We flew to Ho Chi Minh City for a colleague’s destination wedding, which meant a short flight on Singapore Airlines. At just under two hours, Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City is one of those regional sectors where there isn’t a great deal to say about the flying itself.
Before the flight
Check-in was at Terminal 2 of Singapore Changi Airport, as Singapore Airlines have moved majority of its regional flights to Terminal 2 few years ago. There’s a priority queue for Star Alliance Gold members as usual, though queueing isn’t really an issue. The whole process took a few minutes.
Boarding was equally painless. Priority boarding meant we were among the first few onto the aircraft, which is always the better way to do it when you want to take photos of an empty cabin.
The seats
The flight was operated by a Boeing 787-10, configured 3-3-3 in economy. Singapore Airlines fits 301 economy seats on this aircraft, alongside 36 regional business class seats up front.
Seat pitch is 32 inches, which is a touch more generous than most carriers offer in economy on regional routes. Legroom was comfortable, and I had no complaints even without paying for an extra legroom seat. The seat width sits at around 17 inches, and in practice it felt slightly roomier than the equivalent seat on a Boeing 777.
There’s a universal power socket at the seat, which is useful if you’re charging your phone or a camera battery before landing.
The headrest is adjustable with foldable side panels, the same design used across most of the Singapore Airlines economy fleet. On a two-hour flight, you’re not going to need it much, but it’s there if you need it.
In-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi
KrisWorld is available as usual, though I barely touched it. Complimentary Wi-Fi is now standard across the Singapore Airlines fleet for KrisFlyer members, and the connection held up well enough that I spent most of the flight on my phone instead of the seatback screen. The speed was fine for messaging and browsing.
You also don’t need to attach your KrisFlyer frequent flyer number if you have to add your other Star Alliance membership, as there’s a separate page to retrieve a one-time use code for KrisFlyer members.
Food and drinks
A full meal service runs even on a sector this short, which is one of the reasons to pick Singapore Airlines over the low-cost options on this route.
My partner had pre-ordered a seafood special meal, which came with a prawn entree. I went with the seafood bee hoon from the standard menu. Both came with a dessert and a drink.
The bee hoon was decent. Not something I’d seek out on the ground, but for an airline meal served and cleared within the space of a two-hour flight, it was more than acceptable. The crew moved through the cabin efficiently, which matters when the window for service is this tight.
Concluding thoughts
There isn’t much to fault on a flight like this. The Boeing 787-10 is a comfortable aircraft, the 32-inch pitch in economy is better than what most carriers give you on regional routes, the free Wi-Fi worked, and we were fed properly rather than handed a snack in a bag.
For a two-hour sector to Ho Chi Minh City, this is about as good as economy gets. If the fare difference against the low-cost carriers on this route is reasonable, Singapore Airlines is a no brainer.
