Singapore Airlines Brings First Class to the World’s Longest Flight

In an age where First Class products are gradually phasing out around the world, one airline is giving it another chance.

Singapore Airlines just announced a massive cabin retrofit program for its fleet of Airbus A350s. This includes the addition of a new First Class cabin and updated Business, Premium Economy, and Economy Class offerings.

The retrofit will see First Class being added to the airline’s fleet of “ultra-long range” A350s, which operate the world’s longest flights between Singapore and New York.

Even More Premium

Singapore Airlines currently operates a fleet of seven Airbus A350-900ULRs. These aircraft are primarily used on flights to Newark (EWR), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX).

The flights to Newark and JFK are the two longest flights in the world. Depending on the direction of travel, the Newark flight might be longer than the JFK flight or vice versa.

Because these flights are so long, often clocking in between 18 to 19 hours, no standard economy class cabin is offered on the A350ULR. Instead, Singapore opted only to install Business and Premium Economy seats to give passengers more space on these marathon flights.

Currently, Singapore’s A350ULRs seat 161 passengers, with 67 in Business and 94 in Premium Economy.

The addition of First Class will see a shakeup in the A350ULR cabin makeup. Four First Class seats will be added to the front. Instead of 67 Business seats, the retrofit will add three for a total of 70 seats.

Of course, adding more premium seats means more space will be used. This means that the cheapest seats on the A350ULR, the 94 Premium Economy seats, will be decreased to just 58.

This new First Class will only be added to the A350ULR fleet, but Singapore’s other A350s will still be occupied.

New Business Class

In addition to a new First Class, the A350ULRs and 34 A350-900s used for long-haul flights will receive a brand-new Business Class cabin. Renderings show that these seats resemble suites with sliding doors, but Singapore Airlines has yet to be very vocal about what these new seats offer.

The 34 retrofitted A350s will be those used on flights primarily to North America and Europe. These are the A350-900s with "9V-SM_" and "9V-SJ_" registrations. 

Singapore has a sub-fleet of A350-900s used for regional routes within Asia and occasionally to Australia. These have a more regional-style 2-2-2 business class and have “9V-SH_” registrations. It appears that this group of “SH” registered A350s will not receive the retrofit.

The retrofit of the 34 long-range A350s will see these aircraft feature 42 Business Class seats, 24 in Premium Economy, and 192 in Economy as opposed to 187 currently. While not much has been stated about the new First and Business Class seat features, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a statement:

“The new First Class and Business Class seat designs will incorporate thoughtful elements that push the boundaries of comfort, luxury, and modernity, allowing our customers to relax or work effortlessly onboard.”

Experiencing these new seats will take some time, however. Singapore expects that the first long-haul A350 (9V-SM_ or -SJ_ aircraft) will enter service in mid-2026. The first retrofitted A350ULR will not enter service until early 2027.

Singapore is hopeful that the entire retrofit program will be completed by the end of 2030.