Singapore Airlines has never sold a First Class seat on the aircraft it built its longest nonstop flights around. The ultra-long-range A350-900ULRs that link Singapore with the United States carry Business Class at the front and nothing above it. That gap is about to close. The Singapore Airlines new First Class, unveiled on 6 November 2026 as part of a more than S$2 billion investment in new First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy seats for long-haul aircraft, will go on the A350-900ULR for the first time and on the airline’s new Boeing 777-9 fleet, from the second half of 2027. It is a tiny cabin, six seats on the 777-9 and four on the ULR, and its centerpiece is a pair of middle seats that open into what SIA calls “the largest double bed in commercial aviation”.
The seat was designed by PriestmanGoode, on its first project for the airline, and is built by Collins Aerospace. On paper it reads like a small private apartment: curved sliding doors, Poltrona Frau leather, batik-patterned walls, a wardrobe and a table large enough for two to dine face to face. Below I set out what SIA has confirmed, what it has left unsaid, and how the seat measures up against this year’s other new First Class cabins. The new Business Class and the same-day lounge, Starlink and ground-service news are covered in separate articles.
Singapore Airlines New First Class: Key Facts
- Announced: 6 November 2026, Singapore Airlines Note to Editors No. 19/26, “Singapore Airlines Introduces Next-Generation Long-Haul Cabin Products” (First Class details in Annex A)
- Aircraft: the new Boeing 777-9 fleet and the Airbus A350-900ULR, the first time First Class has been offered on the ULR
- Entry into service: “scheduled to enter service from the second half of 2027” and “progressively introduced”; no launch routes or first-aircraft dates have been named
- Seats and layout: six seats on the 777-9, four on the A350-900ULR; 1-2-1, with direct aisle access from every seat
- Dimensions: 89.5-inch pitch; 23 inches wide, or 30 inches with the armrests lowered; single full-flat bed 80 x 30 inches; double bed 80 x 60 inches combined
- Double bed: the center seats have a fully retractable divider, opened on request, and become a two-seater sofa by day or what SIA calls “the largest double bed in commercial aviation” by night
- Privacy and finishes: curved sliding doors and walls at every seat; Poltrona Frau leather; soft wall panels with SIA’s batik motif
- Comfort: electronically adjustable side wings, lumbar, armrests, leg rest and ottoman; 100% cotton linens, a duvet, a choice of pillows and a new mattress topper from German bedding specialist Paradies
- Dining and storage: 27 x 22.5-inch bi-fold table for companion dining; wardrobe, shelves, leather-lined vanity drawer, cabin-baggage space under the ottoman
- Screen and audio: 32-inch 4K touchscreen (777-9) or 32-inch 4K OLED (ULR); spatial audio; Bang & Olufsen wireless headphones or your own via Bluetooth
- Power and controls: wireless charging and universal AC; two USB-C and one USB-A on the 777-9, two fast-charging USB-C on the ULR; “world-first” smart cabin controls, integrated with myKrisWorld, that save seat position and lighting; a touch panel showing flight time remaining, destination time and weather, Wi-Fi status and lavatory availability
- Design and manufacture: PriestmanGoode (design), Collins Aerospace (seat)
- Quote: Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer, Singapore Airlines: “Singapore Airlines’ next-generation long-haul cabin products will ensure that our customers travel more comfortably than before, and have greater control over their in-flight experience.”
- Fares: not published; see below
Why First Class on the A350-900ULR Matters
The ULR is the aircraft Singapore Airlines uses for its marathon nonstop flights to the United States, where a passenger eats twice, sleeps properly and still has hours to fill. Until now, the best SIA seat on those sectors was in Business Class. Four First Class seats on the ULR remove that compromise, on the flights where a bed, a wardrobe and a closing door are used for a whole night rather than a nap.
An 80 x 30-inch single bed and an 89.5-inch pitch give each passenger something close to a small room, and a seat that opens from 23 to 30 inches with the armrests down matters on a flight where you spend hours sitting up as well as lying flat. The detail I like most is the cabin-baggage compartment under the ottoman: even in First, passengers usually end up wrestling a bag into an overhead bin. Here it lives at your feet.
The center pair is the real headline. Lower the fully retractable divider and the two middle seats become a sofa by day or an 80 x 60-inch double bed at night, which SIA calls “the largest double bed in commercial aviation” (its cabin release says “in the sky”). I can’t verify that, but the idea suits a cabin this small, where many passengers will be couples, and the 27 x 22.5-inch table lets two people eat facing each other. Ben Rowan, Director at PriestmanGoode, says the design “reimagines the shared experience on board”, and that is exactly what SIA is selling.
