Singapore Airlines has announced a major refresh of its Premium Economy experience from 31 March 2024, with enhancements to inflight catering and amenities.
Premium Economy passengers can look forward to an expanded selection of meals, snacks and beverages (including a new champagne), displayed on physical menu cards and served on porcelain serviceware. An all-new amenities kit will also be available on flights above seven hours.
There’s no change to the hard product — we’ll need to wait till the Boeing 777-9 arrives to see the new Premium Economy seat — but this does mark the first extensive overhaul of the Premium Economy soft product ever since the cabin was introduced in 2015.
New Premium Economy meals & serviceware
Singapore Airlines has developed over 200 new appetisers, main courses and desserts for Premium Economy Class passengers, including garlic roasted prawns with smoke aioli, Patatas Bravas (Spanish fried potatoes), broccoli salad with hot smoked salmon, and seasonal variations of Japanese cold noodles with soba sauce.
All meals will come with a seasonal appetiser, main course, bread roll, dessert, cheese and crackers, and a small bar of chocolate, served on a linen-lined tray with napkin-wrapped silverware. There’s also a return for physical menu cards, though unlike the multi-page volumes in First and Business Class, these will be a simpler one-page affair.
Bread options have been upgraded, including croissants for breakfast or garlic bread rolls for lunch, dinner and supper. Both of these were previously limited to First and Business Class only.
Customers will have a choice of one international or Asian main on each flight, including new dishes such as Thai-style Crab Curry served with mixed white and brown rice, or Roasted Chicken Thigh.
Alternatively, they may choose from an expanded Book the Cook menu, which features up to 20 dishes on rotation including classics like Nasi Lemak, as well as new additions such as Salmon in Teriyaki Sauce.
There’s an upgrade for desserts too, with Chocolate Feuilletine Cake, Mascarpone Cream Cake, and Apple Crumble Cheesecake all planned.
Here’s a sampling of items, provided by SIA:
| 🍽️ New Premium Economy Menu |
|
Appetisers Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Main Courses Braised Beef Ragout with Smoked Paprika Seafood Hor Fun (Book the Cook) Singapore Popular Local Favorite – Bak Chor Mee Dry Gaeng Chapoo Pan-roasted Chicken Thigh Lamb Biryani Seafood Marinara Slow Braised Lamb (Book the Cook) Tapas Beef Bourguignon (Book the Cook) Char Siew Wonton Noodle (Book the Cook) Dessert Chocolate Feuilletine Cake |
Passengers who feel peckish inbetween meals can request for new snack options such as almonds and cashews, which like croissants and garlic bread, were previously served only in First and Business Class.
Additional photos of the new Premium Economy meals can be found in the expandable section below.
New Premium Economy Meals
Asian Bak Chor Mee Dry
Lamb Briyani
Herbed Omelette with Sautéed Mushrooms
Chicken Meatball with Cheese Sauce
Chicken Satay with Nasi Goreng Kampung
Penne Pasta with Vegan Falafel “Meatballs”
You may have noticed that the meals are plated differently too. SIA will do away with the current disposable casseroles in favour of contemporary stoneware glazed porcelain silverware.
All in all, it’s a big visual upgrade compared to right now, where you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between an Economy and Premium Economy meal (note the black disposable casserole, half-sized undraped tray, absence of cloth napkin, plastic wine cups and Economy bread in the photo below).
I firmly believe these upgraded meals and presentation is the right direction for SIA’s Premium Economy product (was it only yesterday that the airline was contemplating paper plates in this cabin?!) and shores up an aspect of the soft product that was badly lagging behind.
New Premium Economy wines, champagne and beverages
Singapore Airlines will be upgrading its Premium Economy wines and champagnes with the following options:
| Wine | Type | Vivino Rating |
| 🇳🇿 2023 Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc | White | 4.0/5 |
| 🇦🇺 2022 St Hallett Faith Shiraz | Red | 3.8/5 |
| 🇫🇷 NV Charles de Cazanove Brut Tradition | Champagne | 4.0/5 |
For context, the Wairu River Sauvignon Blanc has been spotted in the SilverKris First Class Lounge, and in Business Class onboard, so I suppose by that logic alone it’s an upgrade!
If my memory doesn’t fail me, the Premium Economy champagne (restored in late 2022) currently rotates between the so-so Ernest Rapeneau Brut and the slightly-better Jacquart. Is Charles de Cazanove a step up? Wine Spectator rates it at 92 points, Wine Orbit at 94, and American Airlines deems it good enough for their Business Class cabin, so yes, I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.
SIA hasn’t forgotten the teetotalers either. The non-alcoholic beverage selection will be upgraded with peppermint and chamomile teas, as well as Cadbury hot chocolate.
Just like the meals, there’s also going to be a serviceware upgrade, at least where wines are concerned. Goodbye clear plastic cups, hello proper stemless glassware. Laugh if you want, but I felt this was a glaring omission given how other airlines present their Premium Economy meals.
That said, I do feel it’s a bit off that hot beverages are still served in the same paper cups you’ll find in Economy. I would have preferred a proper mug, rather than this “to-go” design.
New Premium Economy amenities kit
Singapore Airlines will launch a new Premium Economy amenities kit in partnership with Out of the Woods (no relation to the Taylor Swift song), a US-based manufacturer of eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle products.
