Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 747 Slumberettes: So good that other airlines complained

A good night’s sleep is taken for granted in First Class these days, with luxurious seats that convert into full-flat beds at the touch of a button, complete with sumptuous bedding, silky high-thread-count linens, and indulgently plush pillows. On some airlines, you can even snuggle up with a partner.

But it wasn’t always this way.

In fact, the story of how sleeper seats made it onto Singapore Airlines is a fascinating one, featuring sky-high slumber parties and some very unhappy Brits. 

Meet the Slumberettes

Singapore Airlines, of course, was not the first-ever airline to offer sleeping facilities for passengers. Back in the 1940s, Pan American Boeing 314 Clippers already had bunk beds for overnight accommodation — probably a good idea, since it flew three times slower than a modern Boeing 777!

However, with the advent of modern jets and commoditisation of air travel, beds had become a rarer and rarer sight. So it was still big news when in 1975, SIA announced a S$670,000 plan (S$1.9M in today’s money) to outfit all its Boeing 747-200s with “berthable divans”, which someone in the marketing team had the good sense to rebrand “Slumberettes”. These came factory-equipped on its fifth jumbo jet from Seattle, with the other four retrofitted shortly after.

SIA was the first carrier to install sleeping facilities on a jumbo jet, and what’s more, passengers could reserve them completely free-of-charge. When competitors eventually introduced similar innovations, the common practice was to impose a fee. 

Unlike today’s convertible First Class seats, the Slumberettes were a separate amenity altogether. Measuring seven feet long and four feet wide, these were located on the upper deck of the 747 in what was called the “Raffles Lounge”.

There were a total of six slumberettes:

• Slumberette A was the most prized of them all, with a stowing foldable door for privacy
• Slumberettes B and C catered to groups of four passengers seated at a card table
• Slumberettes D, E and F were for individuals, although still in full view of the entire lounge

Each Slumberette had a sleeping belt for safety, and was upholstered in fine leather. Bedsheets, pillows and blankets were provided, as were individual reading lights, call buttons, and inflight music sockets — features considered revolutionary for their time, made possible through the wonders of multiplex wiring. 

The advertisements called it the “biggest yawn in aviation history”, back in the days when SIA’s marketing didn’t take itself so seriously.

📰 SIA Announces a Major Aviation Breakthrough

A place to sleep, perchance to dream. SIA, whose standard of inflight service has long been the talk of even other airlines, now introduces yet another first in passenger comfort: the luxury of first-class sleep-in privileges, in the Raffles Lounge on our latest 747B. Six adult-sized Slumberettes, each with arm blankets and soft pillows. At no extra charge to first-class ticket holders on all SIA 747B flights. It’s an airline passenger’s dream. And from 1 June, it comes true. When our latest 747B (and all our other Jumbos) offers first-class sleep-in privileges on flights between UK, Europe, Asia, the Orient and Australia. Reserve your Raffles Lounge Slumberette when you book your seat. They’re available on a first-come, first-served basis.  So call your Travel Agent or SIA now. If you’re tired of ordinary 747B service. SIA’s Sleeping Giant. First in the world with first-class sleep-in privileges.

📰 Stay Awake Till 1 June

1 June is worth keeping your eyes open for. Because on that day SIA, whose standard of inflight service has long been the talk of even other airlines, now introduces yet another first in passenger comfort: the luxury of first-class sleep-in privileges, in the Raffles Lounge on our latest 747B. Six adult-sized Slumberettes, each with arm blankets and soft pillows. At no extra charge to first-class ticket holders on all SIA 747B flights. It’s an airline passenger’s dream. And from 1 June, it comes true. When our latest 747B (and all our other Jumbos) offers first-class sleep-in privileges on flights between UK, Europe, Asia, the Orient and Australia. Reserve your Raffles Lounge Slumberette when you book your seat. They’re available on a first come, first served basis.  So call your Travel Agent or SIA now. And wake up to a great new way to fly. SIA’s Sleeping Giant. First in the world with first-class sleep-in privileges.

