Review of Singapore Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore in Economy

Singapore Airlines latest Flagship

Over the airlines 50+ Year existence, Singapore Airlines has operated a wide variety of aircraft including a brief spell flying a British Airways Concorde (G-BOAD) on a joint venture between London and Singapore. The airline for most of its run to date is known for its association with the Boeing 747 of which it operated from 1973 to 2012 across three generations. However as the 21st Century arrived and four-engine planes began to become more obsolete for the airline, the Boeing 777 became the new Flagship as the Boeing 747 retired off… The airline also introduced the Airbus A380 operating 12 aircraft in 2025 of 24 aircraft it ordered.

Eventually in the latter half of the 2010s, Singapore Airlines introduced the Airbus A350-900, which has become the Flagship and Backbone of the airline's long-haul fleet. Singapore Airlines by 2025 has established itself as the largest Airbus A350 operator in the world with 65 aircraft in service.

The A350 can be flown across the entire network of Singapore Airlines flying on short hops to Kuala Lumpur through to the airline's vast European and North American network as well as the Ultra-Long Haul 25hr flights to Newark & New York JFK! 

The Airbus A350 is one of many fleet types operated by Singapore from the European aircraft builder having also operated in the past the Airbus A300, Airbus A310, Airbus A330 & Airbus A340.

With my first flight on Singapore Airlines almost a requirement whilst doing my Singapore-Malaysia trip, I found I could fly Singapore Airlines for only £45 one-way from KLIA to Changi Airport and I found on the day of travel 3 flights I could take… Two of the Three flights were operated by Boeing 737-800/737-8MAX (A fleet inherited in 2021 from SilkAir) with a mid-morning flight scheduled to be flown by the Airbus A350, which to me was a no-brainer!

I had planned a trip involving a flight on a 5th Freedom service from Manchester to Munich on the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER, but just as I was about to get the trip together, Singapore Airlines announced they would make the route a Manchester-Houston service and de-couple the 5th Freedom leg from Munich. An annoying let down, but I bided my time… One day I might even fly the Milan-Barcelona 5th Freedom route! However recently Singapore has cancelled the Houston-Manchester 5th Freedom service and only now serving the two cities as solo services.

KLIA Terminal 1

Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Terminal 1 is where Singapore Airlines does their flights from. As I was flying on an Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft my flight would be flying out of the Satellite Terminal of Terminal 1.

I cleared the boarding gates as KLIA would do security at the individual gate, rather than at a dedicated area before entering the main departure area as you tend to see in the West. I had a quick gander of for some sweets and confectionary to take back to my friends in the UK and to get rid of some remaining Malaysian currency, which wouldn't be worth swapping back once I got home.

I went to find the Bus Gate to get over to the KLIA Satellite Terminal building which houses the C-Gates. I didn't get any photos as I ended up on the wrong side of the bus and we spent most of it underground. But I did see an interesting bit of artwork on KLIA before getting on the bus across the Airport.

I am in the group of people who love visiting Hard Rock Café locations around the World, and a chance to visit a location in an Airport was not something I was going to pass up! So I opted to get breakfast at this KLIA Location and whilst at it acquire a souvenir pin. 

Not all Hard Rock locations offer breakfast, but this one does given its in an Airport and I found the prices fairly reasonable compare to the chain's UK and European locations. I opted to try the French Toast out as its not something that's really done in the UK… It was decently okay and a good start to my morning.

After breakfast and with an hour before my flight was due to start boarding, I found somewhere I could sit down and do some plane spotting, however I got a pleasant surprise when I passed a gate to see the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 wearing the 1970s Retro livery! It wasn't easy getting a photo of it, but at least I saw it and snapped it!

Eventually the time to start going to the Gate came, so I went to C-12 where my flight had arrived in from Singapore Changi, I did the formalities with security and I went into the waiting area.

Singapore Airlines SQ105 (KUL-SIN)

My Airbus A350-900 for today's 45-50 minute flight over to Singapore Changi from Kuala Lumpur would be on 9V-SHN, this Singapore Airlines A350-900 is a regionally configured aircraft for flights to/from the Asia-Pacific containing Business & Economy class, but as of late 2024 doesn't have either the First Class or Premium Economy product. This aircraft was delivered on January 31st 2020 to the airline brand new from Airbus, arriving shortly before the Pandemic shutdown air travel.

I sat down near a socket to give my phone a charge before the flight, I also used the time to enjoy a little bit more plane spotting as I would be one of the last to board this aircraft. But to my surprise as boarding finally went underway, I noticed the amount of passengers here for this flight would only half-fill a Boeing 737-800, let alone an Airbus A350!

Eventually they called the Group 4 boarding which was basically General Boarding, Singapore Airlines being the only Asian carrier on my trip which used the Western Method for boarding. It felt amazing getting up close to board the aircraft as I'd wanted to do a flight on Singapore Airlines for years now having had a missed attempt in 2016/2017.

This aircraft has a "Regional" Configuration so it has a business class and an economy class. The regional business class looks good for a flight of under 3 hours. I went down to the economy class, which is pretty standard across all of the Singapore A350 fleet, I ended up with a whole row to myself which was amazing! I also got a good view of the wing & front of the left engine.

We would be departing Runway 32R that day, our taxi was a short one from the Terminal 1 Satellite. 

We departed Kuala Lumpur for the short hop to Singapore Changi. Our departure route took us North before making a left turn just south of Kuala Lumpur city. We then turned again towards the South-East flying directly parallel along the Malaysia shoreline until we got toward Singapore.

The service for economy went underway pretty promptly, the crew offered water and a choice of tea or coffee. No snacks offered compare to Malaysia Airlines. It was still an okay serving for such a short flight, but a small cake or pack of crisps would have been a nice touch. The seat of the Singapore A350 offered a USB charging point as well as a cup holder if you don't want to use the tray table.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the series "Masters of the Air" on the IFE system. I enjoyed watching it- though watching a WW2 series with planes being shot down whilst flying on an Airliner was an irony not lost on me! I do love the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, its an amazing aircraft!

As we closed on Singapore Changi and began descending we broke through the clouds and started to see multiple ships outside the Singapore Harbour. A pretty impressive sight!

Our arrival brought us in over the Singapore Straight and we arrived onto Runway 02L. We turned off the Runway just before coming to Changi Air Base West, which is where the Singapore Air Force has a base on the grounds of Changi Airport. We then made a quick taxi across to Terminal 3, meaning that on this trip I would have flown to & from all four Terminals at Changi! I was even treated to a nice view of The Jewel!

Once most of the other passengers left, I quickly took the time to get two better cabin shots of both the Economy Class & Business Class. I would love to fly Singapore Airlines again, so I think its safe to say I'll be eyeing up the Barcelona-Milan 5th Freedom Route as long as it continues to run! This was a nice introduction, but I think I need a longer flight to experience the airline in a better light, I know they can pull it off!

And thus concludes the fourth and final inter-Asian flight from my trip. It was fun covering four different airlines on various aircraft types as well as hopping between Kuala Lumpur & Singapore!