The amenity pouch is made from eco-friendly Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified kraft paper fabric. Inside, passengers will find lip balm, an eye mask and slippers. Additional toiletries, such as dental kits and moisturisers, will continue to be available in the lavatory.
I’m rather digging the look of the new amenities kit, which is a big improvement over the previous iteration. When SIA last offered amenities kits in Premium Economy Class, the look and feel was more cheap and cheerful, to put it nicely.
The new Out of the Woods amenities kits will be available on request on Premium Economy flights of at least seven hours long.
A new Premium Economy seat is coming
It’s been known for a while now that SIA’s long-delayed Boeing B777-9 aircraft won’t just feature new First and Business Class seats, but new Premium Economy and Economy seats too.
SIA has been using basically the same Premium Economy seat since 2015, manufactured by ZIM Aircraft Seating (for the A380s and B777-300ERs) and Safran Seats US (for the A350-900LH and A350-900ULRs). It’s high time this seat got an upgrade, though given the B777-9’s expected late 2025/early 2026 debut, we still have a considerable wait ahead of us.
In terms of what to expect, I think that improved privacy is almost a given, since passengers are currently highly exposed to the aisle and their seatmates. Next-gen Premium Economy seats by Lufthansa and JAL feature extended privacy wings at the headrest level, plus sliding privacy partitions for the latter. I’d certainly expect SIA to do likewise.
JAL’s Premium Economy Class is also notable for being the first to introduce motorised controls, removing the need for elbow grease when adjusting the seat’s position.
It’s highly improbably we’ll hear any news on the new cabin products in 2024, however. Despite the rumours, SIA is still set on waiting for the B777-9, which means a mid-2025 unveiling is more likely.
Which routes offer Premium Economy?
Singapore Airlines offers a Premium Economy cabin on 74 aircraft, or just over half the total passenger fleet.
- 12x Airbus A380-800
- 32x Airbus A350-900LH
- 7x Airbus A350-900ULR
- 23x Boeing 777-300ER
Premium Economy service is currently offered on flights to:
|
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| *Over 7 hours and eligible for amenities kit (Tokyo Haneda at 6h 55m just misses out) | |
SIA does operates aircraft with Premium Economy cabins on regional routes like Bangkok, Colombo, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta. Premium Economy is not sold on these flights, but Economy passengers can select a Premium Economy seat for extra comfort (while receiving Economy service, i.e. no Book the Cook or champagne).
| 💺 Seat Selection Fees (Economy) | ||
| Premium Economy (Standard) |
Premium Economy (Extra Legroom) |
|
| Band 1 | US$35 | US$50 |
| Band 2 | US$70 | US$90 |
| Band 1: Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi ,Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Surabaya Band 2: Colombo, Dhaka, Maldives and Guangzhou |
||
The cost ranges from US$35 to US$90, though selecting these seats is free for PPS Club members. Discounts of 5-15% apply to KrisFlyer members.
For a review of the current SIA Premium Economy experience, refer to the post below.
Review: Singapore Airlines B777-300ER Premium Economy NRT-SIN
Conclusion
Singapore Airlines is giving its Premium Economy soft product a big upgrade from 31 March 2024, with enhancements to meals, beverages, serviceware, and a brand new amenities kit.
I’ve always felt that SIA had to do more to justify the price difference between Economy and Premium Economy, where the distinction in soft product is considerably more subtle compared to competitors. This goes some way towards addressing it, and hopefully the new Premium Economy seat isn’t too far behind!
What do you make of Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy enhancements?
Hopefully they will upgrade the Business Class and First Class as well
I’ve always found Premium Economy to be a bit of a sham, and certainly not worth the extra cost to fly it vs Economy. It’s no surprise that this cabin class is a huge cash cow for the airlines though – even with these enhancements you are paying a lot more for not a lot extra- especially if you are PPS and the cabin crew and ground staff go out of their way to ensure you have as comfortable a flight as possible (e.g. clearly every effort is made to keep your row of seats as vacant as possible, you… Read more »
In other words, Singapore Airlines is merely playing catch up. It really is a joke that they have been charging as much as 3x the price of Y for PY and yet the (now outdated) seat is the only real difference between these 2 classes. Other airlines provide much better seats, meals and even lounge access for their premium economy passengers.
There are only 2 scenarios in which I would ever fly PY on SIA- to NYC when they are on sale, or on a redemption when economy saver awards are unavailable.
Or when you are on SQ21/SQ22 I guess
SIA has had one of the worst premium economy offerings compared the huge price premium they charge for it. Glad to see they’re making some improvements, but it’s still hard to justify what they charge when other premium airlines charge less for the same or better, and you can get Business on other airlines at around the same price.
I agree with you in regards to hot beverages. I flew SWISS Premium Economy last July and their service (that includes the tableware, etc), were like business class (and that includes porcelain coffee cup/mug). They also handed over the amenity kit automatically, although the content was basic. I tried their new PY seat with that privacy and fix shell. Love it! To add to their plus points, the fare from SIN-ZRH was cheaper and as KrisFlyer Elite Gold, I got upgraded to their business class on my way back to SIN, a rarity on SQ! Anyways, good to hear that… Read more »
I love flying SQ PE and if others can find J tickets on other (decent) airlines at SQ PE prices please let me know. At least it’s possible to sleep on their long haul, champagne is there, BTC, and good service is guaranteed (though this is across all SQ classes. I welcome the tweaks and a proper separation of wines and meals from economy.