Trip Report: Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE (Singapore to Taipei)

Airline: Singapore Airlines | Aircraft: 787-10 | Class: Business | Flight: SQ878 (SIN-TPE)

When I visited Taipei last month, I did not realise that it would be my last trip in a while. Non-essential travel (essentially personal trips that I love to take over weekends) is no longer possible due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus and Singapore is currently under strict circuit breaker measures which makes it impossible to even do staycations within the country. As such, I have decided to revisit some of my past trips (since I have plenty of trip reports that I have not done) and hopefully, writing about them would alleviate this cabin fever syndrome.

Seating Area
SilverKris Lounge (Terminal 3) - Changi Airport

I was initially supposed to depart on SQ876 but due to last-minute flight cancellations, I had to depart on SQ878 which leaves Singapore in the afternoon. Generally, I prefer to depart in the morning if it is a short- or medium-haul flight as that leaves me more time to explore the city or simply relax (even on the first day). Even though this was slightly before the issuing of Stay-Home Notice (SHN) of travellers, the SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3 was already extremely quiet when I visited in. In all my years of travel, I have never seen this airline lounge this quiet and while it is actually quite nice to finally be able to take a nice photo of the lounge interiors without having to worry about offending other travellers, the absence of people felt creepy in a strange way.

View from Seat 15D
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

After having a bowl of laksa and a few glasses of Champagne, I made my way to the boarding gate which was only a short stroll away. By the time I got there, most of the passengers were already on the flight so I quickly made my way to my pre-selected seat. Even though I have been redeeming my miles in Business and First Class since 2013, I have never actually been in a non-window seat on Singapore Airlines. Therefore, for this flight, I have decided to pick Seat 15D to experience what a non-window seat feels like.

Side Compartment and Charging Ports
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

For whatever reason, the Business Class cabin was actually busier than expected (but not all window seats were taken). There are 36 Business Class seats on the 787-10 and they offer 60" and 30" of seat pitch and seat width respectively. While they may not be the widest in the air (and some of the seats with the console facing the aisle actually have a narrow entry), it certainly is one of the best-looking products on short- and medium-haul routes. Seat 15D has the console to the right of the seat so you are actually sitting slightly further away from your neighbour in 15F. If you would like to pick a 'couple seat' or a one that allows you to sit closer to a friend or partner, rows 11 (bulkhead), 14, 16, 18 and 20 would be your best bet. As I was one of the last passengers to board the plane, take-off happened shortly after and the flight departed at 11:31 AM.

Noise-cancelling Headphones
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

Shortly after take-off, one of the cabin crew came by to offer me a choice of beverage - I opted for a glass of Champagne (obviously) since this was a vacation. As you may already know, the controls for the seat are located in a touch-sensitive panel on the console. I took the opportunity to get comfortable over a glass of Champagne (unfortunately Laurent-Perrier) before the meal service started.

IFE Screen
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

I ended up watching the movie version of Midnight Diner (深夜食堂) which turned out to be utterly boring and a disappointment in my opinion. I also had the displeasure of having the passenger in front of me dangle her jacket over the seat. Fortunately, the food on the flight made up for it and it was a pleasant experience after all.

Marinated Prawns with Greek Salad
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

Lunch service started approximately 45 minutes after take-off and the appetiser was a Marinated Prawns with Greek Salad. I am personally not a huge fan of salads so I finished the prawns but left most of the green intact. Since this was a lunch service, garlic bread was offered (instead of just croissant on SQ876) so do keep that in mind if that is a deal-breaker for you. Juices, as well as coffee, was also offered but I decided to stick with Champagne throughout my meal (and this set of crew were really proactive in refilling my glass so kudos to that!).

Peranakan Hokkien Mee Soup
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

There were three choices for the main course on this flight but I have actually opted for a Book The Cook meal - the Peranakan Hokkien Mee Soup which was excellent. If you are familiar with Singapore cuisine, this tasted a lot more like Hae Mee (Prawn Noodles) and it was delicious (the broth especially!). In case you were wondering what else was offered on this flight, passengers who have not preselected their meals had the following to choose from on the flight:

• Roasted Chicken with Sage-Onion Stuffing

• Bak Chor Mee Dry Style

• Grilled Salmon Fillet with Chunky Tomato-Cilantro Sauce

Chocolate and Banana Tart
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

A delicious Chocolate and Banana Tart was served for dessert and while I do not generally like sweet treats, this was delicious and I finished every bit of it.

Selection of Cheeses
Singapore Airlines Business Class SQ878 B787-10 - SIN to TPE

Finally, a trolley of different cheeses was pushed around the cabin and even though I politely declined it initially, one of the cabin crew actually insisted for me to try the delicious garlic cream cheese (heavenly!). I really enjoyed my flight from Singapore to Taipei in Business Class and the plane arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport slightly ahead of schedule. To get from the airport to the W Taipei (this was before Marriott Bonvoy has announced a status extension for all members globally), I booked a limousine (Mercedes-Benz S-Class) for approximately TWD 1,300 which I thought was fairly reasonable since a taxi is only marginally cheaper.