I know what you’re thinking. Why did I even bother writing a review of Singapore Airlines 737 MAX 8 business class?
For an airline known for it’s industry-leading long-haul international business class products (on A380s, A350s, and 777s), a rinky-dink 737 would surely be an afterthought in every regard. Right?
Wrong.
Trust me when I tell you that this is a review worth reading, and you’ll be nodding your head in agreement with me by the time you get to the end. I promise!
SQ183
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (SGN) – Singapore (SIN)
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Aircraft: 737 MAX 8
Registration: 9V-MBK
Duration: 1 hour 55 minutes
Seat: 12B (Business Class)
My full review of Singapore Airlines 737 MAX 8 business class from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore
The fact that I voluntarily chose to fly on a 737 tells you everything you know about how good this is going to be. The experience was every bit as swanky as doing it on a 787 or A350.
My arrival of the Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN)
Never in my life have I had a more visually stimulating (and heart racing) taxi ride to an airport. Lawlessness abounds when a navigating the streets of any city in Vietnam, so I was happy – and a bit surprised – to arrive at SGN unscathed.
Thankfully I didn’t have to walk past too many tempting souvenir stands on the way to the departure gate (16). They almost had me!
By the way, call Singapore Airlines business class passengers departing SGN get complementary access to the Le Saigonnais Lounge (located on level 3). I popped in for a quick bite to eat – but didn’t stick around.
The boarding process for SQ183
All flights depart from the lower level at SGN. Since the upper level is where all of the shops and restaurants (and lounges) are, I didn’t bother going down to the departure gate until boarding had commenced.
They called for boarding about 3 minutes behind schedule. By the time I made it downstairs to the gate, I was one of the last business class passengers to board. Fashionably late? Or just slow? Yes.
Seat overview
Unlike what you saw in my Singapore Airlines 787-10 business class review (which features their other regional premium seating option), there are only 10 business class seats on the MAX 8. Not only that, it’s a staggered 3-row seating layout featuring two single “throne” style seats.
The first row is a standard 2-2 layout. The second row consists of single seats in a more spacious 1-1 layout. The third row is back to 2-2.
This is easily the nicest 737 MAX 8 business class seat that I’ve ever sat in. There’s an additional electrical outlet near the window, cavernous storage cubbies down by your knees, and high style and design everywhere you look.
Amenities
You already saw me pounding a pre-departure orange juice. An alcoholic fruit juice of some kind (along with water) was also available. No amenity kits were provided – nor expected – but they did come by with hot towels.
The departure
We pushed off the gate at 3:58 PM (3 minutes behind the scheduled time of 3:55 PM). Although I’m not normally one to scoff at a 3-minute delay, the weather was starting to get nasty. Time was of the essence.
Apparently Mother Nature didn’t have as much as I thought she did. At least not enough to hold back a Boeing 737 MAX 8 (and pilots) hell-bent on getting back to Singapore this afternoon.
In-flight entertainment
Sometimes I wonder why airlines even bother offering such a robust in-flight entertainment system on aircraft which typically fly short hops. Basically, that’s just a long way of telling you that the video entertainment system here on the 737 MAX 8 is pretty stinkin’ good.
Speaking of the content, there’s lots of it. Most of it is pretty good. But you’ll never (ever) be able to consume even a fraction of it on a short two-hour flight such as this.
The meal service
The last time I flew between Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore (albeit in the other direction) was in Vietnam Airlines A321 business class.
I ate extremely well on that flight – and it appeared that Singapore airlines knew this. They countered with and incredibly hearty (and delicious) meal offering of their own.
Just prior to the meal service, they came through the cabin offering drinks (but no snacks). Considering the amount of food I’m about to show you, I think you’ll agree with me that no pre-meal snacks were necessary.
Also on the tray was a Vietnamese papaya and lotus salad with prawns. Sitting next to it (and waiting patiently to be devoured whole) was an awfully tempting looking blueberry cream cake with a butter cookie crumble crust.
Seat comfort
Yes. These are fully lie flat seats. I didn’t have any desire to lay it all the way down on such a short flight, but I can assure you that it was every bit as comfortable as my Singapore Airlines A350-900 business class experience. The blanket they provide is obnoxiously soft and cuddly by the way.
The descent and arrival into Singapore
Our descent into Singapore contained about 20 minutes of doing laps just off the northern coast (to wait for an arrival slot). I didn’t mind. The sun was just starting to set, and it was beautiful out there…
The approach to runway 02L at SIN is one of my favorite in the entire world. Especially during sunset:
Pros and cons
If there was anything you learned from this entire review, I hope it’s the fact that maybe it’s not a bad idea to pass on the Singapore 737 MAX 8. It may be little, but business class sure is mighty.
Pros
- The single seats are phenomenally spacious and private.
- In-flight entertainment is world class – and totally overkill for an aircraft limited to shorter regional routes.
- The colors and textures of the seat are very high-end. It looks (and feels) like a baller experience.
Cons
- The fact that there are only two single seats means that you’re going to have to book early to have any chance of snagging one of them.
- It’s a narrow business class cabin (because 737). Anyone walking down the aisle *will* be all up in your space.
Peter
I too find it weird to see a Singapore Airlines 737 MAX (or at least pictures of it haha), because I associate this airline with long-haul aircraft, not tiny(ish) narrowbodies. That being said, it’s great how they have proper lie-flat seats even on aircraft meant for ~2-hour flights.
And, for better or worse, it’s also the nimblest-looking plane in the SQ fleet IMHO. Compared to the other members of the fleet, I think the 787, 777, and A350 still look better, but the MAX still looks good in its own way and has its own thing going on, if that makes any sense lol.
Also, I’d love to see the approach into SIN in person someday. In the last few years I’ve been kinda getting into boats as well (they actually aren’t that different from planes if you think about it), and, while sailboats are my favorite by far, large cargo ships are really impressive as well, so overflying a port with dozens of them must be pretty cool.
Scott (SANspotter)
Yeah, I didn’t even know they had any 737s until I booked this flight. At least they configured them properly. It was every bit as good as JetBlue Mint IMHO.
If you like boats, you’d definitely love that 02L approach into SIN! I’m not into boats all that much, but container ships (and the logistics of that industry) are fascinating to me. It’s always really cool seeing them parked out in the bay like that.
Peter
You might the first person to compare Singapore Airlines & JetBlue haha! It’s kind of weird because both are reputable airlines, but on different levels, if that makes any sense (SQ on a global level, and JetBlue on a largely domestic one, although that’s slowly changing with their transatlantic flights).
And regarding boats, I agree that container ships are fascinating. Again, my favorite kinds of boats are sailboats (of all sorts), but passing by a large cargo ship is always amazing, and it’s cool to think what working in one must be like.