This flight was the final leg of our trip to Vietnam. We’d already flown from Orlando to Los Angeles with Delta, then from LA to Singapore. After a shower, changing clothes and breakfast at the SilverKris lounge, we headed to our gate. We gave ourselves some time because we had to change terminals, which is easy when using the Skytrain.
The security check was at the gate at Singapore Changi airport, and there was a queue when we arrived.
The line moved quickly and we only had to wait a few minutes before business class passengers could board.
Our A350-900 had a regional configuration that Singapore Airlines uses on short to mid-range flights (up to 8 hours.) 
I selected seats 16 D&F, which are middle seats where passengers sit close to each other. We were able to get our pre-flight selfie.
Vietnam still requires masks to be worn on airplanes and Singapore agents mentioned this rule is compulsory several times before and during the flight.
I’ll apologize that I don’t have many pictures of the seat. Other sites show every nook and cranny if you want to see all the bells and whistles. I’ll blame we were already over 24 hours into our travel day and I only had a few hours of sleep.
You can see to the right the privacy divider between the seats. For a 2-hour flight, the seat was overkill.
The footwell is narrow if you’re looking to sleep, as the seat does recline into a lie-flat bed. I didn’t bother to try it out on such a short flight. I did appreciate I was able to keep my backpack under the seat.
There was a large screen with KrisWorld’s entertainment system.
Before takeoff, the attendants took the drink and food orders (or confirmed your order if you used Book The Cook). After takeoff, they set up the tray tables and brought out drinks as soon as possible.
Even though it was a morning flight, I pre-ordered the Nasi Lemak.
It’s described as “Fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk, accompanied by spicy sambal prawns, fried chicken, fried anchovies with peanuts, an omelette wedge, and grilled fish cakes.”
I wasn’t ready for the amount of heat in this dish, particularly the sambal prawns. I knew there’d be a kick but my mouth was on fire. I was glad I had yogurt to dampen the burning sensation and was close to downing the milk packet if all else failed. It was better than anything a US carrier in business class served, just hotter than I expected.
Sharon took the safer route and pre-ordered the salad (Mesclun, baby carrot, Heirloom tomatoes, asparagus, artichoke, avocado, freekeh, chickpeas and hard-boiled egg served with mustard dressing).
After finishing our meals, the trays were removed. I spent the time watching a movie. It took a bit longer to arrive than expected because of the roundabout way we took to land.
Final Thoughts
It was interesting to fly two configurations of Singapore Airlines A350-900 back to back. There were things I liked about the regional plane better than the long-haul version, like the IFE and the seating position in relation to the tray. But for a very long flight, I appreciated the bedding on the long-haul version.
I’d never pay extra for business class on a short, regional flight. But since this was part of our ticket from the US, it was nice to try out the front of the plane. On a side note, since we were able to get off the plane first, we beat the crowd to the Vietnam immigration checkpoint.
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