📰 Singapore Airlines Ushers in the Sleeping Giant

Now, Singapore Airlines caps a standard of inflight service that even other airlines talk about. With the introduction of yet another first in passenger comfort: the luxury of first-class sleep-in privileges in the Raffles Lounge of our latest 747B. Six adult-sized Slumberettes, each with arm blankets and soft pillows. At no extra charge to first-class ticket holders on all SIA 747B flights. It’s an airline passenger’s dream. And from 1 June, it comes true. When our latest 747B (and all our other Jumbos) offers first-class sleep-in privileges on flights between UK, Europe, Asia, the Orient and Australia. Reserve your Raffles Lounge Slumberette when you book your seat. They’re available on a first come, first served basis.  So call your Travel Agent or SIA now. And sleep soundly. SIA’s Sleeping Giant. First in the world with first-class sleep-in privileges.

Needless to say, the concept of a flying bed sent minds more sullied than mine into a tizzy, with questions of whether passengers would now seek to, um, “join the Raffles Club”.

“All this and a pretty girl to tuck you in”, snarked New Nation (the tabloid forerunner of The New Paper), in a headline that might be somewhat ill-advised today.

And, in a tongue-in-cheek column which I’m quite amazed made it to print:

“A recent photo of an air stewardess tucking a passenger into bed, which recently appeared in the newspapers, could give SIA’s beautiful airgirls some problems. What if they meet some incorrigible married man who cannot slumber alone? Will SIA innovate further and provide that service as well? And with a smile too?

…

Lastly, has SIA also considered the problems its image builders will face when they have to create a new slumberette advertising campaign? Will SIA drop its Come Fly with Me invitation, and instead use pictures of its sexy airgirls saying: Come sleep with me?”

The slumberettes debuted on 1 June 1976 on SQ713A to London. Shortly after its 8.30 p.m departure, six First Class passengers retired to the upstairs Raffles Lounge for a snooze, but only a short one, because the flight landed in Bangkok at 10.10 p.m, then in Bahrain at 1.40 a.m, Athens at 6.25 a.m, Paris at 9.35 a.m and finally London at 10.40 a.m.

Passengers were happy, the press was abuzz, and all was well. 

So naturally, that’s when the problems started. 

The Empire Strikes Back

In December 1976, The Straits Times reported that Singapore Airlines had been ordered to cease marketing its Slumberettes by the UK Department of Trade, citing complaints that this constituted “unfair competition” to British Airways. 

Passengers who wanted to use the Slumberettes could still do so, but the airline couldn’t take advance reservations — essential, given how there were six slumberettes for 30 First Class passengers — nor advertise the service. 

I need to quote this section in its totality, because on first glance it reads like something from The Onion:

“The complaints said SIA had been taking away many first-class passengers from other airlines like British Airways with the provision of such services as slumberettes in first class cabins”

But the complaint was very real. SIA had to argue that the Slumberettes “represent a minimal benefit and do not represent a major competitive innovation” (god forbid that ever happen!).

British Airways vehemently denied that it was responsible for ratting out SIA to the authorities, and instead attributed the genesis of the row to Qantas’ denied application for permission to serve free drinks to Economy Class passengers.

Following this, the Department of Trade conducted a review of all services out of Britain, discovering in the process that SIA, Malaysian Airlines, Thai International, Air Ceylon and a handful of Middle Eastern carriers were offering services “considered to resent unfair competition.”  In that sense, SIA was more collateral damage than a target per se, sort of like we don’t dislike you, we just dislike all good service.

In fact, it wasn’t just First Class that the Department of Trade took issue with. SIA was also forced to discontinue free drinks and inflight entertainment for Economy Class passengers in October 1977, with the imposition of a nominal charge (30 cents for beer, 60 cents for whiskey, $1.20 for champagne and $6 for earphones) on legs that connected to London.

