Leaked: SIA@Home’s First Class dining experiences to cost up to S$498

A couple days ago, Singapore Airlines announced SIA@Home, a program which allows customers to enjoy a Singapore Airlines inflight dining experience from the comfort of their own home. 

Menus and prices were supposed to go live on 5 October 2020, but late last night the HWZ hive mind (which Mothership conveniently forgot to H/T), spotted that some of the listings were already appearing on KrisShop (the links have since been taken down). 

A total of six menus were published: five First Class, and one Business Class. The price? Up to S$498. 

It remains to be seen whether this pricing is final, but assuming it is, all I can say is: holy moley macaroni, that’s a lot of money. I mean, we always knew that Singapore Airlines commanded a premium in the air, but this takes it to a whole new level…

SIA@Home menus: They want HOW much?

Here’s the price of the six menus published on KrisShop last night (the links below will now direct to 404 errors since the pages have been removed). This isn’t the complete set, as Singapore Airlines has announced a total of 10 menus- five from First Class, and five from Business Class. 

I freaked out when I first saw the prices, but calmed down a bit when I realised they’re for two people (only the New Delhi and Tokyo menus explicitly stated they’re for two, but it’d be weird if the Paris and Sydney ones weren’t). 

Even so, these are still very steep prices indeed, and makes me worried how much the A380 restaurant experience will cost (to be fair though, SIA@Home packages include a full bottle of wine, while the A380 restaurant experience will come with two alcoholic drinks per guest).

First Class menus will set you back S$448/498 (plus GST), and keep in mind this doesn’t even include the all-important champagne, which is available as a separate add-on. In addition to the meal, customers will receive: 

• 2014 Albert Bichot, Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru “Les Sorbets”, Burgundy, France OR 2017 Bouchard Père & Fils Meursault 1er Cru “Genevrières”, Burgundy, France
• Two SIA First Class Lalique unisex amenity kit

Business Class menus will cost S$288 (plus GST), and include the following: 

• Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut, Champagne, France OR 2015 Château Magnan la Gaffelière, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France OR 2017 Joseph Drouhin Vaudon Chablis, Burgundy, France
• Two SIA Business Class Penhaligon’s amenity kits

All food will be delivered in chilled vacuum packs, and is good for consumption up till one day after delivery. Reheating and plating guides will be provided, but if you don’t want to get your hands dirty, you can opt for a “Book the Chef” service, where someone comes to your house and does that at an additional cost (I’m great with a microwave, and cheap too). 

This isn’t fast food by any means- all deliveries take place within one month of purchase. While you can change your menu selection up to 72 hours before delivery, no cancellations are allowed. 

The full menus can be browsed below:

• First Class Sydney
• First Class Tokyo
• First Class Delhi (veg)
• First Class Delhi (non-veg)
• Business Class Delhi

Paying for SIA@Home with KrisFlyer miles is a terrible deal

When SIA@Home was first announced, SIA mentioned that customers would be able to pay for these experiences with KrisFlyer miles. Since they were going to be sold on KrisShop, however, I guessed that you’d enjoy the same paltry rate as you would for other KrisShop items- 0.8 cents per mile.

Sadly, it looks like I’m right. What this means is that even if you wanted to try SIA@Home, you’d have to be insane to pay with KrisFlyer miles. For the sake of perspective, consider how much it would normally cost for a one-way flight on these respective routes:

Sure, the meals are for two people while the flight is for one, but think about it from an experience point of view: would I rather pay 56,000 miles so that two people can enjoy a microwaved First Class meal at home, or 53,000 miles so that one person can have the full fledged SIA First Class experience, with dining in The Private Room, vintage champagne, sleeper suits, a full-flat bed, movies, SIA’s legendary onboard service, and I dunno, actually go somewhere? 

I get that you’re not meant to redeem the entire thing with miles, and the high prices are simply the unfortunate byproduct of a miserly 0.8 cents per mile valuation. But even so, it makes for terrible optics, and lets me make cheap memes like this: 

What other SIA@Home packages can we expect to see?

Singapore Airlines has announced the following SIA@Home packages:

• Wine and Dine: A First Class or Business Class meal for two based on your choice of menu, plus amenity kits. Customers who opt for the First Class menu may select either a bottle of Burgundy red or white wine. Those who opt for a Business Class menu may select either
  a bottle of French wine or brut champagne
• Champagne and Dine: A First Class meal for two based on your choice of menu, a bottle of 2008 Dom Perignon champagne and Lalique amenity kits
• Wine, Dine and Tableware: A First Class meal for two based on your choice of menu, a bottle of Burgundy red or white wine, Lalique amenity kits, and a 22 piece tableware set which includes  Wedgwood dining ware and Lalique crystal ware
• All-Inclusive First Class Experience: A First Class meal for two based on your choice of menu, a bottle of Burgundy red or white wine, a bottle of 2008 Dom Perignon
  champagne, a 22-piece tableware set which includes Wedgwood dining ware and Lalique crystal ware, and Lalique amenities for two, including sleeper suits.
• All-Inclusive Business Class Experience: A Business Class meal for two based on your choice of menu, a bottle of French wine or brut champagne, a 22-piece tableware set, which includes Narumi dining ware and Penhaligon’s amenity kits for two.
• First Class Signatures: An experience for two, comprising two of our signature First Class offerings of Oscietra caviar, satay, a bottle of 2008 Dom Perignon champagne and Lalique amenity kits

What’s been leaked should be the “Wine and Dine” menus, and what I’m trying to say is: if you thought those were expensive, you might want to sit down. The all-inclusive First Class Experience will surely cost much more, given it comes with the Wedgwood dining ware and Dom Perignon.

At least you’ll have the plates to remind you of the experience…

Conclusion

Now, there’ll be those who say “for the price of S$X, you could go to expensive restaurant Y and have a great meal.”

While I’m sure that’s true, it also kind of misses the point. If anyone actually pays for this, they won’t be doing it for culinary excellence. I dare say that even the most exquisite food, once subjected to the crucible of the microwave, won’t stand up too well. This is purely a novelty thing- plate the food, pour the wine, play the SIA playlist and imagine you’re at 30,000 feet. You may not find that worth the price, but hey, different strokes and all that. 

For me personally, I’ll probably get one of these sets to try, if only for the sake of a review. It’s certainly not something I’d pay for if this site didn’t exist (although I’d definitely go for the A380 restaurant either way). 

Will you be trying any of the SIA@Home menus?