Is Singapore Airlines Business Class Worth It? A Family’s Experience on an 8-Hour Flight

In May of 2025, my family flew from Melbourne, Australia, to Singapore aboard the fantastic Singapore Airlines A350. Using Air Canada points, we were able to book business-class seats for the whole family. My wife and two-year-old were able to enjoy the spoils of flying for 8-9 hours in one of the best business-class seats in the air. 

Flying with a toddler in premium cabins can be hit or miss. Some airlines treat families like an inconvenience; others go above and beyond. After experiencing Singapore Airlines Business Class from Melbourne to Singapore, a flight of just over eight hours, with my wife and two-year-old daughter, I can confidently say this carrier falls firmly into the latter category.

Our daughter may have been excited for the airplane and the large seat, but the staff were beyond amazing for the experience.

We redeemed 45,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles per person for this flight, and every single point was worth it.

Pre-Flight: The Book the Cook Advantage

Singapore Airlines offers a service called “Book the Cook,” which allows business class passengers to pre-order meals up to 48 hours before departure. This isn’t just selecting from a limited menu; it’s choosing from an extensive selection of restaurant-quality dishes explicitly prepared for your flight. The cool thing is that it allowed us to book meals for our daughter, too.

Being able to secure our meal choices in advance eliminated the anxiety of hoping our preferred option would be available when the cart reached our seats. For families traveling with young children, this planning capability is invaluable. We could coordinate our daughter’s meal timing with ours, ensuring everyone ate when it made sense rather than when service happened to reach us.

The Personal Touch: Service That Remembers Your Name

From the moment we boarded, flight attendants addressed us by name. Not just once as a courtesy, but consistently throughout the flight. When you’re wrangling a toddler at 35,000 feet, this personal recognition transforms the experience from transactional to genuinely caring.

The crew’s attentiveness extended beyond pleasantries. When it was time to rest, flight attendants proactively helped make up our beds, complete with a mattress pad, duvet, and pillows, without us having to ask. On most airlines, passengers fumble with bedding themselves or wait awkwardly for assistance. Singapore Airlines anticipated the need and handled it seamlessly.

Traveling With a Toddler: They Actually Get It

Here’s where Singapore Airlines truly distinguished itself: the crew treated our two-year-old as a valued passenger, not a problem to manage.

Flight attendants checked on our daughter regularly, ensuring she had everything she needed, from kid-friendly meal options to entertainment suggestions. They brought activities to keep her engaged, adjusted service timing around her schedule, and demonstrated genuine patience when toddler unpredictability inevitably emerged.

This family-friendly approach extended to practical considerations. The crew helped us navigate meal service with a squirming child, and even helped lower the lights earlier than usual so she could get some sleep.

For parents who’ve endured judgmental glances in premium cabins, this acceptance was refreshing. Singapore Airlines’ philosophy seems to be that families paying for business class deserve the same attentive service as solo travelers, a perspective that’s sadly uncommon.

Entertainment: World-Class at Altitude

Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld entertainment system is consistently rated among the best in the industry, and our experience confirmed why. The selection was vast, including recent Hollywood releases, international cinema, television series, music, and games, all accessible through a responsive touchscreen with intuitive controls.

For our daughter, there was an excellent selection of children’s programming, including educational content and popular animated films. The system remembered viewing progress, allowing us to pause and resume without losing our place, a small feature that makes a significant difference on long flights.

The screen size was generous, the picture quality sharp, and noise-canceling headphones effectively blocked cabin sounds.

The Dessert Service: A Sweet Surprise

I wasn’t expecting the dessert service to be a highlight, but Singapore Airlines elevated the end of the meal into an experience worth noting.

Rather than a single perfunctory dessert, passengers were offered a selection: artisanal cheeses with accompaniments, decadent cake, and premium ice cream. This wasn’t airline ice cream in a plastic cup; these were high-quality, carefully curated options presented on proper china.

The cheese board featured multiple varieties with crackers. The cakes were moist and flavorful, clearly made by skilled pastry chefs rather than mass-produced. The ice cream was what I originally wanted, and instead, I walked away with three different desserts. My wife, on the other hand, had four.

For a flight of this duration, these thoughtful touches prevented the meal service from feeling rushed or utilitarian. It transformed eating on an airplane into genuine dining.

The Seat and Sleep Experience

Singapore Airlines’ business class seats are among the most comfortable in the sky. The fully flat bed with ample width provided genuine rest, not just reclined tolerance of eight hours in the air.

The mattress pad added unexpected comfort, and the bedding felt more like a hotel than an aircraft. I’m 6’0″ and had plenty of room to stretch out completely, something that’s impossible in many business class products.

With a toddler, the extra space was crucial. Our daughter could move between our seats easily, we had room for her belongings without crowding our own space, and when she finally slept, we could relax without being cramped.

Bottom Line: Worth Every Mile

Redeeming 45,000 Aeroplan miles per person for this experience represents exceptional value. To put that in perspective, cash fares for Singapore Airlines Business Class on routes of this length often exceed $3,000-4,000 per ticket. Using points transformed an otherwise unaffordable splurge into an accessible luxury.

But beyond the financial calculation, Singapore Airlines Business Class delivered something rarer: a premium travel experience that genuinely accommodated our family’s needs without compromise.

The pre-flight meal selection, personalized service, family-friendly approach, exceptional entertainment, thoughtful dessert service, and comfortable sleeping arrangements combined to create a flight that felt less like transportation and more like hospitality at 35,000 feet.

For families considering using miles or cash for business class, Singapore Airlines sets the standard other carriers should aspire to match. Eight hours passed comfortably, our daughter was happy, and we arrived rested rather than depleted.

Every one of those 45,000 points was worth it, and I’d redeem them again without hesitation.