is final destination then I'd go for 9.35am or 11.35pm flight. Maybe I'd lean towards the 11.35pm flight as its a night flight as long as you arranged an early check in once you get to Singapor to chill. Would also go for the A380 as most of SQ fleet have just been refurbished or the A350 have good bassinet seats in the forward economy section…….row 45 from memory I think.
@shockrave: We took an overnight flight and that worked out well. It was really only the last 1 hour that we were getting stressed about keeping baby settled but by that stage everyone was awake and having breakfast on the flight. Would recommend the 11.35pm flight as a result of our experience.
Also agree with Will146 regarding arranging early check-in if taking an overnight flight; we got there and did not have an early check-in but thankfully had family who checked in the day before so could chill in their room. The hotel was late with making the room and by that stage of the afternoon we were exhausted and every minute felt like an eternity waiting to properly relax and shower etc. So would highly recommend an early check-in
Agree with Will146 on all points
If you have enough points you can convert your Velocity into KrisFlyer. You will likely have better availability for business on KF.
I found this group to be quite helpful if you're on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/272350036224311
Are you planning to get bulkhead with bassinet?