Andrew Mollenbeck, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – At 35,000 feet, this is the height of luxury.
Caviar, Givenchy pajamas and a double bed with 10 pillows may evoke a once-in-a- lifetime getaway.
For big spenders on Singapore Airlines, this is just the process of getting away.
“What we’re aiming for is not to create the world’s best flying experience, but we’re aiming a bit higher,” says James Boyd, a spokesman for Singapore Airlines.
“We are benchmarking this suite experience against hotels, against resorts, against the kinds of experiences you would have on the ground,” he says.
The experience is unique to the A380, a double-decker jumbo jet that is the world’s largest commercial plane.
The unrivaled space provides international carriers a blank slate to one-up the next at lavishing perks on coveted first-class passengers.
Singapore Airlines, which has taken delivery of 16 aircraft, has 12 private cabins on board. All are toward the front of the aircraft on the lower level.
It is one of the only airlines still serving caviar, which of course is served on china and a starched table cloth.
“We’re the only airline in the world that gives you a choice of Dom Perignon or Krug Champagne in suites,” Boyd says.
“Most passengers, as I’m sure you can imagine, will opt for both.”
Additionally, passengers can choose from four different kinds of coffees, five different teas and up to nine different varietals of wine, including second-growth Bordeauxs.
Luxury, however, comes with a price. Tickets range from about $12,000 to 15,000 for a round-trip ticket in a single suite.
“If you are traveling with a companion, we have the industry’s only double bed in flight,” Boyd says.
“Two of the interior suites can be combined into the industry’s only double suite. That allows you to double your pleasure in every description,” he says, though not intending a double entendre.
The suites include 23-inch monitors, Bose noise-canceling headphones, bed sets with Givenchy linens and down duvets.
The on-demand entertainment stores up to 1,004 viewing options.
For U.S. travelers, Singapore Airlines operates flights only from New York’s JFK via Frankfurt and Los Angeles’ LAX via Narita Tokyo.
The airline has three more A380s on order with the option to take more deliveries.
While passengers slip into their Givenchy pajamas, a personal flight attendant makes up the lie-flat bed and then offers to tuck them in.
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(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