It sounds absurd to the modern ear, but perhaps the complaint wasn’t as frivolous as it sounds. For context, SIA was not an IATA member at the time, but British Airways was. IATA’s code of onboard service prohibited the serving of free alcoholic drinks and cigarettes (yes, SIA served free cigarettes, once upon a time), complimentary earphones for inflight movies or other freebies. British Airways was bound to these rules; SIA was not. 

IATA’s reputation may have been rehabilitated today, but back then it was really the enemy of consumers, a bunch of apparatchiks whose sole responsibility was to look out for the bottom line of their member airlines. They opposed airfare discounting, they set fixed prices for inflight entertainment and drinks, they regarded all non-IATA members as government subsidised, disreputable operations only interested in price undercutting. 

No wonder SIA’s managing director could take the moral high ground in defiantly saying “we won’t join IATA” (they later did in the 1990s, after a host of reforms).

But in any case, the optics were terrible and the court of public opinion was always going to be on SIA’s side. The British public weren’t amused by their government’s antics either, as evidenced in this letter to the editor in the Times of London:

One wonders on whose authority the Department of Trade suddenly decided to curtail the attractions offered by Singapore and why. Could it have been: “If Britain cannot run a profitable international airline with lots of happy passengers, we’ll jolly well ensure that no one else can?’

Burn. 

SIA was eventually slapped with a S$4,800 fine by the British authorities.

Beyond the Slumberettes

The Slumberettes proved incredibly popular, so much so that Singapore Airlines had a problem on its hands: there weren’t enough of them.

With just six Slumberettes available for 30 passengers, it was inevitable that some would be left disappointed. Therefore, the airline decided to supplement them with an additional four recliners called “snoozzzers”, which came factory installed on its seventh B747 in September 1977.

📰 SIA Has New Ways of Getting People to Sleep

SIA adds two more 747Bs to its Jumbo fleet. And with their introduction comes yet another innovation in first-class passenger comfort: the Snoozzzer, a specially upholstered reclining seat that reclines a little more than most…so you can lie right back in a relaxing, more restful position. They’re fitted in the Raffles Lounge — along with our six Slumberettes — and are complete with blankets and pillows. Both our latest 747Bs (in service from July and September) come with four Snoozzzers, and they’re available to all first-class passengers on a first-come, first-served basis on all night flights between UK, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia. Now, you can count on a Snoozzzer instead of sheep.

These were fitted with an additional mechanism which allowed the back of the seat to be lowered to a fully reclining position, and unlike the Slumberettes, did not require a reservation.

In any case, the problem eventually resolved itself in 1983, when SIA phased out Slumberettes and installed snoozzzers throughout the First Class cabin, giving every First Class customer a bed. 

These became the blueprint for future First Class seats, culminating in the launch of the legendary Sky Suite in 1998. While I never had a chance to try this product, I’ve heard so many stories about what a phenomenal seat it turned out to be. 

B747 Sky Suites | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Funnily enough, there’s a certain circularity to the Slumberette tale, because that wasn’t the last pillow fight between SIA and the Brits. No sooner had the Sky Suite launched than British Airways raised hell, claiming that the product violated its patents. SIA responded by taking out a writ of its own against British Airways for making “groundless threats of patent infringement”

I suppose you could say both parties were at their writ’s end.

Conclusion

The flat bed seats that we take for granted in First and Business Class today owe a lot to innovations like the Slumberettes, which made it possible for a privileged few to get some proper rest at 35,000 feet. 

Oh, and remember those concerns about passengers deciding to join the “Raffles Club”? It might not have been pearl-clutching after all.

“One stewardess interviewed nearly had a close encounter with an intimate couple on an SIA Boeing 747, which is equipped with four “snoozers” and six slumberettes in first class. This stewardess gave permission to a couple to go to the upper deck where one of the slumberettes was partitioned by sliding doors.

“When I went up later to serve drinks, they were nowhere to be found. The slumberette’s sliding doors were closed. So I just left them alone.”

But hey, if the Boeing’s a-rocking, don’t come a-knocking.

Did you ever fly on a Singapore Airlines Slumberette? What was the experience like?