The airline recently said it is spending more than S$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) to upgrade long-haul seats and provide larger double-bed suites to compete with rivals that are pouring money into high-end cabins, Reuters reported.
However, the redesigned business class seats, featuring a grey color scheme with bright yellow accents, have sparked debate since their unveiling on Nov. 6.
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Singapore Airlines’ new business class seats. Photo courtesy of the airline |
Darshen Kuna, a content creator and the airline’s former cabin crew member, questioned the design despite expressing loyalty to the airline as a Priority Passenger Service Club member, Channel News Asia reported.
“You all spent more than S$2 billion for the new business class seats to look like what? Dental chairs?” he said in an Instagram video.
He urged the airline to reconsider the palette before the new cabins enter service.
Aaron Wong, founder of travel website The MileLion, also expressed concerns about the aesthetics, saying he was “still shaking (his) head at the business class color scheme and aesthetics”.
He also questioned the use of plastic, which he felt did not convey a premium impression.
A netizen wrote on Facebook in disfavor of the color combination: “This neon yellow color is not really part of the Singapore Airlines color palette, and the light grey colors kind of just make it feel cheap.”
However, some passengers and content creators have highlighted the seats’ practical improvements.
Singaporean singer-songwriter Tay Kewei, 43, welcomed the upgrade, identifying the sliding privacy doors as its biggest advantage.
In an Instagram post showing her trying the seats, she praised the airline, describing the experience in the accompanying captions as being “cocooned in luxury with lumbar and leg support”.
She yet questioned why the seats appeared narrower than their predecessors despite having more spacious footwells.
Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong has indicated that the airline might be open to reconsidering their new business class seat colorway, The Business Times reported.
Responding to the criticism online, Goh said: “We’ll look at it, we’ll see what’s feasible.”
The new cabin products will be progressively introduced from the second half of 2027 on the airline’s 41 retrofitted Airbus A350-900 long-haul and ultra-long-range (ULR) aircraft, as well as its new Boeing 777-9 fleet, Reuters reported.
Singapore Airlines was voted the world’s best carrier in Skytrax’s 2026 survey of more than 24 million travelers.