The “world-first” smart controls remember seat position and lighting across journeys, so a frequent traveler should board to a seat already set up their way; I’ll judge that once someone has flown it.
The Caveats: Very Few Seats, No Route, No Date
Start with the arithmetic. Six seats on a 777-9 and four on a ULR make an exclusive cabin, and exclusivity cuts both ways. Paying passengers get a quiet cabin, but anyone hoping to redeem miles should expect very little award space, so plan around flexible dates.
Then there is the timetable, or the lack of one. SIA says only that the cabins are “scheduled to enter service from the second half of 2027” and will be “progressively introduced”, with no launch routes, no first-aircraft dates and no word on whether the 777-9 or a retrofitted ULR comes first. The 777-9’s delivery schedule has slipped before, and Mainly Miles headlined its 6 November coverage “Singapore Airlines unveils new First and Business Class, now delayed to 2H 2027”. Read “second half of 2027” as the earliest date, not a booking target.
Finally, the double bed needs both center seats booked by the same party, with the divider opened on request; a solo traveler in a center seat is simply in a center seat. Ryan Hudson, President of Interiors at Collins Aerospace, calls the product “a certified cabin solution”, but I would still not plan a 2027 anniversary around it yet.
When routes are announced, check which aircraft operates your flight: the A350-900ULR has the 32-inch OLED screen, the 777-9 a 32-inch 4K touchscreen. Couples should book the two center seats together and ask the crew to open the divider rather than assume it will be open on boarding.
How It Compares With the Competition
The closest rival in spirit is Lufthansa’s Allegris First, which also built its pitch around a center suite two travelers can share, and already flies to Singapore. SIA counters with a larger claimed double bed, a wardrobe and a table sized for two.
British Airways’ new A380 First is the other big First Class project of the moment, and the contrast is in scale: BA is redesigning First on its largest aircraft, while SIA is adding it, in tiny cabins, to twin-engine jets. Japan Airlines’ A350-1000 First is the nearest match in philosophy, a small cabin of enclosed seats on a modern twin, though SIA leans further into the couple’s experience with its sofa-and-double-bed center pair.
Within SIA, the A380 keeps its Suites, which the airline’s same-day announcement on lounges and service still lists as a separate product. This new First does not replace Suites; it takes First to aircraft and routes the A380 does not serve.
Singapore Airlines, First-Hand Context
I haven’t flown this seat, and this is a preview of an announcement, not a review. In my Etihad 787-9 business class review I gave 3.5 out of 5 and marked it down for the wine, because a good seat cannot rescue a poor glass. On my Emirates 777 business class flight from Malé, the reverse happened: good food and a good kit carried a dated cabin. The best First Class does both, and on hardware SIA’s new seat looks ready for its half.
I have already covered SIA’s more than 100 new dishes and Christofle serviceware and its SISLEY amenity kits and cotton sleeper suits for Suites and First. Add a Paradies mattress topper and a door that closes, and the ULR to the US could become one of the best nights in the air. When it flies, I would choose the ULR for the OLED screen and the nonstop route, and book a center pair only when traveling as two.
How Much Does It Cost?
Singapore Airlines has not published fares for the new First Class, and it is not yet on sale, since no routes or dates have been announced. When it launches, fares will be dynamic, and with so few seats it is likely to go early on popular dates. For now, the links below search Singapore–New York in business class, a baseline for what SIA’s premium cabins cost on that route today.
Flight prices do move between platforms. The same business class seat on the same date is not always the same price on the airline’s own site, Trip.com and Expedia: point-of-sale currency, consolidator fares and what is bundled into the ticket can shift the fare by a few percent — and occasionally by much more on premium cabins. So before I pay I run the same dates through Aviasales, which scans dozens of booking sites at once, then check Trip.com (often the sharpest on long-haul fares) and Expedia (strongest when you add a hotel to the same booking). One caveat: a ticket bought through a booking site is changed or refunded through that site, not the airline, so read the fare rules before you buy.
SIA’s new First Class looks like one of the most complete First seats announced this year, but with four to six seats per aircraft and no route or date, it is one to watch rather than plan around.
Photos © Singapore Airlines
This preview is based on official announcements — I haven’t flown the Singapore Airlines new First Class yet. Read more about how I review or visit my Work With Me page.
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